In this guide, we explain when you could be eligible to claim after medical negligence led to the failure to diagnose a heart attack. We discuss how much a medical negligence claim could be worth and explain how settlement amounts are calculated. Also, we provide examples of the evidence that could help support your claim and highlight the medical negligence time limit that could apply.
Failure To Diagnose A Heart Attack – Medical Negligence Claims
Moreover, we outline how a solicitor could offer their services under a No Win No Fee agreement. This means a solicitor could take on your medical negligence compensation claim without asking for a solicitor’s fee upfront.
Keep reading to learn more about hospital negligence claims. For further guidance, you can reach out to our team and speak with an advisor who can offer you a free consultation. You can contact us in the following ways:
- Call us on 0800 652 3087
- Request further information using our ‘Contact Us‘ form
- Use our live feature to chat with an advisor
Select A Section
- How Much Could I Claim For The Failure To Diagnose A Heart Attack?
- Could I Claim If A Doctor Failed To Diagnose My Heart Attack?
- How To Prove Causation In Medical Negligence Claims
- Why Could Doctors Fail To Diagnose A Heart Attack?
- Contact Our Team To Claim For The Failure To Diagnose A Heart Attack
- Learn More About The Failure To Diagnose A Medical Condition
How Much Could I Claim For The Failure To Diagnose A Heart Attack?
You may be eligible to claim compensation for avoidable or unnecessary harm you experienced after a medical professional failed to diagnose a heart attack. For instance, you may be able to claim for a brain injury that occurs because you did not receive an adequate level of care.
This compensation can include up to two heads of claim, the first of which is called general damages. This head of claim is intended to compensate you for the pain that resulted from medical negligence.
A solicitor will typically assess how much you could receive in general damages with assistance from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document contains compensation brackets for injuries of various natures. These are depicted in the table in this section, but they are intended only as guidance, as the compensation you are awarded will be based on your actual circumstances.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain Damage | Moderately Severe (b) | There is serious disability requiring constant care from a professional. | £219,070 to £282,010 |
| Brain Damage | Moderate (c) (i) | Intellectual deficit is moderate to severe and accompanied by personality changes and an effect on speech and the senses. | £150,110 to £219,070 |
| Brain Damage | Moderate (c) (ii) | Intellectual deficit is moderate to modest and there is some risk of epilepsy. The ability to work is reduced or removed altogether. | £90,720 to £150,110 |
| Brain Damage | Moderate (c) (iii) | Memory and concentration are impacted. There is a small risk of epilepsy and may be vestibular symptoms. | £43,060 to £90,720 |
| Chest Injuries | Serious (a) | Serious heart damage with significant scarring and persistent pain. | £100,670 to £150,110 |
What Could Be Covered By Special Damages?
A second head of claim, known as special damages, could help reimburse you for monetary losses incurred because of medical negligence. This could include:
- Loss of earnings, past and future
- Specific medical treatments for rehabilitation
- Alternative travel expenses
You require financial evidence to back up your claim for special damages. This can consist of payslips, invoices, or bank statements illustrating the impact on your finances.
Could I Claim If A Doctor Failed To Diagnose My Heart Attack?
Medical professionals have a duty of care to their patients, which means they must provide them with the correct standard of care. If they fail to do this, and you suffer avoidable or unnecessary harm as a result, you could have grounds to claim.
When making a claim for medical negligence, it is important to illustrate the following criteria were true of your circumstances:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- They failed to fulfil this duty, constituting a breach.
- This breach directly caused you to suffer physical or psychological harm.
A medical professional’s breach must cause avoidable or unnecessary harm for you to claim. For further guidance on your eligibility, please speak with one of our advisors.
Time Limits On Medical Negligence Claims
The Limitation Act 1980 sets out the time limit you must adhere to when considering a claim. In general, you will have three years from the date medical negligence occurred, or from the date you learned that negligence was involved. This second instance is called your date of knowledge.
There are exceptions to this time limit. If an individual was under eighteen when medical negligence occurred, they have three years from their eighteenth birthday to begin a claim.
Additionally, time limits are suspended for a person without the capacity to claim. Instead, this individual will have three years from the date they gain the capacity to start a claim.
Alternatively, in both scenarios, before this occurs, a litigation friend can begin a claim on their behalf.
For more information about time limits that may apply to your circumstances, please get in contact with our team of advisers.
How To Prove Causation In Medical Negligence Claims
Proving causation is a significant part of establishing medical negligence occurred. Certain pieces of evidence can help prove if the harm you experienced was due to the negligence of a medical professional. For instance, it could benefit your claim to gather:
- A copy of your medical records, which will include initial diagnoses, treatment plans, and doctors’ notes
- Photographs of the labels for medications you are prescribed
- A diary of the symptoms you experience
Additionally, the Bolam test may be applied to your case. This test convenes a panel of medical professionals who evaluate the care you received and decide whether or not it fell below an adequate level. This is not something you can prepare before beginning a claim, but it could provide valuable insight about the merits of your claim.
A solicitor from our panel could assist you in acquiring evidence to support your claim. If you’d like to know more about this service, contact our team of advisers.
Why Could Doctors Fail To Diagnose A Heart Attack?
Failure to diagnose a heart attack could happen for many different reasons:
- A doctor’s negligence could occur if they fail to account for your family history of heart attacks when diagnosing your condition. This could lead to a medical misdiagnosis or negligent medical advice.
- A doctor did not listen correctly to your symptoms and therefore diagnosed angina when actually you were having a heart attack.
- Your test results are mixed up with another patient. This means you are sent away with the wrong diagnosis. The treatment is delayed. This leads to your conditioning deteriorating.
If your treatment is delayed or you are diagnosed incorrectly, your condition could get worse. This may represent avoidable or unnecessary harm. Speak to our advisers to learn more about the circumstances in which you may be eligible to claim.
Contact Our Team To Claim For The Failure To Diagnose A Heart Attack
When looking to begin your claim, you may choose to work with a medical negligence solicitor. The solicitors on our panel could offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement, which means they would be providing their services on a No Win No Fee basis.
Working with a solicitor under the terms of a CFA means you won’t be charged for your solicitor’s services if your claim fails. Instead, if it succeeds, your solicitor would take a success fee. This is deducted from the compensation, but the proportion is discussed between yourself and your solicitor before you enter into the agreement with them.
The amount deducted as a success fee is restricted by the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, so you don’t need to be concerned about overcharging.
Please get in touch for further information about No Win No Fee agreements.
How To Contact Us
If you still have questions about the process of making medical negligence claims, please don’t hesitate to contact our team of advisers. They can elaborate on the information provided in this guide. This consultation is free and can take place whenever is most convenient for you, so please use the contact methods below to reach us:
- Call us on 0800 652 3087
- Request further information using our ‘Contact Us‘ form
- Use our live feature to chat with an advisor
Learn More About The Failure To Diagnose A Medical Condition
For more of our guides, please visit the pages below:
- Wrongful Death Negligence Compensation Claims
- Medical Negligence Claims
- What Counts As Medical Negligence?
For external resources, please visit the links:
- Heart Attack – NHS
- NHS Constitution For England – UK Government
- Raising And Acting On Concerns About Patient Safety – General Medical Council (GMC)
We hope this guide has provided useful information about claiming compensation for a medical professional’s failure to diagnose a heart attack. If you still have questions, contact our team using the details above.