Misdiagnosed By Your Doctor?
Misdiagnosis is a form of medical negligence, which can have serious repercussions for a patient. In simple terms, a misdiagnosis is an error or failure, which occurs during the process of diagnosing a patient with an illness or other medical condition. As a result, the diagnosis a doctor or hospital gives is inaccurate. When misdiagnosis occurs, patients could suffer numerous consequences. Common examples include the further progression of a disease or illness, or the receipt of the wrong medication or treatment. In extreme cases, misdiagnosis could lead to disfigurement, brain damage or even death.
Missed Diagnosis
A missed diagnosis occurs when a patient goes to a physician and, despite the existence of a medical condition, it is not identified. Put simply, it is the complete failure to spot a real problem. The consequences of a missed diagnosis can be massive, especially if a serious illness or disease is not detected in an early enough stage for successful treatment to be carried out.
Severe Misdiagnosis
A severe misdiagnosis typically involves a physician diagnosing a patient with a condition they do not really have. For example, a patient may be told they have cancer, when they do not. In many cases, this will result in a patient receiving medication that they do not need. However, in the most severe cases, it could lead to a patient receiving an unnecessary operation or even limb amputation.
Partial Misdiagnosis
A partial misdiagnosis is usually classified as the accurate diagnosis of a condition, but the inaccurate diagnosis of a subtype. For example, a psychiatrist may accurately diagnose a patient with bipolar disorder, but misdiagnose the type of bipolar disorder. Although it may sound less serious, partial misdiagnosis could involve the complete mismanagement of a condition, which could subsequently have severe consequences.
What Next?
If you have been misdiagnosed by your doctor or hospital, resulting in a delayed treatment for cancer for example, then you maybe able to make a claim for medical negligence compensation. Complete a claim form or call 0800 028 2060 to see if you can make a no win no fee claim for compensation.
Claiming Compensation
Free Legal Advice
If you are unsure whether you can claim compensation for a personal injury sustained in the armed forces, then call our personal injury claims team for free for no obligation advice on making a claim. They will ask you some simple questions about your condition, talk to you about what’s happened and can tell you if you have a viable claim for compensation or not.
Call us 24/7 on 0800 028 2060.
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