£17,000 settlement for a testicular torsion claim

Posted 29/01/2016

Ashtons Legal clinical negligence specialist Rosaline Wong has obtained a £17,000 settlement for a young man, Mr A, whose delayed treatment resulted in the loss of a testicle.

Mr A was sent home from school with vomiting, pain and swelling in his right scrotum. He saw a locum GP the following day who diagnosed epididymitis (an inflammation) and attributed his sickness to a winter virus. This doctor advised Mr A to wear a scrotal support and sent him home with a course of antibiotics. His mother was told to contact the GP surgery in a week’s time if the symptoms persisted.

Over the next seven days Mr A’s symptoms of pain, swelling of the right testicle and vomiting did not improve. His pain was not relieved by pain killers and he struggled to walk. His mother contacted the surgery to request an urgent review. This time Mr A was seen by a different GP who suspected testicular torsion and immediately arranged an ambulance to transport him to a Bedfordshire hospital.

Mr A underwent a right sided orchidectomy and a left orchidoplexy. The right testicle which was unsalvageable had to be removed. After a short spell out of hospital, Mr A was re-admitted with a wound infection. He required a course of antibiotics and regular wound dressing.

Rosaline Wong obtained supportive medical evidence from an expert GP and a paediatric surgeon. Both experts were of the view that the locum GP was negligent in making a presumptive diagnosis of epididymitis. Mr A‘s condition should never have been treated conservatively. He should have been referred for an urgent surgical assessment. Had he been seen within six hours of developing his symptoms, there was a chance to save his testicle. The case was settled for £17,000 which covers future costs of a prosthetic implant.

Mr A’s mother comments: ”I would like to alert parents to the fact that testicular pain in a young boy needs to be taken seriously. There appears to be a lack of awareness of testicular torsion so I urge parents to look out for the warning signs of this condition and be aware that losing a testicle can affect their child psychologically”.

Rosaline Wong adds: “Many parents would accept a doctor’s advice to wait for the antibiotics to take effect so it is understandable that they might hesitate to ask for a review. Mr A was negligently diagnosed with epididymitis despite presenting with symptoms of testicular torsion which is a medical emergency where the blood supply to the testicle is cut off. The appropriate course of management was to refer this young man for an urgent surgical assessment because unless blood supply is restored it can lead to loss of the testicle. Time is of the essence in diagnosing and treating testicular torsion to give patients the best possible outcome. By the time Mr A was admitted to hospital, the window of opportunity to save his testicle had passed since the success rates to save the testis decline with time from the onset of symptoms. Had his condition been correctly diagnosed and treated promptly his right testicle would probably have been saved.”

Mr A and his mother said: ”We would like to thank Rosaline Wong for obtaining a settlement. We are so impressed with the outstanding service you provided for us. You are a true professional who guided us through this arduous process and always gave us hope. We commend you for this. We will recommend you to anyone we know or hear of who needs assistance in this field”.

If you have any concerns about treatment for testicular torsion then please contact the Ashtons Legal medical injury team for further advice.