Failure To Diagnose Ectopic Pregnancy – Medical Negligence Claims Guide
If you have experienced a failure to diagnose ectopic pregnancy as a result of medical negligence, you may be wondering, “can I make a medical negligence claim?”
Misdiagnosing an ectopic pregnancy can lead to very severe complications. Anyone experiencing an ectopic pregnancy needs immediate medical care that will involve surgery. If there was a delay or failure to diagnose your ectopic pregnancy because a medical professional breached their duty of care to you and this led to you experiencing injuries that could have been avoided, you could be eligible to claim for medical negligence compensation.
b When a medical professional accepts to treat a patient, they automatically owe them a duty of care. They must always provide the correct standard and not deviate from professional standards. A medical misdiagnosis claim could be valid if the medical practitioner was negligent.
An advisor from our team is available to offer you a free consultation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To get in touch:
- Call 0800 652 3087
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Select A Section
- What Is An Ectopic Pregnancy?
- Can Doctors Miss An Ectopic Pregnancy?
- Examples of Failure To Treat An Ectopic Pregnancy
- Could I Sue For The Failure To Diagnose An Ectopic Pregnancy?
- What Could You Claim For The Failure To Diagnose An Ectopic Pregnancy?
- Contact Medical Negligence Assist
What Is An Ectopic Pregnancy?
An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, commonly in one of the fallopian tubes.
The fallopian tubes that connect the ovaries to the womb are narrow, so once the fetus begins to grow, this can put your health at risk. At this point, the pregnancy cannot be saved. An operation or sometimes medication is used so the pregnancy can be removed.
However, if a medical professional fails to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy, it could lead to further complications such as the fallopian tubes splitting. Now you may require emergency surgery as this can be life-threatening. Some treatments may reduce your fertility and can make it more complicated to get pregnant in the future.
Please contact our advisors to see if you can claim medical negligence compensation if you suffered a delayed diagnosis.
What Are The Symptoms Of An Ectopic Pregnancy?
According to an NHS guide, symptoms may start to occur between the 4th to the 12th week of pregnancy. In some cases, women might not find out about the pregnancy being ectopic until an early scan, or they develop more serious symptoms later on.
Symptoms may include:
- Vaginal bleeding
- Stomach pain
- Shoulder pain
- Discomfort when going to the toilet
- Ruptures could include sharp, sudden and intense pain in your stomach as well as dizziness or fainting
Can Doctors Miss An Ectopic Pregnancy?
An ectopic pregnancy could be missed first if you do not explain all the symptoms you are experiencing. It is vital to tell the doctor or midwife all the issues that you are having so they can make the correct diagnosis. However, if a medical professional fails to listen to what you are describing, fails to order the correct diagnostic tests or reads the scan incorrectly, an ectopic pregnancy could be missed.
A failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy could not only lead to these symptoms becoming more severe it could put your life at risk and cause complications with your fertility.
If your ectopic pregnancy is misdiagnosed due to doctor negligence, call our advisors now to find out whether you are eligible to claim.
Examples of Failure To Treat An Ectopic Pregnancy
Below we discuss examples of how an ectopic pregnancy could be misdiagnosed and how this could lead to the condition deteriorating.
- A doctor may fail to adequately investigate the patient’s symptoms when they complain of symptoms consistent with an ectopic pregnancy. Consequently, the pregnancy continues to grow, and they require surgery when they may have previously only needed medication.
- Despite showing clear symptoms, the patient is not referred for further tests. As a result, their condition worsens, leading to a burst fallopian tube.
- A patient has a known risk of developing an ectopic pregnancy, having suffered one before. Despite this, they were not offered additional monitoring, which led to a burst fallopian tube and the need for emergency surgery.
If there has been a failure to diagnose your ectopic pregnancy, which led to you suffering injuries that were avoidable had the condition been diagnosed at the earliest opportunity, please call our advisers today for free legal advice.
Could I Sue For The Failure To Diagnose An Ectopic Pregnancy?
As previously mentioned, to be eligible to make a medical negligence claim for a failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy, you must be able to prove:
- You were owed a duty of care by a medical professional
- This duty of care was breached because professional standards were not adhered to.
- You were harmed as a result
As established by the Limitation Act 1980, typically, you must begin your claim within a 3-year time limit.
However, there are some circumstances in which this time limitation does not apply. For example;
- If you are a minor, the court does not allow you to represent yourself therefore, this time limit does not start until you turn 18. If you do not want to wait, a court-appointed litigation friend can begin the claim on your behalf during this time.
- If you lack the mental capabilities to conduct a claim yourself, you can too, use a litigation friend. If you make a recovery, the time limit will begin for you on this date.
- Date of knowledge may also apply if you are not aware of negligence at the time of the incident.
If you would like more information on litigation friends or the general claims process, do not hesitate to speak with our advisors.
What Could You Claim For The Failure To Diagnose An Ectopic Pregnancy?
If you claim having experienced a failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy due to medical negligence and win, your payout could comprise two heads of claim.
Firstly, you could be awarded general damages for any pain and suffering you encounter as a result of negligence. This can apply to both physical and psychological injuries.
For example, the failure to diagnose the ectopic pregnancy could leave the person infertile in the future. This may cause significant stress or depression.
We have compiled a table of compensation brackets taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), a document that legal professionals use to help them when valuing claims.
However, these figures should only be used as a guideline because each medical negligence claim is unique.
| Reproductive System: Female | Compensation Bracket | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Female reproductive system | £114,900 to £170,280 | Infertility caused by injury or disease, with sexual dysfunction in conjunction with mental injuries, such as depression and anxiety, as well as pain, and scarring |
| Female reproductive system | £43,010 to £102,100 | Sexual dysfunction that is likely to be permanent in the case of a person with children or would not have had children. Significant medical complications, e.g. ectopic pregnancies. |
| Female reproductive system | £56,080 to £71,350 | Infertility with no aggravating symptoms and no dysfunction in a young person without children. |
| Female reproductive system | £17,960 to £36,740 | Infertility with no medical complications or sexual dysfunction where the injured party already has kids. |
| Female reproductive system | £6,610 to £18,680 | Where the injured person would not have had any children due to factors , such as age and is now infertile. |
| Female reproductive system | £3,390 to £20,430 | There is delay in diagnosing ectopic pregnancy but there is no impact on fertility. |
| Female reproductive system | In the region of £10,200 | Failed sterilisation leading to unwanted pregnancy that causes no major psychological impact or depression. |
Moreover, you could be awarded special damages for any financial losses incurred due to medical negligence.
These costs could be covered by special damages:
- Loss of earnings
- Home adaptations
- Medical expenses
- Travel expenses
It could be useful to keep a record of all monetary losses as proof.
Contact Medical Negligence Assist
Medical negligence claims can be complex. It can be a wise decision to hire a legal representative to help you with your medical negligence claim. If you are worried about funding a solicitor upfront, why not choose one that operates on a No Win No Fee basis? Very often, such a solicitor will require you to enter into a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which means that you won’t have to pay if your claim is lost. Generally, there are no upfront fees too.
In the event of a successful case, a capped by-law success fee will be subtracted from the medical negligence compensation and paid to your solicitor.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with an advisor from our team who can connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel if you have a valid claim.
To get in touch:
- Call 0800 652 3087
- Contact us via our online form.
- Chat with an advisor using our live chat feature
Related Pregnancy And Birth Injury Claims
Here are some additional guides that may be beneficial to you:
We have also included some additional guides that could be of help:
Thank you for reading our guide on the steps you can take if you have encountered a failure to diagnose ectopic pregnancy due to hospital negligence.