Woman threatens to sue hospital over leg injury

It has been over one year and 63-year-old Radica Ali has not been able to work because of a badly healed leg fracture that prevents her from standing for long periods. She is claiming this was caused by the negligence of doctors at the PoS General Hospital (PoSGH). Ali’s problems started in March 2003 when she fractured her leg in a vehicular accident. She was taken to the orthopaedic ward at the PoSGH, and her open-flesh wounds were cleaned and dressed. She was then treated with antibiotics, a cast was placed on her foot and, after eight days, she was discharged.

However, Ali explained, she had to return to the hospital on several occasions to complain about the excruciating pain she was having. After an examination, it was revealed that her wound was infected and parts of her foot had already started to rot. The cast was removed, the infection treated and another cast was put on her leg and she was sent home, but within days, she explained, she had to return because of the continued pain. “They changed the cast about twice again because they said the position of the bone was unsatisfactory,” Ali said. She added that a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the hospital did an x-ray and told her that surgery had to be done to straighten the bone in her leg but because of the long waiting list at the hospital, it could not be performed then.

“I had to stop working because of the pain I would get,” she said, “I do servant work at different places and that includes scrubbing floors, cleaning windows and other things that require me to stand up for long hours.” She said to pay her rent of $1400 per month and take care of her sick husband, she started selling items in her house. Despite this, she continued going to the hospital and on each occasion was told the same thing- the waiting list was long and the surgery could not be done. However, some weeks later the cast was removed.