Hip Replacement Claims

According to statistics published by the National Joint Registry, a staggering 160,000 patients undergo knee and hip replacement surgery in England and Wales per year. Most of these surgeries are carried out without a hitch, but hip replacements do carry a certain amount of risk.

In some unfortunate cases, patients receive an inadequate level of care, and medical negligence can lead to injury and trauma.

Victims often experience post-surgery discomfort, including chronic pain, nerve injury, and dislocation. Further surgery may even be required to correct the complications.

If you have suffered a hip replacement injury, you may be eligible to make a hip replacement compensation claim.

To speak to an experienced legal adviser, call free on 0800 470 0474 or enter your details into our online claim form. You will be provided with a free and without obligation consultation to determine if you have a valid claim.

Find out if you can claim

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By submitting this form you agree to be contacted by our partners. Find out how we handle your data in our privacy policy. With no win no fee you typically pay 25% of your compensation if your claim is successful, but the fee can vary. Termination fees may apply if you fail to co-operate with your solicitor.

Table of Contents

• What is a hip replacement claim?
• What can go wrong with a hip replacement?
• How to make a hip replacement surgery claim?
• What are the symptoms of a failed hip replacement?
• What treatment options are available for a failed hip replacement?
• Is there a time limit for hip replacement claims?
• How much compensation will I receive for hip replacement negligence?
• How much will it cost to make a hip replacement claim?
• Start a medical negligence claim today!

This guide will show you what to do if you have been a victim of a hip replacement gone wrong.

What is a hip replacement claim?

Let’s first consider what a hip replacement is. As per the NHS, a hip replacement is ”a common surgery to replace a damaged hip joint with an artificial joint, also commonly known as an implant.”

The procedure usually becomes necessary when a hip joint becomes worn over time, reducing the sufferer’s mobility and impacting their quality of sleep. Fractures, arthritis, and osteoporosis are also common conditions that can necessitate hip replacement surgery.

If your hip replacement surgery wasn’t performed correctly or mistakes were made that caused you to suffer needless and avoidable pain, you may have a valid claim against the healthcare provider.

Making a successful hip replacement claim will compensate you for the pain and financial losses you have suffered due to medical negligence.

What can go wrong with a hip replacement?

Hip replacement surgery is a complicated procedure that requires needlepoint precision. Negligence can occur in any number of areas. Some of these scenarios can include;

• DePuy ASR – This refers to the early failure of DePuy metal on metal hip replacements and resurfacings. In this case, a personal injury solicitor can assist you in making a metal hip replacement claim.
• Metal-on-ceramic – Metal femoral heads are fitted against ceramic sockets, which can lead to more rapid wear and tear.
• Incorrect sizing – This happens when the femoral head (or the ball) of the hip replacement is too large or too small for the cup.
• Steeply fitted sockets – If the sockets are fitted too steeply, it can lead to early hip failure to both the joint and surrounding muscles.
• Infection – Surgeons should deal with signs of infection immediately. Infection after a hip replacement can lead to complete failure of the replacement and joint failure.
• Kidney failure – Metal on metal hip replacements should only be performed on patients with healthy kidney function. Healthy kidneys are essential to excrete the wear and tear debris from metal hip replacements.
• Difference in leg length – This does not happen often, but some patients have been left with a noticeable difference between the length of their operated versus non-operated leg. This can severely affect walking and lead to back pain, and remedial surgery will often be required to correct this.
• Fractures and dislocation – During surgery, the femur or thigh bone may have already been broken while the stem was being attached to the implant.
• Nerve damage – Any surgery carries a certain risk of nerve damage, and surgeons have a duty of care to mitigate the risk as far as possible.

This list of hip replacement negligence is by no means extensive. Some complications are more easily corrected than others, but at worst, a botched hip replacement can impact a patient’s mobility permanently.

This can not only cause considerable pain and suffering, but it can also affect a person’s ability to work, enjoy hobbies and look after themselves and their family.

If you have had a hip replacement failure and feel that medical negligence may have played a role, you could be eligible to claim hip injury compensation.

To find out if you have a valid claim, call 0800 470 0474 or use our online claim form to request a call back.

How to make a hip replacement surgery claim?

As with any personal injury claim, you will need to prove that you have suffered injury through no fault of your own at the hands of another party.

A successful hip replacement compensation claim could be based on the negligence of the medical practitioner that performed the surgery or the manufacturer of the artificial hip.

Medical negligence claims can be complicated, so for the best chance of success, reach out to a personal injury solicitor to take care of the details on your behalf.

Your solicitor will take the time to assess the details of your case and determine if the duty of care owed to you was breached. They will look at the following areas to establish the validity of your claim:

• The necessity of the hip replacement
• Whether or not alternative treatments were an option, and if it was discussed with you
• The explanation of the potential risks associated with hip replacements
• If the surgery was performed in accordance with the relevant standards

Once they have reviewed all the aspects of your case, they will advise you on how they can help with your claim.

If you decide to go ahead, your solicitor will take your case on a no win no fee* basis. This means there are no upfront costs, and you won’t pay a penny if they are unable to win your claim.

What are the symptoms of a failed hip replacement?

As with most surgical procedures, hip replacement surgery will require a recovery period. During this recuperation time, some pain and discomfort may be experienced, which is entirely natural and expected.

How long this period lasts will usually depend on your age and overall health. But once the expected recovery period has passed, you should look out for the following signs that may indicate a failed hip replacement:

• Immobility in the hip
• Intensive pain that gets worse over time when you walk or move
• Excessive swelling around the incision area
• Bruises that won’t heal
• Hip dislocation
• Blurred vision
• A “popping” sound of the hip whenever you move

If your doctor suspects that your hip replacement didn’t go quite as it should have, they can run a test to look for high levels of chromium or cobalt in your bloodstream. This is a quick way to determine the status of the hip replacement, and high levels are usually a sign of trouble.

What treatment options are available for a failed hip replacement?

Unfortunately, there aren’t many non-invasive treatment options available when hip surgery goes wrong. In most cases, the only real solution is corrective surgery.

Undergoing another surgical procedure will likely require more downtime to heal and recuperate. Depending on your circumstances, this could hit you financially by being unable to work for several weeks or even months.

Your personal injury solicitor will take this into consideration when calculating how much compensation you should be entitled to. After all, you shouldn’t be left out of pocket due to somebody else’s negligence.

Is there a time limit for hip replacement claims?

The limit to make a personal injury claim is three years from the date of the accident. With a hip replacement claim, the date that this time limit begins to count down is slightly different.

This is because it could be weeks, months or even years before you find out that you have been the victim of medical negligence.

Before this point, you may believe that the pain and suffering you experience is part of the normal healing process or just that you have been unlucky.

So in these cases, your limitation period (how long you have to start your claim) will start ticking from when you first became aware that your hip replacement surgery may have been performed negligently.

In the case of minors, they have three years from the date of their 18th birthday to make a hip replacement compensation claim if a parent or guardian has not already initiated the claim on their behalf.

In some exceptional circumstances, the courts may grant an extension. However, this is pretty rare and does require a strong reason for the delay.

It is in your best interests to contact a medical negligence solicitor sooner rather than later to initiate proceedings.

For a friendly chat with an experienced legal adviser, call 0800 470 0474 or request a call back using our online claim form. They will answer any questions you may have and let you know if you are eligible to make a claim.

How much compensation will I receive for hip replacement negligence?

Hip replacement issues can have a devastating effect on a person before, during or after surgery. Pain and discomfort aside, you may also suffer from significant financial losses.

Considering all the potential complications of a hip replacement, calculating a hip replacement compensation claim is not as clear-cut as some other personal injury claims.

The amount of compensation you will receive is not fixed, but depends on the unique factors of your case. Payouts can range anywhere between a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of pounds. This is based on the severity and impact of your injuries, as well as the financial consequences this has caused.

To determine how much compensation you claim is worth, your solicitor will make an assessment for both general and special damages.

• General damages will factor in the severity of the injury, the duration and how it impacted your life.
• Special damages will aim to recoup any financial losses you may have suffered from your hip replacement and includes loss of earnings (current and future), medical costs, accommodation adjustments, and so on.

How much will it cost to make a hip replacement claim?

After a free consultation with a personal injury solicitor, they will advise you on the strength and validity of your claim.

The good news here is that if they believe that you have solid grounds to apply for hip replacement surgery compensation, you will not have to pay anything out of your pocket.

Your personal injury solicitor will operate on a no win no fee basis, so you will not be charged with any upfront or hidden legal costs. Instead, your solicitor will only take an agreed portion of your compensation if they win your case, which is capped at a maximum of 25%.

If the solicitor cannot win your claim, you won’t pay them a penny. This enables you to start your injury claim without putting yourself at any financial risk.

Start a medical negligence claim today!

If your hip replacement has gone wrong, and you don’t know where to start, call 0800 470 0474 for a free consultation with a legal adviser. Alternatively, you can enter your contact details on our online form, and someone will contact you shortly.

The solicitors we work with have years of experience in representing clients who have suffered at the hands of medical negligence, including for failed hip replacements.

You can find out within minutes if you have a valid claim, and if you do, a solicitor will be able to take your case on a no win no fee basis.