Claiming Compensation For Misdiagnosis
Most medical negligence claims are made when surgery has not been performed to the recognised standards; these are due to professionals making medical errors. There are also cases where negligence can occur without any surgery being involved and these are known as misdiagnosis claims. Medical negligence can cause unnecessary pain or disruption and in some cases can have traumatic effects on a person’s health.
Medical misdiagnosis occurs when a GP fails to recognise an injury or illness in a patient based on their symptoms. This can be a failure to recognise a broken bone, dismissing it as a fracture and then the break gradually worsens causing the patient permanent damage. Or it could be a misdiagnosis of a disease, sending the patient away with medication when really they need a hospital referral.
If you complain of a problem to your GP and are sent away with medication and told not to worry – this usually is the case. Although on some occasions patients visit their GP several times to be told they’re being anxious and there are no serious problems only to later find out from specialists they are seriously ill. Then there is the worry of urgent medical and surgical referral.
There are many cases where doctors have failed to notice obvious signs and instead of sending you for a referral, send you home with antibiotics and put symptoms down to anxiety. To make your claim you need evidence that your illness could have been prevented (or wouldn’t have progressed) if you had been diagnosed correctly by your GP. It is often difficult to prove these claims, and they can be a stressful process if the disease or injury has become more apparent or severe.
To claim for a misdiagnosis case you need to prove that your illness would not have occurred, or would not have been as severe if you had been referred for treatment straight away. The crucial element is whether earlier treatment would have had a better than 50% chance of succeeding – this has to proven otherwise your claim will not stand up in court. Courts will under no circumstances reward compensation unless they have solid evidence that an earlier operation would have led to a better outcome. This can be a difficult process for claimants and you will be offered support throughout every step of your medical negligence claim.
Misdiagnosis negligence can also occur in hospitals (not just with your doctor), there are cases where patients have been referred to hospitals, tests have been done and the patient has been sent away with a clean bill of health. In unfortunate cases the patient has gone back to hospital with even more severe symptoms and it has been too late to operate. There are also unfortunate cases where a next of kin can claim for compensation after the death of a relative due to misdiagnosis medical negligence.
Claims can also be made against incorrect diagnosis, for example, a sprain being diagnosed as a fracture and then further damage occurring. Or in rare cases, a patient being diagnosed as having a serious disease when it is not the case.
Author Bio: Ian Grainger is writing on behalf of Pearson Hinchliffe Solicitors, experts in medical negligence claims and medical negligence compensation.
Category: Advice
Keywords: medical negligence, medical negligence claims, medical negligence compensation, misdiagnosis