How To Claim For The Failure To Treat A Stroke

This guide will explain how to claim compensation for failure to treat a stroke. A stroke is a medical emergency. The quicker you receive treatment for a stroke, the more likely it could be that you will make a full recovery.

Failure to treat a stroke claims guide

There could be a number of different reasons that you could receive delayed treatment. For example, doctors may misdiagnose a stroke. This could mean that they are treated for a condition that they don’t have first, delaying the treatment for the stroke.

When you attend a hospital to seek attention for a medical condition, you’re owed a duty of care. If this duty of care has been breached, and you were harmed as a direct result, then you could claim compensation.

To see if you have a valid claim, please get in touch by:

Calling us on 0800 652 3087
Using our online claims form
Speaking to someone at the live chat feature on this page

Select A Section

What Is A Failure To Treat A Stroke?
What Are The Effects Of Failing To Treat A Stroke?
Why Be May A Stroke Misdiagnosed?
Can You Claim For The Failure To Treat A Stroke?
Failure To Treat A Stroke Settlement Amounts
Discuss Your Claim With An Expert

What Is A Failure To Treat A Stroke?

Firstly, let’s establish what a stroke is. A stroke happens when the flow of blood to a section of the brain is cut off. Strokes can be life-threatening or cause permanent disabilities. If someone is having a stroke, they require urgent medical treatment.

Not all instances of failure to diagnose a stroke will be the grounds for a potential medical negligence claim. You can only claim where this has happened because of a breach of duty of care, and if it has caused you harm.

For instance, your doctor might fail to misdiagnose a stroke because you don’t fully explain your symptoms to them. If this is the case, it would not be the result of negligence.

Furthermore, if a doctor misdiagnosed your stroke but this did not impact your health, then you would not be able to claim, even if it was caused by negligence. You must have been harmed by the breach of duty of care in order to be eligible to receive compensation.

For more information on the circumstances that could entitle you to claim, speak with an advisor today.

What Are The Effects Of Failing To Treat A Stroke?

If a doctor misdiagnoses a stroke, this may delay a patient’s treatment. Because a stroke impacts the brain, it can have a number of different

A delay in treatment could cause:

Psychological issues, such as depression, anxiety and anger or frustration.
Lowered cognitive functions. For example, you might have problems with communication, spatial awareness, memory, concentration and the ability to problem-solve.
Issues with movement. For example, you might be paralysed on one side, or have problems with balance or coordination.
Problems communicating. A stroke could impede your ability to speak, understand, read and write.
Swallowing. A stroke can affect your swallowing reflex. Because of this, you might need to be fed through a tune in the first part of your recovery.

In some cases, medical negligence relating to the diagnosis of a stroke could cause death. For more information on whether you have a valid claim for failure to treat a stroke, speak with an advisor today.

How Common Are Strokes In The UK?

Statistics released by Public Health England explain how prevalent strokes are in the UK.

In England, one in six people will experience a stroke at some point in their lifetime.
30% of people who have had a stroke will have another stroke.
57,000 people had their first stroke in 2016.
Each year, there are an estimated 32,000 stroke-related deaths.
59% of strokes happen to people aged 70 or above.
However, 38% of people who have a stroke are middle-aged (between 40 and 69).

If someone is suffering from the symptoms of a stroke, please dial 999 immediately for an ambulance. For more information on whether you could claim for harm caused by failure to treat a stroke, speak with an advisor.

Why Be May A Stroke Misdiagnosed?

A doctor may fail to treat a stroke because of medical misdiagnosis. The following medical errors can cause the misdiagnosis of a stroke:

When you seek medical attention, the doctor fails to take your symptoms seriously.
You’re sent for tests to confirm whether you are suffering from a stroke, but these are not carried out correctly. As a result, the results of the test aren’t accurate.
When your test results come back. your doctor misinterprets the results. You could make a hospital negligence claim if this causes your condition to worsen.

Speak with an advisor today for more information on how a stroke could be misdiagnosed because of medical negligence.

Can You Claim For Failure To Treat A Stroke?

You could make a medical negligence claim for failure to treat a stroke under the following circumstances:

The doctor that treated you owed you a duty of care. Please note that all medical practitioners owe their patients a duty of care.
Moreover, the doctor provided you with substandard medical treatment. Therefore the doctor may fail to diagnose a stroke, delaying your treatment.
Consequently, the failure to provide the correct treatment promptly harmed you.

Furthermore, you need to make sure that you are starting your claim within the appropriate time limit. This is usually three years from the date of the incident. However, in some cases, it could be three years from the date that you became aware that your worsening condition was caused by negligence.

Failure To Treat A Stroke Settlement Amounts

If a doctor fails to diagnose and treat your stroke, you might be able to claim doctor negligence compensation. The compensation table below can help you estimate how much your claim could be worth in general damages. This is the part of your settlement that covers the pain and suffering you’ve experienced as a result of your ill health.

Type And Level Of Injury	Damages	Notes
Epilepsy - Established Grand Mal (a)	£102,000 to £150,110	Established Grand Mal
Epilepsy - Established Petit Mal (b)	£54,830 to £131,370	Compensation is affected by factors such as the prognosis, whether attacks can be controlled by medication and the effect on work and social life as well as other factors.
Injury Due To Brain Damage (a) Very Severe	£282,010 to £403,990	Compensation may take factors such as life expectancy, degree of insight, sensory impairment and whether the person also has epilepsy.
Injury Due To Brain Damage (b) Moderately Severe	£219,070 to £282,010	Again damages take the same set of factors as above into account. The injured person may be seriously disabled and require constant professional care.
Injury Due To Brain Damage (c) Moderate (i)	£150,110 to £219,070	Distinguished from the more severe cases by the level of dependance being lower. There could still be changes to the personality and a degree of intellectual deficit.
Injury Due To Brain Damage (c) Moderate (iii)	£43,060 to £90,720	Memory and concentration may be impacted and overall the person may have a reduced ability to work. There could also be the risk of developing epilepsy.
Injury Due To Brain Damage (d) Less Severe	£15,320 to £43,060	Damages could be affected by factors such as the presence of depression, the extent of personality changes, how severe the initial injury was and if there could be any permanent disability.
Injury Due To Brain Damage (e) Minor Injury	£2,210 to £12,770	Compensation may be based on the same set of factors as above.
Mental Health Injury (a)	£54,830 to £115,730	They could have serious problems in relation to factors such as their ability to cope with life and ther effects on their family relationships. Damages could look at the future prognosis.
Mental Health Injury (b)	£19,070 to £54,830	The same factors as above are taken into account. However, a better prognosis is present.

We referred to compensation guidelines from the Judicial College to create the medical negligence compensation amounts in the table. Solicitors use the Judicial College compensation guidelines to help them value settlements. But other pieces of evidence will be considered when you make a claim, so the final amount of compensation you receive may differ.

Please remember that if you make a medical negligence claim, you could also receive special damages. The first, general damages, compensate you for the physical harm caused by your injuries. This is to compensate you for the financial losses associated with your injuries. For example, if you became disabled after your stroke and needed to make adaptations to your home, you could claim special damages to cover these costs.

For more information on what could be included in a claim for failure to treat a stroke, get in touch with us today.

Discuss Your Claim With An Expert

If you claim the failure to treat a stroke, you can fund the work of a lawyer through a No Win No Fee agreement, also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. With this kind of agreement in place, you won’t pay your solicitor any upfront or ongoing fees.

If your claim is successful, they’ll take a legally-capped success fee from your settlement. This fee won’t be due if you don’t win your claim.

To start the claims process, please contact us today by: