Orthopaedic Negligence claims.

Orthopaedic negligence claims concern substandard care of bones, joints and the tissues around them. Two problem areas account for most serious claims: infections that are not properly managed, and fractures that are missed or misread.

Orthopaedic infection is a surgical emergency of its own. When infection takes hold in bone or around metalwork, the standard response is prompt surgical debridement (cleaning out infected tissue) guided by microbiology, with the right antibiotics for long enough. Where infection is allowed to smoulder — samples not taken, microbiology advice not sought, debridement delayed — it can become impossible to eradicate, and patients can lose a limb that timely treatment would have saved. Amputation cases arising from mismanaged infection are among the most serious orthopaedic claims.

Missed fractures are the other major group: fractures of the arms, legs and spine that were visible on X-ray but misread, or where the right imaging was never requested. A missed scaphoid, hip or spinal fracture can convert a routine recovery into permanent disability — non-union, avascular necrosis, deformity or spinal cord injury. The claim must show a reasonably competent clinician would have identified the injury and that earlier treatment would probably have produced a better outcome.

Compensation ranges widely: £15,000–£75,000 for a missed fracture with prolonged recovery, into six figures for permanent disability, and £500,000–£1 million or more where mismanaged infection leads to amputation, reflecting prosthetics, adaptations and lifelong care. The limitation period is generally 3 years from the harm or date of knowledge.