Hip Replacement Claims

Have you experienced clinical negligence prior to a hip replacement procedure, during the operation, or in aftercare? If so, you should contact our medical negligence solicitors at Healys, to see whether you have a valid and viable claim.

According to the National Joint Registry (NJR), there are approximately 160,000 hip and knee replacement operations undertaken across 400 hospitals in England and Wales annually.

The majority of these surgical procedures go well, and patients usually enjoy a better quality of life after they have recovered from the operation.

However, some people suffer clinical negligence and could choose to claim compensation with help from a medical negligence solicitor.

Joint replacement procedures – the facts and figures

The NHS website states that the three most common reasons for a hip replacement operation are osteoarthritis (caused by wear and tear), rheumatoid arthritis (caused by the immune system), or a hip fracture.

This operation became available in the 1960s and, since then, medical practices and knowledge have improved no end.

Indeed, a 2013 BBC article stated that The Lancet had found mortality rates in the 90 days following this surgical procedure had reduced by 50% from 2003 to 2011.

Furthermore, data from the NJR supported this, showing that, whereas out of the 24,723 people who underwent the procedure in 2004, 139 patients died within 90 days of surgery – just 164 patients died within 90 days out of 60,727 hip operation patients in 2011.

Reasons for the improved survival rate were thought to be the use of spinal anaesthetic during surgery, treatment to prevent blood clots, higher quality post-operative care, and changes in the practice of physiotherapy.

As well as this, more recent generations of elderly patients – who are more likely to need hip replacements than younger individuals – are generally healthier than previous generations.

So, what can go wrong?

Sadly, not everyone receives the level of care they should from doctors and other hospital staff.

Some people suffer unnecessary pain and discomfort following their hip operations after the prosthesis fitted is the wrong size, wrongly positioned, or another preventable mistake is made by professionals.

This is likely to mean that the patient requires a further operation to rectify the problem.

Other individuals might even lose their lives after being given incorrect pre-operative advice, suffering clinical negligence on the operating table, or receiving poor after-care.

Could you be entitled to claim?

If you suffered pain or lost earnings due to medical negligence before, during, or after your hip replacement surgery, you could be entitled to claim compensation with the help of professional medical negligence solicitors Healys.

You might also be able to receive compensation with our help if you have lost a family member through negligent medical treatment.