£16,500 obtained for damage to long thoracic nerve

Posted 24/05/2012

Medical injury lawyer Julie Crossley has obtained ?16,500 for a Cambridgeshire woman who was given treatment without proper explanation of the possible side effects and went on to suffer damage to her long thoracic nerve.Mrs R suffered neck and shoulder pains and was seen over a period of 18 months by an osteopath, a physiotherapist and a rheumatologist. Her condition did not improve and she was referred to a pain specialist who booked her in for facet joint and trigger point injections. The only information she was given was that she wouldn’t be able to drive for 24 hours after the treatment and she assumed she would be able to return to work the following day. On the day of the injections, the procedure was not explained to her before it took place and the only possible risk described to her was respiratory shock. She signed the consent form while lying on the theatre bed.Mrs R was discharged from hospital less than three hours after receiving the injections. For over a week after the procedure she was in severe pain and needed to remain lying down. Two weeks after the treatment her physiotherapist diagnosed long thoracic nerve palsy which was later confirmed by a nerve conduction test. Our allegation was that negligence during her treatment resulted in damage to her long thoracic nerve. She still continues to have limited movement in one arm and requires regular pain killers for headaches and pain her shoulders, neck and ribs.Julie Crossley comments: “It is a fundamental part of medical care that people should have possible side effects of treatment explained to them, and the likelihood of these side effects occurring. In this case, the failure to explain the risks was compounded by negligence during the procedure leaving Mrs R with a new set of pains to replace the old ones.”