How To Make A Medical Misdiagnosis Claim For Compensation

If you received a substandard level of medical care that left you harmed, you might want to know about medical misdiagnosis claims against healthcare providers. All patients seeking care are entitled to treatment that conforms to certain standards. Either NHS or private healthcare practitioners who fail to meet these standards could be liable to compensate you for the harm caused. This guide about misdiagnosis claims will provide you with the information you need.

Medical Misdiagnosis Claims Key Takeaways:

  • You could claim compensation if you receive substandard medical care that harms you.
  • Compensation is for the avoidable harm you suffered.
  • This can include physical symptoms, psychological effects and financial losses.
  • Not every misdiagnosis leads to a successful claim.
  • Our panel’s expert medical negligence solicitors can help you on a No Win No Fee basis.

Read our guide, or if you would prefer to speak to an advisor now, you can:

  • Call the team on 0333 000 0729.
  • Contact us online to see if your claim qualifies.
  • Use the live discussion box at the bottom of this screen to find out more.

A man holds his head in his hands after an MRI scan of his brain.

Jump To A Part Of Our Guide About Medical Misdiagnosis Claims

Am I Eligible To Make A Medical Misdiagnosis Claim?

To be successful misdiagnosis compensation claims must meet three criteria:

  • You were owed a duty by a healthcare provider (GP, surgeon, nurse, midwife or healthcare assistant, etc.).
  • The duty was breached because you did not receive the minimum accepted standard of care
  • This caused you to suffer avoidable harm.

A duty is automatically owed to you by any medical professional that gives you treatment or advice. In determining if the minimum accepted standard of care has been met, it will usually be the case that the medical profession could have to:

  • Take an accurate history from the patient
  • Consider all symptoms presented by the patient
  • Ordering the appropriate tests at the right time
  • Correctly interpreting test results and taking appropriate next actions
  • Considering differential diagnoses that may apply to the patient

There could be other things that need to be done or other ways a duty could be breached. Importantly, not every misdiagnosis is the fault of the healthcare professional. For a more exact understanding of your grounds to start a claim, speak to us first on the contact options above.

The Effects Of Misdiagnosis And Why They Lead To Claims

Misdiagnosis of a medical condition could create significant effects for the patient, such as:

  • The illness is not detected (missed diagnosis).
  • The original condition goes untreated (delayed treatment).
  • Treatment begins for an incorrect condition (wrong diagnosis).
  • This treatment causes additional health problems, some of which could cause permanent disability.

When a misdiagnosis happens, vital time is often lost that could have been used to help the patient recover from their illness. In serious cases such as cancer treatment, these mistakes can have a devastating impact on the patient. A claim can be made if a misdiagnosis is due to substandard medical care and causes harm.

DOCTOR DISCUSSING SPINAL DIAGNOSIS WITH A PATIENT

How Much Compensation You Can Claim For Misdiagnosis

If you are awarded compensation for a misdiagnosis claim, it can consist of two parts (heads of loss): general and special damages.

General damages award an amount for the physical pain and psychological injury caused to the person. An amount can also be applied to an overall negative impact on the person’s quality of life as well as any permanent injury that was caused by the misdiagnosis.

How Compensation Amounts Are Calculated

The groups responsible for calculating general damages might refer to any medical reports that detail the misdiagnosis and its effects. In addition, they often consult publications that suggest award bracket amounts for similar harm. The Judicial College Guidelines is one such publication, and we provide an excerpt below of award bracket suggestions.

Importantly, every misdiagnosis compensation claim will have factors that make it unique and so these amounts should be read purely as guidelines. It’s always worth consulting a legal professional to get a more precise idea of what you could be owed. Also, the first entry does not come from the JCG:

Compensation Guidelines

INJURYSEVERITYCOMPENSATION GUIDELINESNOTES
Several forms of harm and Special Damages SeriousUp to £1 million plus.Here the person suffers more than one type of harm and is awarded special damages for care provision, lost income and medical bills.
Brain Damage (a) Very Severe £344,150 up to £493,000Severe and permanent disability creating complete reliance on others for professional care.
Kidney (a) Serious £206,730 up to £256,780Cases of permanent damage and/or lost function to both kidneys.
Bowels(b) Total lossUp to £183,190Lost natural function and dependence on colostomy (depending on age).
Bladder (b) Function lossUp to £171,680Cases where complete function and control of the bladder is lost.
Male Reproductive System(b) Impotence£140,220 up to £180,121Cases impacting a young person and resulting in complete impotence and loss of sexual function.
Female Reproductive System(a) Infertility£140,210 up to £207,260Cases where a misdiagnosis or incorrect treatment might result in causing infertility in a young woman (such as failure to spot ectopic pregnancies).
Digestive System(b) Non-traumatic (i) £46,900 up to £64,070Instances of severe toxicosis that lead to vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and hospital admission.
Spleen (a) Complete loss£25,380 up to £32,090Instances where the spleen is lost and the immune system is compromised to further infection.
Psychological Damage (b) Moderately Severe £23,270 up to £66,920Where the person experiences a serious and long-standing psychological injury but has a better future outlook indicated than severe cases.

Special Damages In Medical Negligence Claims

You may also qualify to include special damages as part of misdiagnosis compensation claims. Under this head of loss, the person can seek back the financial costs of dealing with the harm they suffered. Evidence is always required to include special damages such as:

  • Proof from your employer of lost earnings caused by the misdiagnosis.
  • Bills for private medical treatment.
  • Receipts for travel to vital appointments.
  • Evidence of amounts paid to others who may have provided you with domestic care such as home help to cook, clean or provide childcare.

Take a moment to speak to our advisory team about special damages and assembling evidence. It could significantly increase the total amount you might receive.

Can I Claim Against The NHS For Misdiagnosis?

Yes. The NHS sets aside a designated fund to deal with compensation claims for medical and diagnostic errors. NHS Resolution deals with thousands of claims every year for medical and clinical negligence. If your case is successful and you are awarded compensation, the payout would come from this fund rather than detract from frontline NHS services.

It is also important to claim against the NHS for misdiagnosis errors as it reinforces the importance of high standards for other patients.

PROFESSIONAL LOOKING AT X-RAY TO AVOID MISDIAGNOSIS COMPENSATION CLAIMS

How Long You Have To Start A Claim

The Limitation Act 1980 states that there is typically a three-year timeframe in which to start misdiagnosis compensation claims. Usually, this begins from the date of the misdiagnosis was given. Or it can start from a ‘date of knowledge’ which is when you could be reasonably expected to realize that misdiagnosis caused the harm you’re suffering. Certain circumstances may alter this standard time limit:

  • Minors cannot launch a personal injury or medical negligence claim themselves until they turn 18. The three-year time frame starts from this date.
  • The time limit is suspended for claimants who lack the required mental capacity to start a claim independently. Should their mental capacity return, the three-year time frame starts from that date.

Can I Claim On Behalf Of Someone Else?

Both these categories of claimants have the option of a litigation friend. This is a parent or suitable adult who is approved by the courts to carry out the tasks of the claim on the person’s behalf.

If you’d like to learn more about how a litigation friend can help or any aspect of time limits for misdiagnosis compensation claims, reach out to the team by phone, email or through the live discussion window at the bottom of this screen.

How To Make A Misdiagnosis Claim

Next, we focus on some actions you can take to construct misdiagnosis compensation claims, such as gathering evidence and seeking the help of a solicitor:

Gathering The Right Evidence For Your Claim

Evidence that proves the standards expected of a healthcare provider were not met is crucial. It’s the cornerstone of many misdiagnosis compensation claims. With this in mind, try to collect together as much of the following as you can:

  • Copies of medical records that detail the start dates of your diagnosis and treatment, as well as details on treatments to correct the misdiagnosis.
  • Prescription receipts and packaging of medicines.
  • Contact details of any eyewitnesses to the misdiagnosis.
  • The names of the GP, surgeon or other medical professional responsible.
  • Correspondence with you and the NHS Trust or private clinic that gave the wrong diagnosis/care.

Why not see if a solicitor from our panel could help you gather evidence? Just call the team for no-obligation legal guidance.

Making A No Win No Fee Claim

If you have an eligible claim for compensation, the solicitors on our panel are able to provide their expert services via a version of No Win No Fee contracts called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Not every law firm offers this option, but under a CFA, you can enjoy a host of benefits when seeking misdiagnosis compensation, such as:

  • No obligation to pay immediate solicitors fees.
  • As the claim develops, our panel of solicitors ask for no ongoing fees for their work carried out on your claim.
  • If the claim fails, the solicitors ask for no fee for completed services.
  • Should the claim be a success, the solicitors deduct a minimal percentage from the compensation as their success fee.
  • A legal limit applies to this success fee, thereby ensuring the person claiming benefits the most.

Using a CFA means that you could access excellent legal representation throughout the whole claims process at no expense for solicitor’s fees until the outcome of the claim is known. If you’re interested in learning more, you can connect with our team on the contact options below.

How Long Does It Take To Get Compensation?

Because misdiagnosis compensation claims always vary, there isn’t a definitive time frame for one to settle. It’s not unreasonable to expect that it will conclude in a matter of months if straightforward. However, certain factors can delay how long it takes to receive compensation. For example:

  • The complexity of the issues in the case.
  • The anticipated length of recovery.
  • Whether the NHS or private healthcare provider accepts liability (or not).
  • Whether the courts are waiting for expert testimony.
  • The general workload of the court hearing the case.

A skilled medical negligence solicitor from our panel can anticipate these obstacles and work hard to keep your claim on track. They understand that often, compensation is required urgently and will do all they can to speed the case along. If you want to know more about how they could help you claim medical misdiagnosis compensation, reach out to our advisory team today.

NO WIN NO FEE SOLICITOR EXPLAINING MISDIAGNOSIS COMPENSATION CLAIMS TO CLIENT

Why Choose Legal Helpline For Your Claim?

You are free to represent yourself in misdiagnosis compensation claims, but they can become complex and demanding. Rather than face the prospect of this alone, on top of trying to recover, why not see if you can get help? The solicitors on our panel have decades of expertise in providing outstanding legal representation in the following ways:

  • They will give an accurate calculation of the compensation you might be owed.
  • Provide regular status reports on the claim.
  • Meet all court deadlines.
  • Take an assertive approach to fighting for your best interests.
  • Expertly handle essential parts of the process like pre-action protocol and gathering witness statements or evidence from experts.

You could benefit from the peace of mind that your claim is being confidently and expertly handled. Allowing you to get on with getting better. To chat over misdiagnosis compensation claims in more detail:

  • Call the team on 0333 000 0729 about an incorrect diagnosis claim.
  • Contact us online to see if your claim qualifies.
  • Use the live discussion box at the bottom of this screen to talk about medical negligence claims.

More Information

As well as the information in this guide on medical misdiagnosis claims, you might find these other resources from our website useful:

External resources to help:

In conclusion, thank you for your interest in our guide to medical misdiagnosis compensation claims. If we can assist with any other questions about the claims process, please contact us.