When you are injured due to medical malpractice, you are entitled to compensation. The NHS even has a litigation authority – known as the NHSLA – for handling claims of medical negligence. You need the best medical negligence UK lawyer to help you file the claim and earn the compensation you need, but the process itself is relatively manageable.
There are different types medical negligence for which you can file a claim compensation. In this article, however, we are going to focus more on misdiagnosis and the different ways it can lead to injuries and medical negligence. Here are the things you need to know about a misdiagnosis negligence claim.
What Qualifies as a Misdiagnosis?
Before you can decide to file a medical negligence claim, you must first understand whether the case you experience can be categorized as a misdiagnosis. The easiest way to do this is by consulting experienced medical negligence solicitors, but there are signs that you can observe yourself.
Misdiagnosis is when the doctor treating you failed to reach a correct and conclusive diagnosis before providing suitable treatments based on the information. From a legal standpoint, there are three types of misdiagnosis.
The first one is when you are left undiagnosed. The fact that you are undiagnosed usually – if not always – leads to no treatment and possible injuries because of that. Why you are undiagnosed doesn’t really matter; what’s important is the resulting injuries and the failure itself.
The second type of misdiagnosis is when you are misinformed about the medical conditions you face. While the first type leads to no treatment, this type often leads to the delivery of incorrect treatments. The risk, in this case, is even bigger; bad treatments can worsen the medical condition you face or create new issues.
Last but not least, there is the case of incorrect diagnosis. This type of misdiagnosis also leads to you accepting treatments for medical conditions you don’t really have. While treatments may not result in injuries, the best medical negligence solicitors can still represent you in filing a misdiagnosis claim.
Common Cases of Misdiagnosis
We went through some public records of misdiagnosis claims and after reading a lot of claims in this category, there are several common causes of misdiagnosis that still occur across our healthcare system.
Misdiagnosis of appendicitis is at the top of that list. The symptoms of appendicitis are similar to other illnesses, which is why misdiagnoses are quite common. In some cases, patients suffered immense pain before appendicitis was discovered.
Diabetes is another illness that isn’t as easy to diagnose. It has no apparent symptoms – at least not in the early stages – and it can be difficult to spot diabetes. On the other hand, there is a case of a patient being mistakenly diagnosed with diabetes and given insulin injections, only to suffer from low blood sugar after every injection.
Misdiagnosis of cancer is also quite common. Similar to the two previous cases of misdiagnoses, cancer is a difficult illness to diagnose quickly and accurately. It usually takes doctors several tests and close examinations before cancer is discovered. Late diagnosis is harmful to cancer patients because of how this illness worsens with time.
Do You have a Claim?
The next thing to do when you feel you’ve been misdiagnosed is to decide whether you have a claim. Medical negligence solicitors such as The Medical Negligence Experts, who offer a free consultation, can help you review your care, gather the evidence, and decide whether you can file a misdiagnosis negligence claim. It is best to get a solicitor involved early so that you don’t end up making mistakes.
Deciding whether you have a claim also involves observing the things that happen after a diagnosis was given. What treatments did you receive after the diagnosis? Did the doctor explain the diagnosis properly at the time? Did you understand the medical situation you went through properly?
Getting Legal Help
As mentioned before, the best way to go when you feel you’ve been misdiagnosed is to get a lawyer involved as early as possible. Medical negligence claims UK have a time limit, making moving quickly and proceeding with a claim as soon as possible very important.
There are other advantages of having legal assistance from the start. For starters, you don’t have to worry about setting the claim amount yourself because you have an experienced lawyer doing the calculations for you. You can also focus more on your health rather than the many forms you have to fill in to file the claim.
Misdiagnosis is not uncommon. Even with the public and private health sectors evolving as rapidly as they are today, there are still times when doctors and medical personnel cannot provide you with a clear and structured diagnosis. Now that you know more about misdiagnosis negligence claim, you can protect yourself better from misdiagnosis and its implications.
