Last Updated On 14th November 2024. A diagnosis is a pivotal part of the treatment process. It is meant to identify a condition and help medical professionals work out how to treat it. Our guide to making a delayed diagnosis claim explains when it is possible to seek compensation for the painful effects of missing treatment because substandard care led to you finding out about your condition later than you could have.
If you’re looking for a delayed diagnosis compensation calculator, we provide an explanation of how medical negligence claim payouts work and what you could receive a payment for.
Additionally, we describe No Win No Fee agreements and how our solicitors can help you. If you want to learn more about compensation for a delay in diagnosis or claim because of an incident you’ve experienced, we provide a free consultation service. To use it, all you need to do is either:
- Use our 24/7 live chat option by clicking the pop-up below and sending a message.
- Call our helpline on 0800 073 8801 for round-the-clock support.
- Contact us via our online form to get a call at a time that suits you.
Select A Section
- How We Can Help You Start A Delayed Diagnosis Claim
- What Is A Delayed Diagnosis Claim?
- Examples Of Delayed Diagnosis
- Calculating Delayed Diagnosis Compensation Payouts
- How Long Do You Have To Claim For Delayed Diagnosis?
- How No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitors Could Help You
How We Can Help You Start A Delayed Diagnosis Claim
Our solicitors have years and years of experience in handling medical negligence claims. After our advisory team has decided you’re eligible to begin a delayed diagnosis claim, one of our delayed diagnosis solicitors could assist you with the following:
- Calculating the potential value of the harm you sustained due to the medical negligence.
- Helping draft a Letter of Claim and issuing this to your healthcare provider to notify them of your intention to claim against them.
- Negotiating with the healthcare provider’s legal representatives on your behalf.
- Assisting you with the collection of evidence for your claim (more on this below).
What Evidence Can Be Used In A Delayed Diagnosis Claim?
Supporting evidence will form the cornerstone of your delayed diagnosis claim. Evidence can be used to show the delay that occurred, if the delay occurred through negligent actions and the harm that this delay caused, as well as provide details of any additional treatment made necessary by the delay.
Possible examples of evidence include:
- Copies of relevant medical records: this can include copies of any scans or tests. You can also provide records from any additional treatment necessitated by the delayed diagnosis.
- Keep a diary: note down your symptoms, the treatment you received and the impacts this had on your physical and mental wellbeing.
- Witness statements: if anyone came with you to your appointments, they could provide a witness statement. Make sure you have their up to date contact information so they can give their statement during the claims process.
For further guidance on how we can help you with making a misdiagnosis compensation claim, you can contact our advisors using the details provided above 24/7.
What Is A Delayed Diagnosis Claim?
A delayed diagnosis claim is a type of medical negligence claim that is made after you receive the correct diagnosis later than you should have done. All medical professionals across both public and private healthcare settings have a duty of care to their patients to provide medical care that meets the correct standard, which includes correctly diagnosing their conditions. Failures to do this can result in those patients experiencing avoidable harm.
We’ll examine a few scenarios where delayed diagnosis compensation could be claimed in the next section. The general eligibility criteria to begin a medical negligence claim are as follows:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- They failed to uphold this duty by not diagnosing you correctly.
- This delay caused you to suffer avoidable harm.
What we mean by “avoidable harm” is any harm you suffer that would not have occurred had the correct standard of care been given. To find out about making a medical negligence claim, or for a free assessment of your eligibility, contact our advisors today using the contact details provided below.
Examples Of Delayed Diagnosis
To illustrate this concept further, we have detailed a few possible scenarios where you could be eligible to make a delayed diagnosis claim:
- A doctor in a hospital failed to accurately interpret your chest x-ray and, despite your displaying clear symptoms of pneumonia, misdiagnosed you with a different condition. This pneumonia misdiagnosis meant your condition had worsened significantly by the time the pneumonia was identified.
- A lung cancer misdiagnosis because test results were mixed up with another patient’s this allowed the cancer to worsen.
- A GP failed to recognise clear symptoms of a stroke. This meant that a delay in treatment caused brain damage.
There are a wide variety of factors that could lead to you receiving a delayed diagnosis. To find out if you’re eligible to make a delayed diagnosis claim in your particular circumstances, speak to one of our advisors today using the contact information provided above.
Examples Of Delayed Diagnosis Compensation Payouts
You may be wondering how much compensation will be awarded if your case wins. There are two heads of loss that compensation following a successful delayed diagnosis claim can be awarded under. The physical and psychiatric effects of the negligent treatment are compensated under general damages. Associated financial losses are compensated under special damages.
As we specified above, one of the tasks a medical negligence solicitor can complete for you is calculating a possible value for general damages in your claim. Those responsible for valuing your claim can make reference to the guidelines from the Judicial College. Referred to as the JCG, this detailed publication lists an array of different types of harm, alongside their guideline compensation amounts. You can see a relevant selection of these figures in the table here.
Compensation Table
It is important we specify the following: firstly, the top entry is not a JCG figure, and secondly, these figures are intended as guidance only due to the individual nature of medical negligence claims.
| Type of Harm | Severity | Guideline Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Instances of Serious Harm and special damages. | Very Serious | Up to £500,000 and above | Multiple instances of serious harm with loss of earnings, medical expenses and additional special damages. |
| Brain Damage | Moderately Severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 | Very serious disability resulting in a substantial dependency. This bracket includes both physical (paralysis) and cognitive (intellectual impairment) disablement. |
| Kidney | Serious and Permanent Damage (a) | £206,730 to £256,780 | The loss of, or serious and permanent damage to both kidneys. |
| Chest Injuries | Removal of Lung and/or Serious Heart Damage (a) | £122,850 to £183,190 | Total removal of one lung and/or serious heart damage with permanent significant scarring and prolonged and serious pain |
| Lung Disease | Lung Cancer (b) | £85,460 to £118,790 | Cancer causing severe pain and impairment of lung function and impact on quality of life. This bracket is typically awarded for cases involving older persons. |
| Back Injuries | Severe (a)(iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 | Cases involving disc fractures or lesions or damage to soft tissues resulting in chronic condition where disabilities such as impaired agility and continuing severe pain remain despite treatment. |
| Ankle Injuries | Severe (b) | £38,210 to £61,090 | Injuries that require a lengthy treatment period or period in plaster where pins or plates have been inserted. Significant residual disabilities such as difficulty walking and ankle instability will be present. |
| Deafness | Total Hearing Loss in One Ear (c) | £38,210 to £55,570 | The level of award in this bracket will depend on the severity of associated tinnitus, headaches and dizziness. |
| Injuries to pelvis and hips | Moderate (b)(ii) | £15,370 to £32,450 | This bracket is usually awarded in cases where there has been a hip replacement or other surgery. |
| Shoulder | Moderate (c) | £9,630 to £15,580 | Frozen shoulder with symptoms of discomfort and movement limitation persisting for about 2 years. |
Special Damages
Financial losses stemming from the avoidable harm caused could be compensated under special damages. A possible examples of such costs have been given below:
- Home adaptations.
- Loss of earnings.
- Travel costs.
- Medical expenses.
- Care costs.
You will need to submit supporting evidence showing your financial losses. It is therefore important to keep hold of relevant financial documents (payslips, invoices, receipts, travel tickets etc) as proof you incurred monetary losses due to the avoidable harm you experienced.
To get a more detailed estimate of how much compensation you could claim for a delayed diagnosis i.e. the effects it has had on your physical and mental health, speak to an advisor on the number provided below.
How Long Do You Have To Claim For Delayed Diagnosis?
The time limit in medical negligence cases is established by the Limitation Act 1980. Typically, this limitation period is 3 years from the date the negligence took place or from the date of knowledge. The date of knowledge refers to the date when you would have been expected to first realise you had been subjected to medical negligence.
However, exceptions to this can be made in some circumstances. For example, if the patient was a minor when the medical negligence took place, the time limit is paused until they reach adulthood. For those patients who are of a reduced mental capacity, the time limit to begin their delayed diagnosis compensation claim is paused indefinitely.
In both scenarios, a suitable adult can act as the patient’s litigation friend and pursue the claim on their behalf. To find out more about the time limits in delayed diagnosis claims or if any exceptions are relevant to your specific circumstances, contact our team today using the details given below.
How No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitors Could Help You
To get started with a potential delayed diagnosis claim, contact our advisory team for a free assessment of your eligibility. A specialist medical negligence solicitor could offer expert legal advice and take on your claim on a No Win No Fee basis if you have fair grounds to claim.
Our solicitors can offer their expert help under a deal called a Conditional Fee Agreement or “CFA.” By making your potential claim with us under a CFA, you will benefit from the following features:
- In most cases, there will be no initial fee for the solicitor to commence work on your claim
- You will also not incur fees during the claims process for this work.
- Finally, if your claim does not succeed, you will not pay for the services the solicitor has provided.
However, if your claim is successful, a medical negligence compensation settlement will be awarded. The solicitor will deduct a success fee from your settlement for winning the case. Since the success fee percentage is subject to a legally binding cap at 25%, you will, therefore, keep most of any awarded compensation.
To get your free assessment of your eligibility, receive specialist legal advice, or ask any questions you may have regarding the medical negligence claims process, get in touch. Our team are available 24 hours a day via the following:
- Call the team on 0800 073 8801
- You can also contact us through our website.
- Or you can click the live chat button at the bottom of your screen.
Further Resource On Medical Negligence Claims
You can read some of our other medical negligence claims guides:
- Find out the eligibility criteria to claim compensation after a thyroid cancer misdiagnosis caused you avoidable harm.
- Learn more about how to make a complaint about misdiagnosis with this guide.
- Read our guide on who is eligible to begin an unnecessary surgery compensation claim.
We have also included these external resources you may find useful:
- The General Medical Council have published this guidance on good medical practice for doctors.
- Read the NHS Constitution for England on the Government Website.
- Find out more about the NHS’ Patient Advice and Liason Service (PALS) with this resource.
Thank you for reading our guide on making a delayed diagnosis claim. Our team is available 24 hours a day via the contact information provided above.
