£66,000 for client who underwent negligent tendonitis treatment

L later suffered from a ruptured tendon and required surgery to repair it.

What happened?

L had been suffering from pain in her left foot and ankle over a number of weeks, made worse when standing during her work as a chef. L’s GP advised her that it was tendonitis and to rest and ice it.

Unfortunately, her pain worsened and L later attended another GP who suggested that he perform a steroid injection in the affected area to relieve the pain. The GP didn’t suggest any other alternative treatment that might work for L or tell her about the risks of a steroid injection.

L had the injection and about an hour later was in extreme pain. After 24 hours however, the pain went away and her foot problems improved. However, about 3 months later, L’s foot pain returned and had spread further so L returned to her GP. L’s GP said that a referral to a specialist would be made, but no referral was received (despite L chasing the GP and the hospital) until 7 months later.

When L had an appointment with the specialist, he did a scan that showed L had ruptured the tendon and would need surgery to repair it.

Why was this negligent?

L argued that the GP had been negligent in performing the steroid injection and had injected it into the incorrect part of her tendon. This led to the tendon rupturing and causing L a lot more pain.

L also argued that the GP should have realised that the tendon had ruptured when she returned to the GP surgery and had more symptoms. L also should have received a specialist referral earlier than 7 months after the GP said he had made one.

How did this affect L?

L was in a lot of pain and struggled to work in her job as a chef until she was properly diagnosed with a ruptured tendon. After this diagnosis, she also needed to have surgery on her foot, which she wouldn’t have needed if the GP had not been negligent.

Whilst the surgery was a success, L still got pain in her foot and was not able to stand for longer than an hour which meant she had to give up her job that she loved and get a different one that didn’t require being on her feet.

It was also likely that L would need further surgery on her foot in about 15 years time, which would take up to 10 months to recover from.

How did RWK Goodman help?

We argued on behalf of L that the GP had been negligent in his care of L’s foot pain. Although the GP did not admit that he had done anything wrong, we were able to secure a financial settlement for L of £66,000. This would help L recover the income she lost when she had to change her job role, compensate her for the pain that she suffered, and also allow her to save money for any future operation that she may need.

L said:

“Thank you very much for yours and everyone else’s help throughout this process…it’s very much appreciated…I would highly recommend RWK Goodman to anyone in a similar position to myself and thank you very much indeed for all your help and guidance.”