GP Misdiagnosis Medical Negligence Claims
This guide to GP misdiagnosis claims explains if and how to sue for the effects of a wrong, delayed or missed diagnosis caused by negligence. We start by covering key criteria that shows if a medical negligence claim is eligible, including the legal time limit for commencing a compensation claim.
As the guide carries on, you can see examples where a medical professional failing to meet the correct standard of care leads to unnecessary harm. We also advise on the evidence you could present to prove medical misdiagnosis occurred due to substandard care.
Further on, you can see how medical negligence compensation can address physical and mental pain as well as financial losses. Finally, we explain how it is possible to secure the specialist knowledge and expert guidance of one of our panel’s experienced solicitors on No Win No Fee terms.
Contact us today for free guidance or so an advisor can assess your potential misdiagnosis claim. To access our 24/7 service, either:
- Call 020 3870 4868.
- Ask about a claim online and share your contact info.
- Get in touch through the live chat option below.
GP misdiagnosis
Select A Section
- Can I Sue My GP For Misdiagnosis?
- Time Limits To Sue A GP In A Medical Misdiagnosis Claim
- Examples Of Misdiagnosis By A GP
- Proving Claims For Misdiagnosis By A GP
- Examples Of Payouts For A GP Misdiagnosis Claim
- How To Find The Right No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitor
- Learn More About Medical Misdiagnosis Claims
Can I Sue My GP For Misdiagnosis?
It is possible to sue a GP for medical negligence if negligent care leads to a harmful misdiagnosis. GPs are medical professionals and are expected to give patients the correct standard of care.
If a GP misdiagnosis happens because the duty of care they owe a patient has been breached, the patient could make a claim for avoidable harm it causes. Medical negligence is classed as a medical professional’s deviation from professional standards, leading to harm that could have otherwise been averted.
In summary, the eligibility criteria for a medical negligence claim are as follows:
- A medical professional owed a duty of care.
- They breached this duty by failing to provide the correct standard of care.
- This led to their patient suffering avoidable harm.
Time Limits To Sue A GP In A Medical Misdiagnosis Claim
As well as making sure your GP misdiagnosis claim meets the eligibility criteria, you must also make a claim within the legal time limit. The Limitation Act 1980 sets out a three-year time limit for starting medical negligence claims.
The starting point for this three-year limit is typically the date the negligence occurs. However, medical negligence is not always immediately clear. Therefore, some claimants may have three years from when they learned a breached duty of care led to harm. This is known as the date of knowledge.
Other factors could further affect the limitation period. For example, the time limit is paused entirely for those without the mental capacity to take legal action. The courts could appoint a trusted person as a litigation friend to help the affected person claim compensation. However, if that does not happen, they would have three years from their recovery date to start a claim, supposing that they do recover.
The time limit is also paused for an under-18. They, too, can be represented by a litigation friend. If that doesn’t happen, the affected person can start their medical misdiagnosis claim any time between their 18th birthday and their 21st.
Medical negligence claim time limits
Are you unsure how long you have to claim for GP negligence? For more information on time limits for misdiagnosis claims just call the number listed above.
Examples Of Misdiagnosis By A GP
Not every wrong diagnosis occurs because of GP negligence. Medical misdiagnosis claims can only happen when the GP’s treatment falls short of correct standards, such as in the example scenarios below:
- A patient attends the GP complaining of significant arm pain after a motorbike accident. The GP does not listen to the patient’s symptoms and prescribes painkillers instead of investigating further. The patient has a complex arm break which worsens and, because of delayed broken arm surgery, causes permanent disability.
- A patient does not get a correct diagnosis because their GP refuses to refer them to a specialist for a detailed assessment of a lump in their neck. The patient eventually gets a delayed diagnosis of thyroid cancer that has lasting effects on their physical and mental health.
- Failure to spot clear symptoms leads to a stroke misdiagnosis. This leads to the patient suffering a brain injury.
- A GP fails to correctly identify a chest infection when the patient is showing clear signs. Without the right antibiotics the patient goes on to suffer sepsis.
If your experience of GP medical negligence was anything like the above examples, call today to find out how one of our panel’s medical negligence solicitors could help.
Proving Claims For Misdiagnosis By A GP
To claim for medical negligence you will need to show that the medical professional through negligent actions meant you suffered avoidable harm. Among the forms of evidence you could present are:
- Proof that the GP owed you a duty of care.
- Medical records showing your treatment and the harm suffered, including test results. You can request a copy of your medical history from your healthcare provider.
- Contact details for potential witnesses. Witness statements may be sought during the claim.
If you work with one of the experienced solicitors from our expert panel, you could instruct them to help you gather evidence. They can also arrange an independent medical assessment, which may be required as part of the claims process.
Furthermore, your treatment may be subject to the Bolam Test, where relevantly-trained medical professionals are asked to state if the GP met the correct standard of care.
Our advisors can share plenty of information about how a solicitor can help you pursue a clinical negligence claim for GP misdiagnosis, so please do not hesitate to call.
GP misdiagnosis claim.
Examples Of Payouts For A GP Misdiagnosis Claim
You will receive medical negligence compensation if your GP misdiagnosis claim is successful. A claim payout can be formed of up to two parts, or ‘heads’.
The main head of claim will account for the physical pain and mental suffering caused by GP negligence, and is referred to as general damages.
Those responsible for figuring out the value of your injuries during the claims process could use medical records as guidance. They could also refer to the guideline compensation brackets featured in a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG.) We have shown some entries from this document in the table below.
Compensation Table
With the exception of the top entry, this table shows guideline brackets taken from the JCG. It should only be considered a guide.
| INJURY | SEVERITY | COMPENSATION | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries Plus Special Damages | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ | Compensation for numerous severe injuries brought on by negligent medical care. The payout also accounts for a loss of earnings and other expenses. |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia | £324,600 to £403,990 | Also known as Quadriplegia. The top end of the bracket features cases where physical pain is present or there is a significant effect on communication or senses. |
| Brain | Moderately Severe | £219,070 to £282,010 | The affected person is disabled to a very serious degree. Life expectancy and the degree of insight are among the factors affecting the payout. |
| Kidney | Loss of Both Kidneys | £169,400 to £210,400 | Either both kidneys are lost or are seriously and permanently damaged. |
| Loss of One Kidney | £30,770 to £44,880 | The other kidney is not damaged. | |
| Bladder | Cases Involving Double Incontinence | Up to £184,200 | Double incontinence refers to the complete loss of bowel function, and of urinary function and control. Cases in this bracket will also see other medical complications. |
| Bowels | Total Loss of Natural Function | Up to £150,110 | Along with lost function, there is a dependence on colostomy (depending on age) |
| Lung Disease | For A Young Person With Serious Disability | £100,670 to £135,920 | There is a probability of the affected young person’s condition progressively worsening and causing premature death. |
| Arm | Severe | £96,160 to £130,930 | Injuries short of amputation that leave the affected person little better off than if the arm had been lost. |
| Spleen | Loss of Spleen | £20,800 to £26,290 | The patient also faces a continuing risk of internal infection and disorders due to the immune system damage. |
Special Damages
GP misdiagnosis may bring about more than avoidable harm, however. If you also suffered financial losses as a direct result of medical negligence, you may be able to seek compensation for them. This is the second head of a compensation claim, known as special damages.
As part of your misdiagnosis claim, you could look for compensation covering:
- A loss of earnings if your harm leaves you unable to work.
- Travel expenses; for example, bus journeys to your treatment appointments.
- Medical bills, which may include prescription fees.
- Domestic care costs.
Evidence is important for this head of claim, so be sure to keep payslips, bank statements and any other document showing personal expenses caused by GP medical negligence.
If you want to learn more about the compensation you could receive in a medical misdiagnosis claim, call or get in touch online for a free discussion today.
How To Find The Right No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitor
Through this guide, we have explained how the medical negligence solicitors from our panel can help gather evidence, collect witness statements and offer advice based on their specialist knowledge. They can do all of this and more under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA.)
A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee deal. If you make a claim with a solicitor from our panel under this arrangement, they will not collect any upfront or running payment for their work. A No Win No Fee solicitor collects no fee for their service after failed medical negligence claims.
If you win your GP misdiagnosis claim, your solicitor captures a success fee. This is a percentage of the compensation awarded to you. Because of The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 and its strict legal cap, you will receive the majority of your compensation as the percentage the solicitor can take is legally capped.
Start Your Claim
Do you have any questions about medical misdiagnosis claims? Or do you want to see if you have a valid claim for GP misdiagnosis? These answers are just a phone call away, thanks to our free service. Our advisors could even connect you directly with a solicitor from our expert panel if you have a case they can take on.
All you need to do to get started is:
- Call 020 3870 4868.
- If you don’t want to call, just drop us a message about your claim online so we can call you.
- The live chat option is available on this page if you want to use a text-based option.
Learn More About Medical Misdiagnosis Claims
Here are some further guides we’ve produced on the topic of medical negligence claims:
- If a doctor failed to give you the correct treatment, we explain how to report a doctor and claim compensation for medical negligence.
- We explain how and when you can sue a hospital in a medical negligence claim.
- How to make a medical misdiagnosis claim for a fracture misdiagnosis in the UK.
These resources may also be helpful:
- The General Medical Council explains how to raise concerns about a doctor.
- How to complain to the NHS, from the NHS website.
- NHS Resolution provides its annual statistics on medical negligence claim payouts.
We hope our guide to GP misdiagnosis compensation claims helps you. Thank you for reading, and please call if you have any questions.
