How To Claim Compensation For A GP Misdiagnosis

By Lewis Morrison. Last Updated 27th October 2023. If you’ve been the victim of a GP misdiagnosis, this may mean you receive treatment for a condition that you do not have.

It could also lead to a delay in treating the condition that you are suffering from. But what if you were misdiagnosed by video examination by a doctor or GP?

Could this be classified as medical negligence even if they did not see you in person? And, if you are harmed by such negligence, could you make a claim for being negligently misdiagnosed by video?

In this guide, you can read all about the role of video conferencing in GP services, as well as learn more about medical misdiagnosis cases.

If, however, you are ready to begin a claim right away, or would like advice on your specific circumstances, please do not hesitate to call us on 0800 652 3087. We’re here to help.

How to claim for a GP misdiagnosis

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Can I Sue My GP For A Misdiagnosis?
What Does It Mean To Be Misdiagnosed By A GP?
How Could A GP Misdiagnosis Occur?
What Types Of GP Misdiagnosis Could Happen?
How Do I Prove A GP Misdiagnosis?
Examples Of Misdiagnosis Compensation Payouts
Make A No Win No Fee Claim For A GP Misdiagnosis
Helpful Links On Medical Negligence Claims

Can I Sue My GP For A Misdiagnosis?

If you received a GP misdiagnosis, compensation could be awarded to you. However, all medical negligence claims must meet certain eligibility criteria in order for them to be valid. These are:

You were owed a duty of care by a medical professional.
This duty was breached.
Due to this breach, you suffered unnecessary harm.

All medical professionals, including GPs, owe their patients a duty of care. Per this duty, they must ensure that they provide you with the correct standard of care while treating you. If they were to breach this duty of care, this could cause you to suffer unnecessary harm, and you could be eligible to make a GP misdiagnosis claim.

However, it is important to note that there may be some instances where you receive a misdiagnosis, but a medical professional did not breach their duty of care. In this instance, you might not be able to make a medical negligence claim.

Time Limits To Make A Claim For A GP Misdiagnosis

Claiming compensation for situations where you were misdiagnosed may come with some restrictions. One of these involves how long you may have to launch your claim. Similar to the personal injury claims time limit, the medical negligence time limit would usually be three years. This three-year limitation period usually begins on the day you discover you have suffered avoidable harm by being negligently misdiagnosed by a GP or doctor. There are, however, some exceptions to the limitation period. For example, if you were claiming on behalf of a child, you would have until their eighteenth birthday to launch a claim on their behalf. There are more exceptions too. If you are wondering whether you are within the limitation period to begin a claim, please do not hesitate to call us – we will be glad to advise you on how long you could have to launch your claim.

What Does It Mean To Be Misdiagnosed By A GP?

If you have been misdiagnosed by a GP, this could mean that the doctor in questions has identified an illness or condition that you do not have, instead of correctly diagnosing your health condition. In some cases, it may not be possible for them to reach the correct diagnosis because of mitigating circumstances, meaning it would not be classified as medical negligence. However, if their negligence has led to you being misdiagnosed, you may suffer avoidable physical or mental harm or both.

Being misdiagnosed by video examination by a doctor or GP could cause harm in two different ways. You may receive treatment for a condition you do not have. Depending on the type of treatment you undergo, this could harm you in a variety of different ways. For example, if you are given tablets for high blood pressure when you did not have high blood pressure, you could suffer ill-effects from taking medication to lower your blood pressure. The other type of harm you could suffer from a misdiagnosis could be that the condition that you do have goes untreated. This could lead to the condition worsening, and this could mean your prognosis becomes poorer than it could have been as treatment opportunities are delayed, leading to a longer period of suffering and in some cases, more invasive treatment is required.

How Could A GP Misdiagnosis Occur?

If a doctor misdiagnosed you by video examination, you may be wondering how this has happened. Misdiagnosis through video examinations could occur for a number of different reasons. Some of these could include:

The lack of physical examination – some illnesses and conditions need to be seen physically in order for them to be diagnosed. If the GP or doctor fails to refer a patient for a full physical examination for a medical issue when it could have been appropriate for them to do so, this could lead to a misdiagnosis.
Also, private doctors may not have access to patients’ NHS health records, and because of this, they may only get fragments of information. This could provide some obstacles to reaching an accurate diagnosis.

Whether your misdiagnosis occurred due to the reasons above, or another issue, if negligence by a doctor in diagnosing you led to you suffering avoidable harm, you could be entitled to launch a claim for compensation. We could connect you with a medical negligence lawyer, similar to a personal injury solicitor, to help fight for compensation on your behalf.

What Types Of GP Misdiagnosis Could Happen?

There are various ways in which you could suffer a misdiagnosis, these could include:

Incorrect diagnosis – If a doctor mistakes your symptoms for another illness, this could mean you are treated for an illness you do not have. Depending on what type of illness you are incorrectly diagnosed with, this could lead to you being given medication which could adversely affect your health if you do not need it.
Failure to diagnose – If you suffer from an injury or illness and this is not diagnosed this could lead to your illness or injury not being treated. A failure to diagnose a broken bone could lead to it not healing properly, while misdiagnosed asthma could mean you suffer from breathing difficulties when you could have been receiving treatment to help you.
Late diagnosis – A delayed diagnosis could also mean that you suffer for longer than you would have done if the diagnosis was made when it could have been. If you suffer from a doctor’s misdiagnosis of cancer, this could mean you end up requiring more invasive treatment than you could have needed if the cancer had been caught sooner. It could also lead to a poorer prognosis for recovery.

How Do I Prove A GP Misdiagnosis?

If you are looking to make a medical misdiagnosis claim against your GP, then you will need to gather evidence that supports your case. If you hire a solicitor, then they should be able to assist with this process.

Like with other kinds of medical negligence claims, cases involving a video misdiagnosis by a GP require you to prove that you have suffered an injury/illness or a pre-existing issue has been exacerbated due to a breach of duty of care. Types of evidence which could be collected for a medical misdiagnosis claim may include:

A medical assessment by another medical expert or hospital that confirms your condition and shows different conclusions than those made by your GP
Your medical records
Witness statements from anyone who has observed the effects of the misdiagnosis
Correspondence of confirmation that a video examination was arranged and took place

For further examples of evidence, get in touch with our advisors.

Examples Of Misdiagnosis Compensation Payouts

If your misdiagnosis compensation claim is successful, your payout will include general damages. This head of claim would compensate you for the suffering and pain from the avoidable harm you experienced due to medical negligence.

When valuing the general damages portion of GP misdiagnosis claims, legal professionals could refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG lists guideline compensation payouts for different types of harm.

The table below contains figures from the 16th edition of the JCG, updated in 2022. However, these figures are only a guide. The specific facts and circumstances of your case would impact your compensation payout.

Type of Injury	Guideline Award Bracket	Notes
Female reproductive injury	Up to £170,280	Infertility, caused by failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy
Female reproductive injury	£3,390 to £20,430	Failure to diagnose ectopic pregnancy but no infertility.
Male Reproductive Injury	£43,010 to £88,750	Significant sexual disfunction or impotence in people who would not have had children, or had children already.
Bladder control impairment	£63,980 to £79,930	With pain and incontinence.
Kidney	Up to £63,980	Significant risks of urinary tract infections or loss of function.
Kidney	£30,770 to £44,880	One kidney lost with no damage to the other.
Lung diseases	£31,310 to £54,830	Frequent use of inhalers would be required by the injured party. Their future prognosis would be uncertain, but there would be marked effects on social/working life.
Injury causing damage to the lung.	£2,190 to £5,320	With complete recovery with no complications.
Hernias	£14,900 to £24,170	Injuries that limit physical activities, sport and employment, even after the hernia has been repaired.

Additionally, you may be eligible to receive special damages for a successful claim. This head of claim compensates you for out-of-pocket financial expenses caused by the medical negligence you experienced.

Examples of special damages in medical negligence claims could include:

Loss of earnings
Care costs
Medical expenses
Travel expenses

It is important to keep evidence relating to these expenses, such as bank statements and receipts, for example. These documents could support your claim for special damages.

To learn more about the compensation you could receive for a successful claim, you can contact our advisors. They would be able to give you a personalised estimate.

Make A No Win No Fee Claim For A GP Misdiagnosis

When conducting your misdiagnosis claim with a specialist solicitor you may be concerned that you have to pay legal fees in advance of your claim being settled. This would not be the case if you chose to work with a No Win No fee medical negligence solicitor on your misdiagnosis claim.

Instead, you would sign a Conditional Fee Agreement; a document that promises your solicitor a small success fee which is legally capped, if they secure you a compensation payout. If they do not secure you any compensation, the success fee would not be payable, and you would not be required to cover the solicitor’s costs for pursuing your claim either.

This could give you some peace of mind and financial confidence to pursue your claim for compensation. We could connect you with a specialist solicitor who could take on your claim on this basis.

Contact Us Today

Getting advice and support if you’ve been misdiagnosed by a GP or doctor by video examination is easy if you get in contact with the team at Medical Negligence Assist.

Not only could we provide answers to questions you may have, but we could also provide an assessment of your case to see if you could be entitled to claim compensation. This would be totally free of charge and would not put you under any obligation to use our services.

There are several ways to get in touch with us.

You could call us directly on 0800 652 3087
Or use the Live Chat feature to get an instant response.
Alternatively, you could fill out the contact form, and one of our knowledgeable team will get back to you at a time to suit you.

However you prefer to get in contact, we’re ready and able to help.

Helpful Links On Medical Negligence Claims

Below, you can find more useful information on medical negligence claims:

General Information About Misdiagnosis Claims – Here, you can read our general guidance on misdiagnosis claims.
How Long Does It Take To Claim For Negligence? – This guide explores how long it could take to get compensation for a medical negligence claim.
Claiming Against A Private Practice – General guidance about private practice negligence claims can be found here.
Complaining About The NHS – Here, you can find information from the NHS about making complaints.
Online GP Services – Here, you can read more about how the NHS’ online services work.
Digital First Primary Care – This page, from the NHS website, discusses the provision of digital care.

Other Misdiagnosis Claims

If you need any more help and support following a GP misdiagnosis, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Make A GP Misdiagnosis Claim Today