Missed & undiagnosed fracture compensation claims

What is a missed fracture?

A broken bone or fracture is not always easy to spot. Often, we'll hurt ourselves and assume things will naturally heal. But if you're in pain and there's swelling after a bump or fall, or you're adapting the way you move to avoid feeling sore, it's important that you go to a medical professional. 

If you go to your GP in the first instance, they are responsible for examining you and prescribing treatment, or referring you to a specialist for additional assessments. Once you see a specialist, they have a duty to conduct the correct tests in a thorough way, and to then interpret the results. From there, they must treat you. 

If any of these stages being performed by the medical professionals aren't carried out or things are not thoroughly checked, you could end up with a missed fracture or a misdiagnosis that sets you on the path to the wrong treatment. This means that medical negligence has potentially taken place. 

Perhaps you have a missed scaphoid or elbow fracture and you're struggling to use your arm and hand. Or maybe you're trying to walk on an undiagnosed ankle fracture. Whatever the injury, if it remains undetected it can leave you unable to get on with your day-to-day life. 

Causes of a missed fracture

There are many ways a GP or hospital could have missed a fracture. Here are some common examples:

• Doctors failing to recognise your injury as a fracture
• Misinterpretation of x-ray results
• An x-ray being carried out incorrectly
• A fracture diagnosed as a strain or sprain instead

If your experience isn't mentioned here or doesn't seem familiar, don't worry. The team here at National Accident Helpline may still be able to help you seek compensation for misdiagnosis of a fracture.

What are the symptoms of a missed fracture?

Your fracture may have been missed because your symptoms didn't suggest this when you were examined. 

Whatever the reason for your misdiagnosis, certain symptoms indicate you could have a missed fracture. These include: 

• Pain
• Swelling
• A cracking or grinding noise when you were injured
• Limited mobility
• Inability to operate the affected area
• Bruising 
• Tenderness

If any of these symptoms seem familiar and you've not been diagnosed with a fracture, it's worth seeking a second medical opinion. This is especially important if you've been in pain for a while and your condition isn't improving or is getting worse.

Can a fracture be missed during an X-ray?

It is possible for a fracture to be missed by an X-ray. For example, the radiologist could have missed your scaphoid fracture and told you that you'd sprained your wrist. 

The fracture line can be so faint that it might not show up on a standard machine, or it could be that you have fractured an area of the body that's difficult to read. A hairline fracture can be difficult to spot. 

X-rays display two-dimensional pictures of bones, so not everything is always visible. For this reason, X-rays alone can't always be relied on when investigating a missed fracture injury. 

A tiny bone such as the scaphoid in the wrist is one of the most common missed fractures. This is because it's a bone that often doesn't show up on a scan. So, if you have experienced an undiagnosed scaphoid fracture, it could be down to the X-ray not picking it up.

What are the different types of fracture?

As we have over 200 bones in our body, there are a lot of different types of fracture that can occur. Here are some of them: 

Missed fractures in the leg and foot  

• Toe
• Knee
• Metatarsal 
• Fibula
• Patella

Missed fractures in the arm and hand

• Hand
• Finger
• Growth plate
• Elbow
• Radius 

Other types of fracture in the body

• Pelvic
• Rib
• Clavicle
• Neck
• Hip

If you think that you've been given a misdiagnosis get in touch with us or call . We'll listen to your situation and advise whether you may be able to make a claim for a missed fracture.

What are the main complications of a fracture?

While many fractures heal on their own, some can lead to complications if left untreated. This can include damage to the nerves surrounding your missed fracture or it can lead to compartment syndrome, which is where blood flow is restricted due to a swelling in the tissue surrounding the fracture. Both issues can require surgery to repair the damage. 

Other problems caused by a missed fracture diagnosis include joint complaints or abnormal healing, leading to something known as ‘malunion', which is where the bone doesn't heal correctly. 

One of the biggest concerns is that an undiagnosed fracture can ultimately cause osteoarthritis. This can cause your joints to be damaged over time, causing you pain. 

Age is a key factor in how a patient recovers too. Older people may have health conditions that can compromise the strength of their bones. So, if they fall, they are more likely to suffer a fracture. This is known as a ‘fragility fracture'. 

If you're older and you've had an undiagnosed fracture, you must seek medical attention. Should this diagnosis have been missed, you may also have a case for medical negligence and, in this instance, it's worth speaking to us about making a claim.

How common are missed fractures?

In 2018/19, there were 1,147,822 Emergency Department (ED) attendances where the primary diagnosis was classified as dislocation, fracture, joint injury or amputation. This accounts for 5.1% of total attendances to ED.

Limb fractures were most commonly missed in 2020/21. The lower limb group experienced undiagnosed fractures most frequently, and within this, the hip was the single most common missed fracture site.

Can you sue for a missed fracture?

We understand how difficult it can be to know whether you could claim for a missed fracture. The best way to find out is to get in touch with us or arrange a call back.

Our friendly helpline advisors will listen to everything you say about your missed fracture injury and can let you know if you're able to claim.

Generally, we're able to help you make a claim if the negligent treatment caused your fracture or symptoms to get worse. All medical staff have a ‘duty of care' to treat you to the best of their ability, and without causing you further harm.

How much compensation could I receive?

We look at each case on an individual basis. This is because we want to make sure you can get the full amount of missed fracture compensation you're entitled to. 

Every case is different, so we can't tell you how much you can claim before starting. However, you can try our compensation calculator to get an idea of how much you might receive. Your undiagnosed fracture solicitor will have a better idea of what you could be owed once they have more details about your case.

If you win your claim, the missed fracture compensation amount you receive will be in line with the Judicial College Guidelines.

How will my missed fracture compensation amount be determined?

The amount of compensation you could be awarded for the misdiagnosis of a fracture will be split into general damages and special damages:

Special damages

Special damages cover more ascertainable losses such as the costs of treatment and other medical expenses, as well as wages lost due to time off work during your recovery.

General damages

Intangible losses such as the pain or trauma you have experienced because of your missed fracture are classed as general damages.

Can I make a claim against the NHS for a missed fracture?

Yes, if an NHS healthcare specialist or doctor missed a broken bone or missed a scaphoid fracture, for example, you could have a claim. NHS medical negligence claims aren't uncommon and you are entitled to make a claim if you have a valid case.

Claims made against the NHS are handled by NHS Resolution, which is a specialist health service insurer. The latest statistics in its 2022/2023 Annual Report show that the NHS received 13,511 medical negligence claims - around 37 claims a day.

Although it's understandable to feel uncomfortable about making a claim against the NHS, it's important to remember that it sets aside part of the NHS budget to create a separate pot used for claims. This is the money that would be used to settle an NHS missed fracture claim.

How can compensation help me?

If your fracture has been missed, you may have had to undergo more medical treatment to put it right. This can be expensive, especially if you paid for private treatment.

Other costs, such as travel to and from hospital, and accommodation for friends and family, can add to the financial pressure.

Our specialist solicitors will take all the costs and impacts of your injury into consideration when putting together your claim, and they'll work hard to help you seek the compensation you need to get things back to how they were.

For example, they'll consider:

• Lost earnings from time taken off work
• The effect your injury has had on your family
• Any social activities or hobbies you missed because of your missed fracture
• Any medication costs, private medical treatment or adaptations to your home
• Travel and accommodation costs

Should you win your claim, your compensation can also help to cover the future impacts of your injury.

Is there a time limit on making a claim for a missed fracture?

Generally speaking, the time limit for making missed fracture compensation claims is three years from the moment you realised that you may have been treated negligently. There are some exceptions - for example:

• If you're making a claim for a child, there's no time limit up to their 18th birthday. After they turn 18 years old, they have three years as a legal adult until their 21st birthday to make the claim.
• There's no upper time limit if you're claiming for someone who, for whatever reason, lacks the mental ability to make a missed fracture claim. As stated in the Mental Capacity Act 2005, a person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that they lack capacity. If you're unsure, please don't hesitate to give us a call and we can help.

If you're coming to the end of the three-year limit and want to begin a claim, get in touch with us as soon as possible.

Why choose National Accident Helpline to help make a claim?

• We will only ever contact you if you seek our support in the first place.
• We have access to a wide network of specialist lawyers across the UK, including missed fracture solicitors.

• We'll choose the right solicitor for your case, taking additional weight off your shoulders.
• The solicitor firms we work with are signed up to either the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Law Society of Scotland.
• We founded the Ethical Marketing Charter, so that we can help to maintain ethical marketing practices in the personal injury claims sector.
• Our 'Excellent' rating comes from well over 20,000 independent reviews on Trustpilot.

Get more information about a missed or undiagnosed fracture claim

To seek compensation for a misdiagnosed or missed fracture, get in touch with our specialist team on or fill in the form below.

We'll find out what happened to you before letting you know what the next steps are. We can help you begin the process of moving past what happened.