Medical Misdiagnosis Claims – A Complete Guide

If you’ve been unnecessarily harmed as a result of a medical misdiagnosis, you may be able to claim compensation. Keep reading to find out if you could be entitled to make a medical misdiagnosis claim.

Key Things To Remember In Misdiagnosis Claims

You can make a medical misdiagnosis claim if you can prove that medical negligence occurred
Misdiagnosis occurs when a condition or illness is missed or diagnosed as something else
You can claim against the NHS or a private healthcare provider
Your compensation can depend on a number of different factors
You can make a medical misdiagnosis claim on someone else’s behalf
A No Win No Fee solicitor could help you make a claim

If you’d like to speak to one of our advisors, or if you’re ready to get started on your claim, get in touch today by:

Calling us on 020 3870 4868
Contacting us online
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A doctor gives a patient in a hospital bed an incorrect diagnosis.

Select A Section

Who Can Make Medical Misdiagnosis Claims?
What Is Misdiagnosis?
Commonly Misdiagnosed Injuries And Illnesses
Can I Claim Against The NHS For A Misdiagnosis?
How Much Compensation For Medical Misdiagnosis Claims?
Making A Medical Negligence Claim For Someone Else
Why Make A Claim With Help From UKLaw?
Get More Information

Who Can Make Medical Misdiagnosis Claims?

When you are treated by any medical professional, they immediately owe you a duty of care. This means that the care you are given must meet a minimum standard, and they cannot cause unnecessary harm.

This extends to all medical professionals, though different disciplines will require staff to take different steps in order to meet the minimum standard. For example, the General Medical Council provides guidance on standards for doctors, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council does the same for nurses.

If this duty of care is breached by a medical professional, and you suffer unnecessary harm because of this, then this is known as medical negligence. If you can establish that medical negligence occurred, then you may be able to make a claim.

Keep reading to learn about medical misdiagnosis claims, or contact our advisors today to find out if you could be eligible for compensation.

What Is Misdiagnosis?

So, what is misdiagnosis? This occurs when a condition or an illness is missed, or is diagnosed as something else.

Not all cases of misdiagnosis are cases of medical negligence. For example, if you are not presenting with any symptoms connected with that illness, then your doctor would not be providing substandard care by misdiagnosing you. Likewise, if the misdiagnosis did not cause you any unnecessary harm, then you would be unlikely to have a valid claim.

However, in many cases, misdiagnosis is the result of medical negligence. For example, if your doctor misreads an MRI scan that clearly shows a tumour in your brain and misdiagnoses clear head and neck cancer as a headache, this would be a serious case of medical negligence. This could lead to your cancer spreading and you needing more aggressive treatment in the future.

Read on to learn about some commonly misdiagnosed injuries and illnesses. Or, if you’re ready to start your claim, contact our team today.

Commonly Misdiagnosed Injuries And Illnesses

Misdiagnosis can affect both minor and major injuries and illnesses. Some commonly misdiagnosed conditions include:

Breaks and fractures
Commonly diagnosed cancers, like thyroid cancer and testicular cancer
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Strokes
Asthma

These are only a few injuries and illnesses that could be misdiagnosed. If you can’t see your condition here, get in touch with our advisors today.

Can I Claim Against The NHS For A Misdiagnosis?

Yes, you may be able to claim against the NHS for a misdiagnosis if you can prove that it was caused by medical negligence.

You would make this against the relevant NHS Trust if you have an eligible claim.

If you can’t establish that negligence has occurred, then you will not be able to make a valid claim.

What If I Was Misdiagnosed In A Private Hospital?

Misdiagnosis and medical negligence occur both within the NHS and the private sector. If you’ve been unnecessarily harmed because a medical professional breached their duty of care in a private hospital, you may be able to make a claim directly against them. Any compensation awarded would be through their insurance.

We understand that the medical misdiagnosis claims process can seem complex, and our friendly advisors are here to help. Contact our team today to learn more.

A patient laying in an MRI machine and talking to a healthcare professional after an incorrect or delayed diagnosis.

How Much Compensation For Medical Misdiagnosis Claims?

One of the most common questions we receive about the medical misdiagnosis claims process is, “How much compensation could I get?”

Unfortunately, we can’t provide an exact estimate for what you could receive. This is because every claim is valued based on its own unique circumstances, and the amount you could get can depend on factors such as:

How much evidence you have
How severely the misdiagnosis impacted you
Whether or not you suffered financial losses
If the other party accepts liability

If you make a successful medical misdiagnosis claim, then you will receive general damages. This is the first of two types of compensation that can come together to form one final payout. General damages covers the physical and mental suffering caused by your misdiagnosis, and it also covers loss of amenity.

When this head of your claim is valued, those handling your claim might get help from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG provides guideline compensation brackets for different injuries and illnesses, as you can see below.

Please keep in mind that these amounts are not guaranteed, and the first figure in this table was not taken from the JCG.

Injury	Compensation Brackets
Multiple Severe Instances Of Harm Combined With Special Damages Such As Lost Wages And Professional Nursing Care	Up to £1,000,000+
Very Severe Brain Damage	£344,150 to £493,000
Moderately Severe Brain Damage	£267,340 to £344,150
Paraplegia	£267,340 to £346,890
Lung Disease (a)	£122,850 to £165,860
Lung Disease (b)	£85,460 to £118,790
Kidney Injuries (a)	£206,730 to £256,780
Severe PTSD	£73,050 to £122,850
Severe Psychiatric Damage	£66,920 to £141,240
Mental Anguish	£5,700

What Are Special Damages?

Special damages are the second type of compensation that could form your final payout. The purpose of special damages is to restore you financially to where you were before the medical negligence occurred.

Misdiagnosis can have a big impact on your finances, and you may need to pay out of pocket for things like prescriptions, home adjustments, and medical expenses.

If you can prove that these losses occurred because of the negligence you suffered, then you may be able to claim them back under special damages, along with the cost of things like:

Lost earnings
Mobility aids
Travel to and from appointments
Childcare

You will need to prove these losses with invoices, bank statements and receipts.

Get in touch today for more information on compensation in medical misdiagnosis compensation claims.

Making A Medical Negligence Claim For Someone Else

You may be wondering if you can make medical misdiagnosis claims on someone else’s behalf. If you would like to make a claim on behalf of someone who does not have the needed mental capacity to claim for themselves, you can apply to act as a litigation friend.

A litigation friend acts on behalf of someone who can’t claim for themselves. As a litigation friend, it would be your responsibility to communicate with their solicitor, make decisions in the claimant’s best interests, and make sure you know their thoughts and feelings on the case as best as you can.

Claiming For A Child

Minors under the age of eighteen cannot claim for themselves. However, this doesn’t meant that you can’t claim compensation if you haven’t turned eighteen yet. Instead, a litigation friend can make your claim on your behalf at any time.

If no litigation makes a claim for someone under the age of eighteen, then they’ll have three years to make their own claim starting on the date of their eighteenth birthday, as per the Limitation Act 1980.

If you want to learn more about the role of litigation friends in medical misdiagnosis claims, our team can help. Read on to find out how we could help you, or get in touch today to get started.

A patient talking to a doctor about the serious consequences of a wrong diagnosis.

Why Make A Claim With Help From UKLaw?

So, how can we help you? You might be wondering if you need a solicitor in order to make a medical misdiagnosis claim. While it isn’t legally required, we always recommend seeking expert legal advice before starting the claims process.

This is because solicitors undergo years of education and training before they can qualify to practice, and can use this experience to make sure you get the best out of the medical negligence claims process.

For example, a solicitor can help you:

Understand complex legal terms
Gain a deeper understanding of the medical misdiagnosis claims process
Gather evidence to support your compensation claim
Negotiate a settlement
Arrange an independent medical assessment

The Benefits Of A No Win No Fee Agreement

UKLaw can help you get in touch with a medical negligence solicitor from our expert panel. One of the benefits of working with a specialist solicitor from our panel is that they work on a No Win No Fee basis, allowing their clients to access their services through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Under this type of agreement, you can get all the benefits of working with a solicitor without having to pay a fee for their work:

Upfront
As the claim progresses
At all if the claim fails

If you successfully claim compensation, then your solicitor will take a small success fee from your medical misdiagnosis compensation. The percentage they can take as this fee is subject to a legal cap for your benefit.

Our team of advisors are here to help. If you’d like to find out how a solicitor from our panel could help you make a medical misdiagnosis compensation claim, get in touch today by: