Misdiagnoses

Claims against clinicians for failing to recognise or for wrongly diagnosing the symptoms of a particular disease, illness or injury do arise.

At Penningtons Manches Cooper we recognise that any missed, delayed or incorrect diagnosis affects the treatment that follows, if any, and the long-term outcome for the patient. In some cases, misdiagnosis leads to incorrect treatment that compounds the original problem.

In all misdiagnosis claim cases, it is crucial to establish what information was available to the clinician when the patient first presented and what conclusions should properly have been drawn. This determines the treatment that should have followed and the outcome the patient was entitled to expect, as distinct from what occurred.

Usually, the correct condition is eventually identified, but the delay in treatment can significantly affect the outcome, including the long term prognosis.

Examples of grounds for claims include:

• failure to diagnose an aneurysm
• failure to investigate possible cancer
• failure to identify ectopic pregnancy
• failure to recognise eye disease
• failure to diagnose a haemorrhage
• failure to identify a head injury
• failure to diagnose a heart attack
• failure to diagnose an infection
• failure to identify nerve damage
• failure to identify an orthopaedic fracture

Penningtons Manches Cooper's experienced team can advise in relation to a wide range of claims.