Can You Claim Compensation for a Misdiagnosis?

Introduction

A misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis does not automatically amount to medical negligence. The key questions are whether the diagnostic process fell below the reasonable standard of care and whether the error caused additional harm.

Common issues

Potential issues may include failure to investigate symptoms, failure to order appropriate tests, incorrect interpretation of results, failure to refer to a specialist or failure to follow up abnormal findings.

Causation

Even if a diagnosis should have been made earlier, a claim also requires consideration of whether earlier diagnosis would probably have changed the outcome.

Investigation

Medical records and expert opinion are often central to assessing both the diagnostic process and the consequences of the delay.