How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Medical Misdiagnosis?

By Cat Way. Last Updated 18th October 2023. This guide looks at claims for misdiagnosis. If you come to avoidable harm due to a medical professional’s breach of duty of care, you could be able to make a medical negligence claim. We explain when you might have valid grounds to claim for a doctor misdiagnosis and look at a few examples of the evidence you could use to support your case. Additionally, we also provide a few examples of when a doctor may have been negligent.

You may wonder how much compensation for a misdiagnosis could be awarded in a successful claim for medical negligence. If so, this guide could help as it will discuss how settlements are calculated and what they could include.

If you are eligible for compensation, you may like to have legal representation during the claiming process. This guide concludes with a look at the benefits of having the support of a No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor specialising in medical negligence.

Our advisors can answer any questions you have about claiming. They can also assess whether you have an eligible case and provide a free claim valuation. To get in touch:

• Fill in our ‘claim online’ form for a call back.
• Call 0800 073 8804
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Misdiagnosis Claim

Select a Section

1. Suing For Misdiagnosis – Potential Compensation Payouts
2. Eligibility Criteria For Misdiagnosis Claims
3. UK Medical Negligence – What Evidence Do You Need To Sue A Hospital?
4. Types of Clinical Negligence Misdiagnosis Claims
5. How Long Do I Have To Claim For Medical Misdiagnosis?
6. My Doctor Misdiagnosed Me, Can I Work With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
7. Useful Links on Medical Misdiagnosis Claims

Suing For Misdiagnosis – Potential Compensation Payouts

When suing for a misdiagnosis, your compensation settlement could consist of general and special damages.

For successful medical negligence claims, general damages compensate you for the harm you have suffered due to a medical professional breaching their duty of care.

Many legal professionals will refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them value claims. This document lists compensation guidelines for various types of injuries. In the table below, we have provided some of the amounts stated in the 16th edition of the JCG.

Please only use this table as a guide.

How Much Compensation For A Misdiagnosis Can Be Awarded In The Form Of Special Damages?

If you make a successful cancer misdiagnosis claim, then you may also be awarded special damages. This head of claim compensates you for the financial losses you experienced due to the medical negligence. Some examples of the expenses you could be compensated for include:

• A loss of earnings if you required time off work.
• Travel expenses, such as taxi or bus fares to medical appointments.
• Medical costs, such as paying for prescriptions.

You will need to provide evidence of these losses in order to claim for them under special damages. A copy of your bank statements, invoices and payslips are examples of evidence you could use.

If you would like to learn more about special damages in medical negligence claims, please contact our advisors for free online or by calling us.

Eligibility Criteria For Misdiagnosis Claims

To be eligible to claim compensation for a misdiagnosis, your case would have to meet the criteria below.

1. A medical professional must have owed you a duty of care.
2. The duty of care must have been breached.
3. You must have suffered avoidable harm due to the breach.

Each and every medical professional has a duty of care to their patients. They must ensure that their care does not fall below a minimum standard. If this duty of care is breached, you could be harmed unnecessarily. In such cases, you may be eligible to claim compensation.

Not all incidents where someone gets the wrong diagnosis would automatically lead to misdiagnosis claims. In some cases, the minimum standard of care might have been met, but there may be other factors that impacted the ability to get the right diagnosis. In such cases, you might not be eligible to claim.

To find out whether you would be eligible to make a medical negligence misdiagnosis claim, you can contact our advisors. They would be able to check your case free of charge.

UK Medical Negligence – What Evidence Do You Need To Sue A Hospital?

One of the most important steps in the medical misdiagnosis claims process is collecting evidence to support and strengthen your case. Evidence can help illustrate the extent of the harm you suffered and can also demonstrate who is responsible.

Some examples of evidence that you could use to support your misdiagnosis claim include:

•   A symptoms diary: Keeping a diary to track how your symptoms change or worsen as a result of the misdiagnosis can be helpful, as this can then be used as evidence.
•   Medical records: Your medical records can detail the treatment you received, as well as notes from medical professionals, medications, and dosages. This can then be used as evidence.
•   Witness statements: Taking the contact details of witnesses, such as a chaperone to a doctor’s appointment, means that a professional can take their statements at a later date.

Your case may also be put to the Bolam test. In this case, a panel of relevantly trained medical experts will assess whether the standard of care you received was of an appropriate standard or not.

One of the benefits of working with a solicitor on your case is that they can help you collect evidence for your claim. Contact our team of advisors to find out how one of our solicitors could help you or to learn more about how much compensation for misdiagnosis in the UK you could receive if your claim succeeds.

Types Of Clinical Negligence Misdiagnosis Claims

If you want to sue a hospital, or other medical institute, for a misdiagnosis, you first may be wondering, ‘what is a misdiagnosis?’. A misdiagnosis is when someone may be diagnosed with a medical condition they do not suffer from. This could be due to a variety of reasons, such as failure to recognise symptoms.

There are various different types of misdiagnosis claims, such as:

• Total misdiagnosis – This is when a medical professional fails to diagnose the symptoms of an existing illness or condition. This could lead to the patient receiving incorrect or delayed treatment, which could make their condition worse.
• Cancer misdiagnosis – This is when a medical practitioner misdiagnoses your cancer as a different condition. For example, you see your doctor about lumps in your breast. They only perform a physical inspection, and do not order any further tests. They then misdiagnose your breast cancer as inflamed lymph nodes.
• Fracture misdiagnosis – This is when your fracture is misdiagnosed as something else, such as a sprain or strain. For example, you got to the hospital with clear symptoms of a broken wrist. The doctor on hand does not order an x-ray scan and diagnoses you with a sprained wrist.

However, when suing for a misdiagnosis, you must prove that you suffered unnecessary harm due to a medical professional breaching their duty of care to you. If a medical professional took all the necessary steps, and you were still misdiagnosed, you might not be able to make a claim.

Contact our advisors today if you are wondering, ‘can I sue a doctor for a misdiagnosis?”.

How Long Do I Have To Claim For Medical Misdiagnosis?

If you can prove that a breach in duty of care led to your or your loved one’s hospital misdiagnosis and unnecessary harm as a result, you might be able to make a claim. However, when suing for a misdiagnosis, the claim must be started within the time limit. This is usually three years as set under the Limitation Act 1980. It can be three years after the incident or three years after the incident was connected to negligence.

There are some circumstances that suspend the time limit and make it possible for some claimants to have another person act as their litigation friend. A litigation friend can start a claim on behalf of a party who cannot claim for themselves at any point during the time limit’s suspension.

For example, you can claim on behalf of your child if you act as their litigation friend because children cannot start their own claim. In the case of children, the time limit is suspended until they turn 18.

As with children, adults lacking mental capacity cannot start their own claim. However, a litigation friend can claim on their behalf. When someone lacks the mental capacity, the time limit is suspended indefinitely. However, should they regain their capacity, the time limit will start from that date.

Our advisors can answer your questions about time limits in medical negligence claims. If you are within the time limit, or wish to act as a litigation friend, and the claim seems like it could succeed, they can help you get started right away.

My Doctor Misdiagnosed Me, Can I Work With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

If you sue a doctor for a wrong diagnosis, a solicitor could help you by collecting evidence on your behalf and giving you advice as and when required. However, if you are concerned that you might not have the money to pay your solicitor upfront, you could hire a No Win No Fee solicitor.

Typically, solicitors who work on a No Win No Fee basis will not ask for upfront payment. The arrangement usually covers ongoing costs too. You won’t need to pay your solicitor for their work if your claim does not succeed. If your claim is successful, a legally capped success fee will be taken from your compensation award.

Speak to our advisors if you would like to hire one of our expert medical negligence solicitors under a No Win No Fee agreement. As well as a free consultation, they can also answer questions you may have, such as, ‘can I sue a hospital for misdiagnosis?’

There are plenty of ways to contact us, including:

• Filling out an online claim form for a free call back
• Ringing our 24/7 advice line for free on 0800 073 8804
• Send a message to info@legalexpert.co.uk

Useful Links On Medical Misdiagnosis Claims

• Hospital Negligence Claims Explained: Check out this guide to learn more about claiming for negligence which you experienced within a hospital.
• A Guide To Dental Negligence Claims: This guide looks in-depth at making a claim for different types of dental negligence.
• Birth Injury Claims Explained: Read this guide to learn more about claiming for injuries which occurred during a child birth due to medical negligence.
• A Guide To The NHS Complaints Procedure: Check this online Government guide to learn how to make a formal complaint about an NHS service.
• Search For NHS Services In Your Local Area: You can use this section of the NHS website to search for different types of health services near your location.

We hope this guide on how to make misdiagnosis claims has been helpful for you. If you would like to speak to an advisor about seeking delayed treatment compensation or making medical misdiagnosis claims, then you are welcome to contact Legal Expert today. You can speak to our team by using the contact details included in this guide.