When you visit a medical professional to have your condition diagnosed, you expect them to take all the necessary measures to reach a correct diagnosis so that you can receive appropriate treatment. If you suffered harm due to a medical professional providing you substandard care, resulting in a misdiagnosis, you may be wondering how much compensation for a misdiagnosis you could receive.
We explain how compensation is calculated in medical misdiagnosis claims and the different damages you could receive if your claim is a success. Additionally, we set out the duty of care that all medical professionals owe their patients and when you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim if this duty is breached. Furthermore, we will provide you with examples of various types of medical misdiagnosis that may lead to you being able to make a claim.
To discuss your misdiagnosis claim and receive free advice, you can contact one of the friendly advisors on our team. They can also help answer any questions you may have about the claims process, and could connect you with a medical negligence solicitor on our panel if it seems like you have a strong case.
To discuss how to claim for misdiagnosis, you can:
- Call 0800 408 7826 to speak with an advisor.
- Use our free live chat service.
- Contact us online to tell us about your claim.
Jump To A Section
- How Much Compensation For Misdiagnosis?
- When Are You Eligible To Claim For Misdiagnosis?
- Examples Of Negligence That Could Lead To You Making A Medical Misdiagnosis Claim
- Contact Us For Free To See If You Can Claim For Misdiagnosis
- Learn More About Other Types Of Compensation Claims
How Much Compensation For Misdiagnosis?
If you have been made ill or a condition has worsened as a result of a misdiagnosis, you may be eligible to make a medical negligence claim. In the next section, we discuss the specific criteria your case must meet in order to have a valid claim.
If you have suffered harm, you may be wondering, ‘How much compensation for a misdiagnosis could I receive?’. How much compensation you receive will depend on the various specific factors affecting your case. However, your settlement could consist of two forms of damages.
The first is known as general damages. This provides you with compensation for the avoidable harm you expereinced due to a medical professional failing to provide you with the correct standard of care and, therefore, breaching their duty of care.
To help you gain a clearer idea of the potential compensation you could receive in general damages, we have created the following table using the figures listed within the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document is usually used by those valuing claims for general damages alongside medical evidence, such as your medical records, as it lists compensation guidelines for a range of illnesses and injuries.
Compensation Table
Please note that the amounts listed are not guaranteed settlements, and the first line of the table is not taken from the JCG.
| Harm Suffered | Severity | Compensation Guidelines | Extra details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Forms Of Harm Special Damages | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ | Compensation for multiple conditions that result in physical and psychological suffering. Could also include special damages to cover other expenses including the cost of a carer, medical expenses and loss of income. |
| Paralysis | Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 | Based on pain levels, degree of independence, life expectancy (and age) and depression. |
| Brain Damage | Moderate (i) | £183,190 to £267, 340 | Significant risk of epilepsy, no prospect of employment and a moderate to severe intellectual deficit. |
| Kidney | Serious | £206,730 to £256,780 | Permanent serious damage or loss of both kidneys. |
| Bowels | Total loss of natural function | Up to £224,790 | Cases where the claimant suffers double incontinence, complete loss of urinary function and natural bowel function in addition to other medical conditions. |
| Reproductive System: Female | Infertility | £140,210 to £207,260 | Infertility along with severe depression/anxiety, pain, scarring and sexual dysfunction. |
| Lung Disease | Lung Cancer | £85,460 to £118,790 | Where lung cancer (in an older person typically) results in severe pain and where both quality of life and lung function are impaired. |
| Reproductive System: Male | Total impotence and loss of sexual function (and sterility for young people). | £140,220 to £181,020 | Based on aged, pain / scarring, whether the claimant has children already, psychological reaction and hormonal effects. |
| Bladder | Serious | £78,080 to £97,540 | Serious control impairment and some incontinence and pain. |
Special Damages In Misdiagnosis Claims
Special damages may also be included in your medical negligence compensation settlement. This compensates you for the monetary losses you have expereinced due to the medical negligence. This could include but is not limited to:
- Lost income and future loss of earnings.
- Travel costs.
- The cost of a carer.
- Costs arising from medical treatment.
Special damages aren’t always awarded, even in successful cases, so you should present evidence of the costs you wish to claim for. Evidence could include bank statements and invoices.
To see whether you could claim compensation following a medical misdiagnosis, you can continue reading this guide. You can also contact our advisors for a free valuation of your case.
When Are You Eligible To Claim For Misdiagnosis?
Any medical professional who treats you owes you a duty of care. This is regardless of whether they work for a public or private healthcare provider. They must ensure that they provide you with the minimum expected standard of care.
If you were to receive care from a medical professional that fell below this expected standard, this could be seen as a breach of duty and may result in you suffering harm that could have been avoided or was unnecessary.
All medical negligence claims must meet the following criteria to be deemed valid:
- You were owed a duty of care by a medical professional while they were treating you.
- A breach of that duty led to a misdiagnosis.
- The misdiagnosis has caused you to suffer unnecessary harm.
However, there may be some instances where you receive a misdiagnosis, but a medical professional did not breach their duty of care. For example, if you did not tell your GP all of the symptoms you had been experiencing and this led to your misdiagnosis, you might not be able to claim for any harm suffered.
To see if you may have a valid claim, or to ask any questions you may have such as, ‘How much compensation for a misdiagnosis could I receive?’, you can contact our advisors.
Examples Of Negligence That Could Lead To You Making A Medical Misdiagnosis Claim
As shown in the previous section, you can only start a medical negligence compensation claim for avoidable harm caused by a medical professional who breached their duty of care towards you.
Some examples of how you may receive a misdiagnosis due to a healthcare professional breaching their duty of care could include:
- You go to your GP due to a lump in your breast. After only providing you with a physical examination, they diagnose your condition as a swollen lymph node without sending you for further tests. This causes your breast cancer to spread, resulting in delayed treatment and requiring more aggressive treatment.
- Due to administrative errors, your test results in a hospital are mixed up with another patient, resulting in you receiving a misdiagnosis. This could result in you not receiving the necessary treatment you need, or you may suffer side effects due to receiving the wrong treatment for your condition.
- A doctor in Accident & Emergency (A&E) misreads your X-ray scans and misdiagnoses your ankle fracture as a sprain. This results in the fracture worsening and you suffering more pain.
These are just some examples of how medical negligence could result in a misdiagnosis. To discuss your particular circumstances, you can contact our advisors.
Contact Us For Free To See If You Can Claim For Misdiagnosis
If you have any questions about the medical negligence claims process, such as ‘How much compensation for a misdiagnosis could be awarded?’ or if you would like to discuss your particular case, you can contact our advisors. They can also offer you free advice and may connect you with one of the medical negligence solicitors on our panel who could help you with claiming compensation.
Contact our team today by:
- Calling 0800 408 7826
- Using our 24/7 live chat service.
- Contact us online to receive a callback.
Learn More About Other Types Of Compensation Claims
Learn about other types of compensation claims we could help with:
- Advice on how the personal injury claims process works.
- Guidance on claiming for a road traffic accident and the eligibility requirements your case will need to meet.
- Learn when you could claim after suffering an injury at work.
Some external resources you may find beneficial:
- Guidance on good medical practice for healthcare professionals from the General Medical Council (GMC).
- Find a hospital and check their quality of care with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
- Find some annual statistics from the NHS resolution.
If you have any further questions regarding how much compensation for a misdiagnosis claim could be awarded, you can contact our team of advisors.