A Guide to Misdiagnosis Claims: Do You Have A Claim?

Misdiagnosis Claims

There are a number of reasons why a medical professional may misdiagnose your condition. One of the most important reasons is that a wide range of conditions presents similar symptoms; as a result, a doctor may wrongly diagnose a different condition. This is why it is critical that medical professionals pay careful attention to the symptoms and concerns of their patients, refer them to specialists for tests and provide a diagnosis based on their knowledge of medicine. Sadly, misdiagnosis still occurs. You may start by filling out our free claims assessment form and one of our experienced solicitors will call you at your earliest convenience. The vast majority of our cases are handled on a No Win No Fee basis. This means that our experienced medical negligence solicitors will handle your claim at no cost to you, and help you secure the maximum compensation you deserve.

It can be difficult for medical professionals to diagnose conditions. They have to use their training to listen carefully to the patient’s symptoms. Then they need to apply their knowledge of medicine to try to diagnose the condition. If a medical professional does not pay close attention to their patient they will make mistakes. Sadly, this is far too common. They will provide the specialist advice and support you need to ensure your claim is successful.

Compensation amounts vary greatly, as they depend on a number of individual factors surrounding medical negligence claims. Our solicitors will walk you every step of the way to ensure you receive the maximum compensation you deserve based on your own circumstances.

If you have been the victim of a misdiagnosis you may be able to bring a claim for compensation. Our Solicitors are experts in misdiagnosis claims. You can contact them today by completing our quick Free Claim Assessment or call us on 0800 999 3372.

What are Misdiagnosis Claims?

Misdiagnosis claims apply to cases where you have been diagnosed with a less serious condition than what you actually had. You may have also been diagnosed with a more serious condition than you actually had, leading to unnecessary trauma and distress. Any kind of delay in diagnosing your condition can also be particularly serious.

Claims must be made within 3 years of the misdiagnosis or 3 years from the date you became aware that you were misdiagnosed. It is really important to seek legal advice as soon as you think you may have been the victim of medical negligence. If you do not act quickly, your right to bring a claim can be lost forever.

Medical misdiagnosis claims are caused by the medical professional failing to provide an acceptable standard of care when examining you or your medical test results. Our solicitors have dealt with many cases of medical misdiagnosis and are experts in this area.

These types of claims are extremely serious. Misdiagnosis can be one of the major reasons for conditions deteriorating. It is widely accepted that the earlier a patient is diagnosed and treated, the better the chance of recovery. If your medical professional has misdiagnosed you, you may have lost valuable treatment time and/or been subjected and incorrect treatment.

It has been widely reported that in some medical practices and hospitals, up to 15% of all medical cases were misdiagnosed. The Healthcare Commission found that misdiagnosis was one of the most common reasons for complaints to the NHS, with 1 in 10 complaints being related to incorrect or delayed diagnosis.

Our misdiagnosis claims solicitors have decades of experience in misdiagnosis claims. Contact one of the team today for a Free Claim Assessment.

What are the Causes of Misdiagnosis Claims?

Misdiagnosis claims are said to be a public health crisis by leading medical experts. In order to improve the causes of medical misdiagnosis, it is vital to understand the causes of the problem.

Our medical negligence solicitors come across a range of causes for misdiagnosis happening. However some of the most common are detailed below.

A Fragmented Health Care System

The NHS is disjointed. It is not uncommon for a patient to have to be seen by 3 or 4 different NHS Departments in order to obtain a diagnosis. Different tests and medical examinations are carried out by different specialists. This system would be fine if the different departments communicated well will each other, but unfortunately, that is not always the case.

We have dealt with many misdiagnosis claims which could have been avoided had one clinician shared their findings with another. Often, the different findings are very relevant to each other. If all of the information is not looked at together, mistakes are made.

Overconfident & Complacent Medical Professionals

Medical professionals deal with many patients that present similar symptoms. Unfortunately, as a doctor becomes more experienced, they become over confident in their ability to diagnose patients correctly. This approach leads to mistakes. This is very true in the case of rare conditions, which require a much greater level of scrutiny to diagnose the condition.

Many misdiagnosis mistakes are directly related to not asking patients all relevant questions and/or failing to consider the patients previous medical history.

Lack of Time for Medical Professionals

It is not uncommon for a medical professional to see over 30 patients a day. The pressure to see patients and diagnose them quickly is huge.

Doctors tend to spend 15 minutes or less with patients. This is simply not enough time to carry out in depth investigations into the symptoms. A doctor may not even have enough time to follow up the visit.

Our solicitors regularly act for victims of medical negligence who have been misdiagnosed because of a failure to follow up a visit from a patient. This is totally unacceptable. If you have had the courage and taken the time to investigate potential health problems, your doctor should thoroughly investigate as a minimum.

If you have suffered as a result of misdiagnosis for one of the above reasons, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Contact our specialist misdiagnosis claims solicitors today for a Free Claim Assessment.

Types of Misdiagnosis Claims

There are many types of misdiagnosis claims. Our solicitors have dealt with all aspects of misdiagnosis claims and are experts in this field.

Some of the most common misdiagnosis claims relate to:

• Missed Fracture Compensation Claims
• Appendicitis Misdiagnosis
• Tendon Injury Misdiagnosis Claims
• Cauda Equina Compensation Claims
• Stroke Misdiagnosis Claims
• Meningitis Misdiagnosis Claims
• Deep Vein Thrombosis Claims

If you have suffered unnecessary pain and suffering due to one of the above examples of misdiagnosis contact us today. You only have 3 years to make a claim from the date you received the negligent treatment or 3 years from your date of knowledge of the negligence treatment.

Can I make a Medical Misdiagnosis Claim

If you think you may have been the victim of misdiagnosis you may be able to bring a claim for compensation. The key test for medical negligence is whether the medical professional fell below acceptable standards. Many cases of misdiagnosis meet this requirement.

Contact our medical negligence solicitors today for a Free Claim Assessment. This is no obligation and will allow you to make an informed decision about your misdiagnosis claim.

Why Make Misdiagnosis Claims?

The majority of our clients appoint us to make a misdiagnosis claim in order to stop it from happening again. In order to make sure the same medical mistakes don’t happen again, the medical provider needs to be brought to justice.

In the vast majority of cases, any failings identified during the case are thoroughly investigated by the health care provider. This generally leads to an improvement in processes to avoid further cases of misdiagnosis.

Compensation is also available for the pain and suffering you have endured. If you have incurred extra expense such as travel time, time off work or care expenses, all of this can be recovered from the healthcare provider.

No Win No Fee Misdiagnosis Claims

Our medical negligence solicitors will represent you on a No Win No Fee basis. There is no cost to you in the claim is unsuccessful. You will obtain the maximum compensation available to you.

How Much Compensation Will I Get?

The level of compensation for misdiagnosis claim are varied and often, substantial.

Our solicitors will be able to guide you through the levels of compensation available based on your own circumstances. Contact them today for a Free Case Assessment.

Our Expertise in Misdiagnosis Claims

Our medical misdiagnosis claims solicitors have decades of experience in these types of claim. They specialise in this area of law and are quite simply experts in the area.

They will provide you with the expert service you expect from your medical negligence lawyer. But they are also friendly, approachable and put customer service at the heart of everything they do for their clients.