GP / Doctor Negligence

GPs and their staff are often the first point of contact if you have a physical or mental health problem. They are trained to identify a wide variety of different injuries and conditions. Part of their role is also to recognise when to refer patients to specialist medical practitioners.

There are over 1.3 million GP consultations every day, most of which take place in a GP surgery or within the patient’s home.

GPs occasionally work as part of teams attached to hospitals with roles in accident and emergency centres, discharge planning and in unscheduled care (such as urgent care centres). In the community they may run clinics in schools and in residential and nursing care homes.

Doctors are required to be able to identify the signs and symptoms of illness and act on those symptoms whether by referral to a specialist or providing treatment themselves.

Medical Negligence

If a GP’s treatment or actions are substandard and this causes you to suffer harm, then you may be able to claim compensation.

Sometimes the signs and symptoms of illness are missed or misinterpreted with serious consequences.

Examples of GP negligence include:-

• Failing to diagnose meningitis
• Failing to diagnose brain haemorrhage
• Failing to diagnose stroke
• Failing to diagnose an aneurysm
• Failing to diagnose cauda equina syndrome
• Failing to refer a patient for cancer investigations
• Failing to make planned referrals
• Prescribing the wrong medication/mis-prescriptions
• Failing to diagnose unstable angina, leading to cardiac arrest
• failing to take proper account of your medical history
• late diagnosis of an injury or condition
• conducting an inadequate examination

OTHER LOSSES

This may include:

• the cost of medical treatment or medication
• damage to clothing
• loss of earnings
• travel expenses to and from your GP or Hospital for treatment
• care and assistance someone has had to give you because of your injuries

Keep a record of any financial losses you have suffered as a result of medical negligence . This will include for example any wage slips or P60s. You should also keep any receipts for other losses.

TIME LIMITS

You only have 3 years to issue Court Proceedings from the date you first knew, or could reasonably have been expected to know, that you have suffered an injury caused by the fault of a medical practitioner .

This could be the date of the mistake or some time later if you did not know you had been injured at the time the mistake was made.

If Court Proceedings are not issued within 3 years of that date you would usually be unable to pursue your claim further.

The Courts can however waive this 3-year time limit in some circumstances. In any event you should seek legal advice at the earliest opportunity.