Our client, Joanne Aldridge, was seriously injured by surgery carried out by Mr Mian Munawar Shah, an orthopaedic surgeon who practices at Walsall Manor Hospital.
Jo had a tennis elbow release which Mr Shah tried to perform by keyhole surgery privately on 26 April 2010. She was discharged the following morning without Mr Shah speaking to her, despite being in severe pain, with limited function in her arm.
She was only able to see Mr Shah at his NHS clinics where he advised that he had not done anything wrong, had not cut anything and that no damage had been caused to the nerves, although there had been no suggestion by our client that he had.
Mr Shah told her GP that she had suffered a stroke as a result of the anaesthetic. This was felt to be very unlikely and the GP made an immediate referral for an urgent second opinion from a specialist.
Jo was found to have suffered a complete tear in her radial nerve. She had expert surgery from a hand surgeon to repair and graft her nerve and tendons. She regained some limited use and sensation of her arm and hand. The delay in treatment caused by Mr Shah failing to admit to cutting her radial nerve probably caused a worse outcome to her remedial treatment. There was no evidence of her having suffered a stroke.
Since the second operation, Jo has had very little function in her dominant right arm. She can’t work and it is very difficult to carry out the normal activities of daily living. She suffers from severe nerve pain in her arm and her very high requirement for painkillers affects her thinking and concentration.
We assisted Jo with making a complaint to Fitness to Practice at the General Medical Council (GMC - reg no 4664338) in 2016 but the GMC refused to investigate because they said that the complaint was out of time and that there was nothing obviously out of the ordinary about the nature of the complaint or the issues it raised to justify extending the time limit. However, in 2021 the GMC imposed conditions on his registration.
We have serious concerns that the GMC did not act in 2016, but were clearly concerned to subsequently impose conditions on his practice to include supervision when performing certain procedures. The case was handled by Nick Tubb, partner in the Serious Injury team in our Birmingham office.
If you are one of Mr Shah’s patients and you have concerns about the treatment you received, contact us for a free and confidential discussion. You can call us on 0370 086 8688 or send us a message.
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust has also set up a helpline for patients. You can contact them on 01922 604631 or email [email protected]. Further details about the support the trust is offering can be found here: Support for patients during review - Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
Coverage
BBC News
Hundreds recalled over shoulder op concerns at Walsall hospital (bbc.co.uk)
BBC Midlands Today
BBC iPlayer - Midlands Today - Evening News: 26/09/2022
The Daily Telegraph
Shoulder surgeon may have put hundreds of patients at risk as decade of complaints revealed (telegraph.co.uk)
Birmingham Mail
Walsall Manor Hospital surgeon suspended as hundreds of patients to be recalled over operation concerns - Birmingham Live (birminghammail.co.uk)
The Express & Star
Hundreds recalled over shoulder op concerns at Walsall hospital as surgeon suspended | Express & Star (expressandstar.com)
Disclaimer
This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before acting on any of the information given. © Shoosmiths LLP 2024
