Neck injury was much worse than doctors initially diagnosed
Staff from Stirling Royal Infirmary have apologised to a Scottish teenager who was sent home from the hospital with a diagnosis of whiplash when he in fact had a broken neck.
The student was in so much pain from his "whiplash" that he fainted. Despite this he was given a leaflet detailing exercises for neck injury sufferers, as well as some ibuprofen and co-codamol.
A correct diagnosis was only established several weeks later when the boy visited an osteopath who promptly sent him to be x-rayed.
He sustained the injury in a road traffic accident in which he rolled his car into a verge.
There is no official comment yet as to whether the teenager will make a compensation claim against the hospital for his whiplash misdiagnosis.
*Where replacement vehicle costs can be recovered from the insurance company of the person who caused the accident.
Where this person is untraceable or uninsured, or where there is a dispute over liability, a replacement vehicle cannot
be provided.
