Hip Replacement Surgery Clinical Negligence Claims - written by Gurdeep Singh, Clinical Negligence Solicitor

Hip Replacement Surgery Clinical Negligence Claims 

Hip Replacement Surgery

A hip replacement is where a damaged hip joint is replaced with an artificial one (known as implant or prosthetic).  An artificial hip joint is designed to improve range of movement and reduce pain.  Usually they last at least 15 years. 

You may be offered a hip replacement surgery if you have severe pain, swelling and stiffness in you hip joint and your mobility is reduced.  This is major surgery and is only recommended if other treatments, such as physiotherapy and/or steroid injections have not assisted in reducing pain or improving mobility. 

Most hip replacement surgeries are performed by the NHS in NHS hospitals.  However, this type of surgery can also be performed in private sector hospitals either by a patient paying privately or by the NHS contracting out to the private sector (in this later scenario the NHS is still likely to be responsible for that patients care).

Hip Replacement Surgery and Clinical Negligence

Clinical negligence is when a healthcare provider delivers substandard care to a patient and as a result of that substandard the patient suffers an injury. 

Examples of hip replacement clinical negligence can include:-

• Poor preoperative planning which can include:-
• Not taking appropriate imaging to decide on appropriately plan the surgery or which size implant to use; and
• Not fully informing the patient of the complications, risks, potential outcomes and alternative treatments.
• Intraoperative surgical errors which can include:-
• Insertion of the wrong sized implant;
• Inserting/positioning the implant incorrectly;
• Failure to check range of movement and leg lengths; and
• Nerve injury.
• Post operative failure or delay in diagnosis and treating of any complications. 

We are here to help

All operations come with the risk of non negligent complications.  However, if the care/treatment provided was substandard and you suffered an avoidable injury you may succeed in pursuing a clinical negligence claim. 

Clear Law have a specialist Clinical Negligence Team, who regularly deal with these types of claims and get the best possible outcomes for their clients. 

Gurdeep Singh, Clinical Negligence Solicitor, has particular experience with these specific claims and has noticed that leg length inequality often occurs after hip replacement surgery.  From his experience a lengthening of less than 2cm is usually thought to be a non negligent complication. However, anything 2cm or longer can be due to incorrectly sized or positioned implants, which is usually a result of inadequate planning of the surgery and failing to perform intraoperative checks. 

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We are available to talk you through the process through our Free initial Consultation.

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