Hospital blunders left me in agony for years after hip op
ACATALOGUE of bungling hospital consultations left a 60-year-old man in agony for five years.
James Brolly had a total hip replacement in 2010, but medics then repeatedly failed to diagnose a loosening of that joint which left the lorry driver in extreme pain for half a decade.
After years of errors in his care, the dad-of-seven has finally been given the correct diagnosis from a different hospital.
Now, Mr Brolly has been awarded a five-figure sum in compensation as Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust admitted liability.
In September 2010, Mr Brolly, who lives in Southport, visited his GP with pain in his right hip, before being sent for an X-ray with the consultant orthopaedic surgeon.
The X-ray revealed a loss of cartilage in the right hip joint and he underwent a hip replacement in December 2010.
Mr Brolly was discharged from the hospital but just two months later began to suffer from extreme pain in the right side of his right groin and in his right knee, leaving him unable to walk.
After undergoing an ultrasound scan on his groin, which was reported to show thickened tendons, Mr Brolly’s hip replacement was X-rayed to check for any loose connection.
The consultant’s feedback was that it was in a good position with no loosening or failure.
Two more X-rays followed, as well as a bone scan and leukoscan, which were all found to be normal.
But as he was continuing to experience a lot of pain, Mr Brolly had an operation to release his right tendon in March 2012.
This slightly eased the pain in his groin, but Mr Brolly’s knee got worse and an X-ray of his knee led to him undergoing a full knee replacement in 2014.
In the months that followed he had to take Tramadol to help manage the pain.
Mr Brolly said: “It’s extremely difficult to explain just how bad the pain was.
“I could just about manage to go to work as an HGV driver, but this was certainly impacted by my lack of mobility and the high dose of medication I was taking.
“As a result, I had to take time off, which contributed to me being made redundant. I then had to take a role elsewhere that paid considerably less. And this impacted heavily on my family.
“I was relying on them for physical support and was unable to do very much because of my mobility issues.
“My son was at school during this time, and I feel as though I missed out on a lot of experiences – this is time I’ll never get back.”
In April 2015, after consultants had failed to spot any issues with the hip replacement on 10 occasions, Mr Brolly underwent an ultrasound of his right hip, which the consultant again noted did not show any loosening.
The pain continued, and after visiting his doctor in September 2015 and requesting a referral to Wrightington Hospital, in Wigan, for a second opinion, the loosening of his the hip replacement was finally diagnosed.
In February 2016, he underwent a revision of the hip replacement, which was performed at Wrightington Hospital and completed without complications.
Since being discharged, he has experienced no pain.
After being upset with the failings that had been made, Mr Brolly contacted medical negligence experts Fletchers Solicitors to bring a claim against Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust.
The trust admitted liability in April 2018, apologised and paid out a fivefigure sum to Mr Brolly.
Darren TamplinCompton, a lawyer at Fletchers Solicitors in Southport who worked on the case, said: “Mr Brolly endured five years of severe pain, as a result of multiple failures to spot a loosened hip replacement.
“The extent and duration of this pain was completely unnecessary, and caused great upheaval to Mr Brolly’s life.
“We hope the compensation serves as a form of justice for Mr Brolly and he is able to enjoy his new quality of life.”
Mr Brolly said: “Although I’m happy the ordeal is over, it’s been difficult to shake off my anxiety as I’m always waiting for the pain to return.
“I’m looking forward to my future, which will include making up for lost time with my family, and a return to golf.”
Juliette Cosgrove, director of nursing, midwifery and therapies at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We are very sorry the care we gave on this occasion failed to meet the high standards patients should be able to expect from us.
“Any patient or family member with concerns about their care should raise them with staff so we can act to put matters right as soon as possible.”