Charcot arthropathy (also known as ‘Charcot foot’) is a potentially serious condition which can develop in some people with diabetes. It happens when a small injury, or an infection, causes severe complications because they’re unable to feel or notice the symptoms.
If left untreated, the joints in the foot can dislocate and collapse. So early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent damage, and to avoid complications like ulcers and amputations.
We recently acted for Sharon* where both her GP and her local hospital repeatedly failed to diagnose her Charcot foot. Their failures meant the joints in her left foot were allowed to dislocate, leaving her with a life changing injury. Thankfully, after a strongly fought case, we were able to settle her claim for £950,000 – which meant that she could move to more suitable accommodation and also retire early.
What went wrong?
Sharon was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2004, and since 2014 her feet were assessed as being at risk of potential complications.
On 13 September 2018 she went to her GP after suffering for a few days with severe pain and swelling in her lower left leg and ankle. She was referred to hospital where they carried out some investigations, which ruled out Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and she was told to come back in a weeks’ time.
When she went back, she was still suffering with pain and swelling. They thought that she might have nerve damage caused by her diabetes, and they prescribed some medication to reduce the swelling and pain. However no other investigations were arranged, and she was passed back to the care of her GP.
In the coming weeks, Sharon saw and spoke to her GPs 12 more times as her symptoms were not going away. She even kept a photo diary of her foot during this period, as she thought something was wrong.
Eventually, over three months later, one of her GPs suspected that she might have Charcot foot and sent her to hospital to have an urgent x-ray.
The x-ray confirmed she had Charcot foot, and she was referred to an orthopaedic specialist – where she started appropriate treatment straight away.
Sharon’s delayed diagnosis compensation claim
Sharon first approached Enable Law in 2019, when she was still recovering and had not yet returned to work. She had approached other solicitors, but Sharon felt that they did not have the specialist expertise to deal with her case.
After she made contact, we instructed independent medical experts (a GP and a Consultant Diabetologist) to review the care she received. They were critical of the care from both her GP and the hospital. They concluded that the care provided was negligent and, had she been investigated sooner (in September or October), then she would have avoided the significant damage she went on to suffer to the bones in her foot.
Based on their advice we set out the allegations to the GP / hospital in early 2020. In their responses, both the GP and the hospital admitted that the care they provided was negligent – and that it had meant Sharon had suffered a ‘poorer outcome’ (when compared to the outcome if she had been diagnosed sooner). They however required Sharon to prove exactly how much worse her outcome was because of the delay.
We therefore got more further evidence from several other medical experts to confirm;
- the extent of her injury,
- how much worse it was because of the delay, and
- what could be done to help Sharon deal with the impact of her injury, so we could secure the right compensation for her.
After holding meetings with all the experts, it was apparent that the risk Sharon might need a below knee amputation had been increased because of the delayed diagnosis. However, when discussing this with the solicitors for the hospital and GP, their view was that this was not the case – as they believed that the delay hadn’t made her injury much worse.
As it was clear they weren’t going to change their position, we formally started the claim at Court in 2023. As the hospital’s failure to diagnose Sharon was before the GP’s, the claim was pursued just against the hospital. They were therefore the only ‘Defendant’ in the claim.
During the next two years of the Court claim, we exchanged reports from the medical experts with the Defendant – and also shared our valuations of the compensation Sharon was entitled to.
The medical experts disagreed on some key points, and the valuations also varied significantly; the Defendant valued it at £155,000 (even though we had already secured Sharon interim compensation of £245,000 from the Defendant to pay for her immediate needs).
A trial was due to take place on 1 October 2025, but we met with the Defendant’s solicitors in June 2025 to see if we could reach a settlement. It ultimately wasn’t possible to reach a settlement on the day, but a few weeks after the meeting the Defendant made an offer of £950,000 – which was accepted by Sharon.
What does this mean for our client?
Sharon’s foot injury had a massive impact on her life. It significantly limited how far she was able to walk, and how long she could stand for. It also had a big impact on her relationships with family and friends, she had to reduce the time she spent at work, and she was more reliant on her family to help and support her with household work.
The compensation she received therefore meant that she could keep paying for professional help with cleaning and gardening, allowed her to retire early, and meant that she could look for suitable single storey accommodation – with her plan to move with her husband to a new build property in Spain.
The result demonstrates that, if we hadn’t helped Sharon to fight her case or if she had chosen less specialised solicitors to represent her, then the Defendant would have been happy to pay Sharon a fraction of the compensation she was entitled to.
How we can help you
At Enable Law we have a dedicated team of medical negligence solicitors who have a deep understanding of diabetes care and the impact a delayed referral to specialist care can have on a patient. If you or a loved one have concerns about the care you have received it is important to get legal advice to help you understand if what happened was negligent and whether you may be entitled to compensation to help you deal with the implications your injuries have had in your life. To have a completely free, confidential and no obligation discussion with Morgan Lister or another member of our expert team call us on 0800 044 8488 or fill in our contact form so we can call you back at a time convenient for you. We have a big network of professionals and charity contacts we work alongside of so if nothing else we may be able to point you towards the direction of others that can help you so by getting in touch you have nothing to lose and many things to gain.
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