Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Feb;80(1):78-82.
doi: 10.1080/17453670902805080.

Injuries as a result of treatment of tibial fractures in children: Claims for compensation submitted to the Patient Insurance Center in Finland

Sauli Palmu  1 , Reijo Paukku, Mervi K Mäyränpää, Jari Peltonen, Yrjänä Nietosvaara
Affiliations

Injuries as a result of treatment of tibial fractures in children: Claims for compensation submitted to the Patient Insurance Center in Finland

Sauli Palmu et al. Acta Orthop. 2009 Feb.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Tibial fractures comprise 10% of all fractures in children. To our knowledge there have been no previous reports of treatment injuries in these fractures. We analyzed compensation claims concerning treatment of these fractures in Finland. We used this information to determine preventable causes of treatment injuries.

Material and methods: In Finland, the Patient Insurance Center (PIC) provides financial compensation for patients who have sustained an injury in connection with medical treatment or operation. We retrospectively analyzed all claims for compensation arising from treatment of tibial fractures in children that had been received by the PIC between 1997 and 2004. The mode of treatment, complications, and permanent sequelae were assessed. We also estimated the number of avoidable treatment injuries.

Results and interpretation: The PIC received 50 claims for compensation during the 8-year study period. The claims were based on the following issues: pain, incorrect diagnosis and treatment, permanent disability, extra treatment expenses, inappropriate behavior of the medical personnel, and loss of income of the parents. 35/50 claims had received compensation, of which 32 were related to the treatment and 3 to infections. The treatment injuries that had led to compensation comprised a delay in diagnosis and treatment in 15 patients, inappropriate casting in 9, inappropriate operative treatment in 5, and other causes in 3 patients. An unsatisfactory standard of treatment and missed diagnosis were the most common reasons for compensation. In restrospect, all but 1 of the 35 injuries that had led to compensation were considered to be avoidable.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The claims-handling process of the Patient Insurance Center.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Compensation rates by method of treatment after pediatric tibial fracture treatment. no: no treatment initially; nonop.: nonoperative treatment; op.: operative treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Blount WP. Injuries of the leg and ankle. In: Blount WP. Fractures in children. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. 1955:183–4.
    1. Goodwin RC, Gaynor T, Mahar A, Oka R, Lalonde FD. Intramedullary flexible nail fixation of unstable pediatric tibial diaphyseal fractures. J Ped Orthop. 2005;25(5):570–6. - PubMed
    1. Gordon JE, Gregush RV, Schoenecker PL, Dobbs MB, Luhmann SJ. Complications after titanium elastic nailing of pediatric tibial fractures. J Pediatr Orthop. 2007;27(4):442–6. - PubMed
    1. Grimard G, Naudie D, Laberge LC, Hamdy RC. Open fractures of the tibia in children. Clin Orthop. 1996;(332):62–70. - PubMed
    1. Hansen BA, Greiff J, Bergmann F. Fractures of the tibia in children. Acta Orthop Scand. 1976;47:448–53. - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources