Highlights:
- Hospital misdiagnoses tibial plateau fracture
- Further damage to the knee requires major surgery
- Hospital therapists fail to follow the treating surgeon’s advice
Summary:
Carbone Lawyers recently obtained a major medical negligence settlement for a young woman whose initial misdiagnosis of a minor fracture was the start of a medical nightmare.
Case Details:
A tibial plateau fracture is an injury in which you break your bone and injure the cartilage that covers the top end of your tibia (shinbone). It can be a single crack in the bone or a shattering into many pieces.
Tibial plateau fractures typically happen with a fall or an accident on a bike or motorbike.
Depending on where the break is and how well it is lined up, tibial plateau fractures may be treated without surgery using a brace or a splint. However, severe fractures need surgery to insert pins, plates or screws to hold the knee in place until it heals.
Importantly, you cannot put any weight on your leg for 6 to 12 weeks, and when you do, it must be very gradual until the bone has regained strength.
The plaintiff in this case, a young woman, had fallen over in her backyard, injuring her knee. Concerned by the severity of the pain and swelling, she went to a local hospital to have it looked at.
The hospital failed to detect the fracture, and she was discharged.
Believing it was only a minor strain, the woman resumed regular activity, which included putting weight onto the injured knee. The pain and swelling worsened, and she returned to the hospital. Further tests revealed the seriousness of the injury.
The woman had a severe tibial fracture and would require surgery to insert rods and screws to hold the bone together.
However, her ordeal did not stop there.
Following the surgery, the woman started rehabilitation therapy with the hospital’s physiotherapy team. Unfortunately, the therapists failed to follow the orthopaedic surgeon’s post-operative orders. It led to further complications and stiffness in the knee joint.
As a result of her initial misdiagnosis and subsequent mistreatment by the hospital, the woman was left with a seriously restricted range of motion in her knee joint. This has caused consequential injuries to her hips and back, and she was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome.
Accompanied by Carbone Lawyers, the women attempted several mediations with the hospital. However, without a satisfactory outcome, the matter was set for court.
Outcome:
Just before the trial commenced, settlement was achieved. The woman received more than $750,000, including costs.