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Finding out that the medical explanation you were given was not the right one can be difficult to process, especially if your health worsened while the condition actually causing your symptoms went untreated. You may be able to make a medical negligence claim if the diagnostic care fell below the expected professional standard and caused avoidable harm. To work out whether that applies in your case, Legal Helpline’s panel of specialist medical negligence solicitors can assess how your diagnosis unfolded and whether failings in that process caused avoidable harm.
Drawing on their experience of misdiagnosis cases, they can piece together the medical history around the point when the correct condition should have been recognised, using your records and independent expert opinion to examine issues such as an abnormal result going without follow-up or treatment continuing despite a lack of improvement. That evidence can then help our panel build the claim around the avoidable health consequences and financial losses caused by the diagnostic failure, so the case reflects what actually changed for you.
Having that support means you are not left trying to piece together a complex medical history or work out how it translates into a legal claim on your own. Contact Legal Helpline today, and our advisors can explain whether they could connect you with a solicitor from our panel who could take your misdiagnosis claim forward on a No Win No Fee basis.
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- What Is A Misdiagnosis Claim?
- When Could A Misdiagnosis Be Considered Medical Negligence?
- Which Conditions Are Commonly Misdiagnosed?
- Specific Consequences Of Misdiagnosis
- How Much Compensation Could A Misdiagnosis Claim Be Worth?
- What Do You Need To Prove A Misdiagnosis Claim?
- How Legal Helpline Can Support Your Misdiagnosis Claim
- Can I Make A Misdiagnosis Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Learn More
What Is A Misdiagnosis Claim?
A misdiagnosis claim is a type of medical negligence claim that can be made when substandard diagnostic care causes avoidable harm. That harm may arise because treatment is directed at the wrong condition while the true cause of your symptoms remains untreated. It can also follow when an abnormal result or other important diagnostic information is not acted on, and the correct diagnosis is reached later than it should have been, delaying the care you actually needed.
Compensation can reflect the physical or psychological consequences of the misdiagnosis, as well as financial losses resulting from that harm. Whether you were treated through the NHS or privately, compensation will only be available where the diagnostic care fell below the expected professional standard and caused avoidable harm. A wrong diagnosis does not, in itself, mean the care was negligent, as some conditions can be difficult to identify even when appropriate steps are taken.
Get in touch with our advisors today for straightforward guidance on what the diagnostic care may mean for a claim and what support could be available if you decide to proceed.
The Main Types Of Misdiagnosis
Medical misdiagnosis can occur in various ways, from test results being misinterpreted to symptoms not prompting the further investigation they should have. A claim will depend on whether the diagnostic care fell below the standard reasonably expected and whether that failure caused avoidable harm.
Tell our advisors what happened during your diagnosis, and they can talk you through whether you may have grounds to make a misdiagnosis claim.
When Could A Misdiagnosis Be Considered Medical Negligence?
A misdiagnosis could be considered medical negligence when the diagnostic care provided falls below the standard reasonably expected of a competent healthcare professional and this causes avoidable harm. A diagnosis turning out to be wrong does not automatically mean the care was negligent, as the question is whether reasonable diagnostic steps were taken with the information available at the time.
Concerned that warning signs were missed or you received treatment for the wrong condition? Speak with our advisors, and they can help you understand whether you may have grounds to pursue a misdiagnosis claim.
Which Conditions Are Commonly Misdiagnosed?
Almost any medical condition can be misdiagnosed, but some are particularly significant in misdiagnosis claims because a diagnostic error can delay treatment, lead to inappropriate care or allow a serious illness to worsen.
Common examples include:
- Cancer: A cancer misdiagnosis may arise when warning signs are attributed to a less serious condition, abnormal findings are not investigated or a referral is delayed. A late cancer diagnosis can allow the disease to progress and may mean more invasive treatment is needed.
- Stroke: Stroke symptoms can be mistaken for migraine, vertigo or another neurological problem. Delayed assessment or treatment may increase the risk of lasting effects such as reduced mobility, cognitive impairment or brain injury.
- Heart conditions: Chest pain, breathlessness or nausea may indicate a serious cardiac problem. If these symptoms are attributed to a less urgent condition, necessary treatment may be delayed and further complications can develop.
- Serious infections: If symptoms are missed or test results are not acted on, an infection may spread and require more intensive treatment or a longer recovery.
- Neurological conditions: Persistent or changing neurological symptoms may require further investigation. If this does not happen, diagnosis may be delayed and the underlying condition may deteriorate before treatment begins.
If a serious condition was missed, diagnosed too late or mistaken for another illness, speak with our advisors. They are available 24/7 to address any questions you may have and can establish whether you may have grounds to make a misdiagnosis claim during a free, confidential consultation.
Specific Consequences Of Misdiagnosis
A negligent misdiagnosis can change the course of an illness as well as expose you to treatment you did not need. While the correct condition remains untreated, symptoms may progress, and medication prescribed for the wrong diagnosis can bring side effects without addressing the underlying problem. In some cases, that delay means treatment becomes more invasive by the time the correct diagnosis is finally reached.
Those medical consequences can carry over into everyday life. A longer period of illness may keep you away from work or make ordinary routines harder to manage, while a poorer prognosis can leave effects that an earlier diagnosis would probably have avoided. Learning that your condition should have been identified sooner can also affect your mental health, particularly if the delay leaves you struggling with anxiety about a more serious outcome or treatment that might otherwise have been avoided.
Any compensation would focus on the additional harm caused by the misdiagnosis, rather than the effects of the underlying condition that would have occurred in any event. That can make it difficult to know which changes in your health may be reflected in a claim, so our advisors are available to talk through what happened and give you a clearer idea of what could be included.
How Much Compensation Could A Misdiagnosis Claim Be Worth?
How much compensation a misdiagnosis claim could be worth depends on the avoidable harm caused by the diagnostic error and how seriously it has affected your life. The compensation awarded for the physical and psychological effects of medical negligence is known as general damages.
When valuing this part of a medical misdiagnosis compensation, the severity of the avoidable harm matters, as does the available prognosis. For example, the valuation can reflect harmful side effects from inappropriate treatment or the lasting effects of a diagnostic delay on an existing condition.
Solicitors may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which provide guideline brackets for injuries and illnesses at different levels of severity. These figures are guidance only.
Financial losses are considered separately as special damages and can include lost earnings, additional treatment costs or care expenses caused by the misdiagnosis.
The table below uses relevant JCG entries to illustrate how different forms of harm may be valued. The top entry is not taken from the JCG, and all of the entries are included as guidance only.
| Harm | Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| More than one very severe form of harm and financial losses | More than one very serious type of harm, and special damages such as private medical expenses, lost income and professional care costs | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain | Very severe, with claimant showing little to no indication that have language ability or a meaningful response to their environment | £372,570 to £533,720 |
| Total Blindness | Total loss of sight | In Region of £355,020 |
| Kidney | Serious and permanent damage to or the loss of both kidneys | £223,800 to £277,980 |
| Bowel | Double incontinence involving complete loss of bowel function and urinary function and control, alongside other medical complications | Up to £243,350 |
| Bowel function totally lost with a dependence on colostomy, depending on age | Up to £198,320 | |
| Bladder | Loss of bladder function and control will be complete | Up to £185,840 |
| Reproductive System (Male) | Sexual dysfunction that is significant or impotence likely permanent in cases involving claimants with children or who would not have had any | £56,820 to £117,250 |
| Reproductive System (Female) | Young claimant without children who become infertile without aggravating features | £74,090 to £94,260 |
| Spleen | Loss of spleen with continuing risk of internal infection due to the damage sustained to the immune system | £27,480 to £34,740 |
| Hernia | Following repair, there will be ongoing pain and/or physical limitation | £19,680 to £31,930 |
What Financial Losses Could Be Included In A Misdiagnosis Claim?
A misdiagnosis claim can include lost earnings where the avoidable harm extends your time away from work, together with the reasonable cost of care needed if lasting changes to your health make everyday tasks harder to manage independently. These losses are known as special damages, and a solicitor from our panel can assess which costs arose from the incorrect or delayed diagnosis, such as:
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity: If a delayed or missed diagnosis keeps you off work for longer or leaves lasting health problems that restrict the work you can return to, wage records and medical evidence can help value both the earnings already lost and any reduction in your future earning capacity.
- Treatment and rehabilitation costs: Further treatment may be needed when a diagnostic error causes harm that earlier care could have prevented. For example, an untreated fracture that heals incorrectly may later require corrective surgery and physiotherapy, and your solicitor can use treatment records and invoices to calculate the reasonable cost of that additional care.
- Care and practical support: Lasting weakness or reduced mobility may mean you need help at home with tasks you previously managed independently. Your solicitor can consider the reasonable value of paid care or regular support from relatives where that need arose because of the harm caused by the diagnostic error.
- Extra travel costs: Repeated journeys for corrective treatment or follow-up care can add up where the original diagnostic error has left you needing appointments you would not otherwise have attended. Travel receipts can help your solicitor identify those additional journeys and calculate the reasonable cost.
You can speak with our advisors today about the impact the misdiagnosis has had on your health and finances, and they can explain what could be taken into account when your compensation is valued.
What Do You Need To Prove A Misdiagnosis Claim?
To prove a misdiagnosis claim, you need evidence showing that the diagnostic care you received fell below a reasonable professional standard and that this caused you avoidable harm. The claim must also be started within the applicable limitation period, so both the medical evidence and timing of the diagnostic error need to be considered early.
What Evidence Could Support A Misdiagnosis Claim?
The evidence that could support a misdiagnosis claim can include the medical notes made when you first reported symptoms and the results of diagnostic testing, such as scans or laboratory tests, carried out during your care. With support from our panel, those records can be obtained on your behalf and organised into a clear chronology. Your solicitor can also instruct an appropriate independent medical expert to review that chronology and consider whether the diagnostic decisions met the expected standard and what an earlier diagnosis would probably have changed. You can read more about how this evidence is used in our guide to proving medical negligence.
How Long Do I Have To Start A Misdiagnosis Claim?
You generally have 3 years to start a misdiagnosis claim, usually running from when the negligent diagnostic care caused you harm, or from a later date when you first had the necessary knowledge that you had been avoidably harmed. Different rules can apply in some cases, so our guide to the limitation period explains the exceptions and when they may apply.
If you would like to know what evidence may be needed or which deadline could apply, our advisors are available today for a simple conversation about your misdiagnosis claim and what to do next.
How Legal Helpline Can Support Your Misdiagnosis Claim
Legal Helpline can connect you with a medical negligence solicitor from our panel who can take responsibility for the legal work involved in your misdiagnosis claim. Once your case is accepted, they can take responsibility for progressing the misdiagnosis claim and guide you through the legal issues surrounding the diagnostic error and the harm it caused.
Get Support From Our Team For Your Misdiagnosis Compensation Claim
If a solicitor from our panel accepts your case, they can manage the claim from the initial investigation through to settlement negotiations. Their role is to give the claim structure and take the legal work off your shoulders, handling the correspondence and coordinating the evidence needed to move it forward.
Throughout the claim, they can:
- Identify who the claim should be brought against, particularly if your care moved between different services before the correct diagnosis was reached. Your solicitor can trace where responsibility sits so you are not left trying to work that out yourself.
- Put the diagnostic history into a clear sequence, bringing together the records showing when symptoms were reported and what happened after tests or referrals were arranged to build a coherent account of how your diagnosis developed.
- Instruct an appropriately qualified medical expert to review how your diagnosis developed, including the timing of relevant tests and referrals, and give an independent opinion on whether the correct diagnosis should reasonably have been reached sooner and what difference that would probably have made to your treatment or prognosis.
- Build a careful valuation of the misdiagnosis claim, reflecting any lasting loss of function or avoidable worsening of your condition caused by the diagnostic error, alongside financial consequences such as lost earnings, so the compensation sought is grounded in the impact on your life.
- Handle communications and settlement negotiations with the healthcare provider’s representatives, keeping the discussion focused on the medical evidence and the consequences of the misdiagnosis so you have experienced support when responses or settlement offers need to be considered.
Can I Make A Misdiagnosis Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
Yes, you can make a misdiagnosis claim on a No Win No Fee basis if your case is accepted by a medical negligence solicitor from Legal Helpline’s panel. This is arranged through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), allowing you to pursue compensation without paying any upfront or ongoing service fees while the misdiagnosis claim is progressing. You would also not pay your solicitor for the work covered by the CFA if the misdiagnosis compensation claim fails.
If the claim succeeds, your solicitor would deduct a success fee from the part of your compensation. The percentage of this fee is legally capped and will be agreed with you before the legal process begins.
Contact Legal Helpline
A missed or delayed diagnosis can change the course of your treatment and leave you dealing with consequences that should never have arisen. Contact Legal Helpline today and tell our advisors what happened. We can assess the circumstances surrounding your diagnosis, explain whether you may have grounds to claim and connect you with a medical negligence solicitor from our panel who can take the next steps with you.
- Call us on 0333 000 0729
- Contact us online
- Talk to an advisor using our live chat
Learn More
We have several other guides that may be of interest:
- See how to make a GP negligence claim
- Learn about the steps involved in making ophthalmic negligence claims
- Find out if you can claim for a blood clot
Helpful external resources:
- Learn how to get copies of your medical records, from the NHS
- Find out if you could claim Statutory Sick Pay, from GOV.UK
- Finding urgent and emergency care services, from the NHS
Thank you for reading our misdiagnosis claim guide.