I'm 20 years old, female and walk with a pronounced limp.
I was born with Hip Dysplasia (dislocated hip) on the left side. When i was 8 to 12months old (not quite sure) I was given the standard procedure of having the hip pushed back into place and put into a plaster cast for two months, to set the socket.
During the time i was in this plaster cast my consultant retired and was replace by a new doctor. Through some mistake i was left in the plaster cast for 4 weeks longer then i should have. This resulted in Avascular Necrosis, which is a condition where the bone/socket dies caused by lack of blood circulation. This, to me, means that someone where along the line, negligence caused this.
This is where this gets tricky. My father, at the time, was a consultant at the same hospital, knew my consultant very well and therefore no lawyers or medical negligence claim was put forward. (my father didn't want to cause trouble)
I have numerous surgical procedures, including bone grafts, traction, the socket plated and pinned, and most recently a proceedure where they broke my bone, pinned it and then lengthened, by 1mm a day.
They have discussed hipe replacement as the next step, as none of the other precedures have had much effect.
Because this happened so long ago...can i still make a negligence claim? My older sister has the exact condition but she has perfect walking. I also know this condition is fair common, with 1 and every 1,000 babies born with Dysplasia.
Sorry for such a long winded explaination, but any help on this would be really very appriciated.
Thanks
x
Tags: