Home > Accident Types > Medical Negligence > Clinical Negligence Misdiagnosis

 

Clinical Negligence – Misdiagnosis Compensation

If you or a member of your family has suffered as the result of a misdiagnosis through medical negligence, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.

Medical Misdiagnosis
Who Can Claim Compensation for Misdiagnosis?
Medical Negligence Compensation
Our Clinical Negligence Lawyers

Successful Misdiagnosis Compensation Claims

Medical Misdiagnosis

This term refers to the failure by a medical professional to recognise an injury or illness in a patient, based on their symptoms, and treat them accordingly.

Examples of this could include failure to recognise fractures on an x-ray or failure to diagnose conditions or diseases, such as a misdiagnosis of cancer. This kind of negligence can cause unnecessary pain and disruption or in some cases have devastating effects on a person’s health. An untreated fracture can leave a person requiring surgery, or with a permanent condition such as arthritis. In the most serious cases of undiagnosed illnesses the person may not even survive.

Although no amount of compensation can make up for a loss of good health or the loss of a loved one, it can help to make things easier and more comfortable for the future. Enlisting the help of a personal injury lawyer specialised in clinical negligence cases will ensure that your claim is pursued as effectively as possible to the best outcome.

[Back to Top]

Who Can Claim Compensation for Misdiagnosis?

Unfortunately, each year a number of people are misdiagnosed or have conditions that go altogether undiagnosed as a result of medical negligence. The main factor in assessing whether or not a victim is entitled to make a personal injury claim is how different the outcome would have been had the person received a correct diagnosis straight away.

In cases where a patient’s death is involved, the courts will usually rule in favour of the claimant if earlier treatment would have had chances of success of more than 50%.

Anyone who has endured pain and suffering as the result of a misdiagnosis, that would not have occurred had the diagnosis been correct, may be entitled to claim compensation. An expert clinical negligence lawyer, such as those employed by The Legal Line, will be able to assess the merits of each individual case and advise accordingly.

In every case, medical evidence will be required. It is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (what is know in law as negligence), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence.

[Back to Top]

Medical Negligence Compensation

There are two elements to a compensation award.

The first, called general damages, is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and any loss of amenity (perhaps an inability to wash your car, look after your garden, walk the dog). The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after a medical accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.

Whereas the first element of compensation cannot make you better and can only really apologise, the second element of a compensation award, for your losses and expenses,
is known as special damages and aims to put you back in a position financially as if the misdiagnosis had never occurred. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the medical negligence so that these can be reclaimed.

In serious cases, where a person may no longer be able to continue their employment, this can be taken into account. Costs for care, equipment, transport and housing modifications can also be factored into the calculations. If the person is still able to work but not in the same role as before, particularly if they held a public service role such as a doctor or police officer, an extra amount may be awarded for loss of ‘congenial employment’. A court can also make a financial award to recognise that an injured worker's prospects on the open labour market may be limited.

If a person is fatally injured, a dependent relative such as a widow and children may be able to claim a statutory sum for their bereavement and funeral expenses, but also sums for the loss of income and contribution to the household in the form of future losses.

[Back to Top]

Our Clinical Negligence Lawyers

The Legal Line lawyers are experts in all areas of personal injury, with extensive experience in recovering compensation for the victims of clinical negligence. They can provide specialist claim advice, assistance and guidance in helping you to pursue your claim to the best possible outcome.

[Back to Top]

Successful Misdiagnosis Compensation Claims

Our medical negligence lawyers have assisted many people affected by a misdiagnosis in recovering compensation.  Details of some of these cases can be found below or in our news and success stories sections:

As the result of a medical misdiagnosis, our client was left with permanent physical and neurological problems and our specialist clinical negligence lawyers recovered over £900,000 compensation on her behalf.

When she visited hospital with severe head pain, which had been affecting her for 3-4 days, sweating, neck stiffness and vomiting, our client was told she was suffering from migraine. Even though she had never suffered migraine before, and did not respond to medication designed to treat migraine, she was discharged.

After seeing her own GP and continuing to suffer the symptoms for another week she returned to hospital. This time our client was admitted for 3 days but was eventually sent home with no further diagnosis. She subsequently collapsed at home and was taken back to hospital, where a CT scan confirmed a brain haemorrhage. Because the original bleed went undetected, a second, more significant bleed had occurred.

Our client required extensive treatment and was left with weakness on one side and problems with her memory and concentration, so can no longer work and will require lifetime support and treatment. The compensation will assist with her specific needs.

[Back to Top]