Investigation Underway into Orthopaedic Treatment at Great Ormond Street NHS Trust | Medical Negligence and Personal Injury Blog

Parents of children who have undergone orthopaedic treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) will have been very concerned to read the Sunday Times news article ( 8th September 2024) regarding the medical practice of surgeon Mr Yaser Jabbar.

Initial investigations by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has apparently confirmed that they are a number of concerns regarding the orthopaedic treatment provided to children from babies to teens by this surgeon.

GOSH commenced their investigation regarding the surgeon some time ago and first wrote to families at the beginning of the year to advise that an investigation was being undertaken.

The Evening Standard reported that “Former consultant surgeon Yaser Jabbar, 43, who worked in its orthopaedic department, has been described by colleagues as “cavalier” and “blasé”. At least 22 children who underwent limb reconstruction surgery are known to have been harmed, according to a leaked report on the scandal by the Royal College of Surgeons.”

Some of the allegations involve the use of Ilizarov frames, used in limb reconstruction for young children. Kingsley Napley are familiar with this procedure and have acted in cases involving this treatment (albeit not against this hospital or this surgeon). We are familiar with the issues involving in proving negligence in relation to these cases. We have worked closely with independent experts who have the expertise to comment on such treatment.

Once again the culture of the NHS is likely to come under scrutiny with families reporting that:

“We tried to raise our concerns repeatedly through the official complaints procedure, and I copied the clinical director into many emails, but heard nothing back.”

The initial RCS report has apparently described the department where Yaser Jabbar worked as “dysfunctional”.

GOSH have publicly stated that they were told of concerns by fellow staff in June 2022 and immediately began the process to investigate those concerns and comply with their Duty of Candour to advise families of adverse events.

The GMC’s website indicates the orthopaedic surgeon was made the subject of certain conditions on January 4 – which included having a clinical supervisor at all times and seeking approval from the GMC before beginning work in a non-NHS post or setting. The questions that families will have is why their concerns (and any concerns by colleagues) were not investigated sooner.

Our solicitors are very experienced in acting sensitively and swiftly in claims involving children. We appreciate that trusting another professional can be hard after being let down or ignored.

The Legal 500 praised the quality of our team in the 2024 directory as follows;

“Cases are extremely well run, properly prepared, and sensibly litigated. The team has good industry knowledge, and enjoys the skills and resources to operate at the highest level.”

“A very capable and extremely dedicated team who go out of their way to achieve excellent results for their clients.”

If your child has been affected by the actions of Mr Jabbar then our solicitors would be very happy to discuss matters with you on a completely no obligation basis. The first step is a meeting with one of our specialist solicitors. If you decide not to proceed afterwards, we will not charge you.

Funding

If you wish to go ahead with a claim, there are usually a number of funding options. The most common is a “no win, no fee” agreement. Legal Aid is not available for paediatric orthopaedic cases.

Investigating your claim

We will gather and analyse evidence, such as medical expert reports and witness statements, to build your claim carefully and to calculate the amount of compensation. 

Further information

If you have any questions regarding this blog, please contact James Bell in our Medical Negligence and Personal Injury team. 

About the author

James Bell is the head of our Medical Negligence and Personal Injury practice and joined the firm in 2023 from Hodge, Jones & Allen. He has undertaken medical negligence and personal injury cases for over 30 years.