What is Medical Misdiagnosis?

MEDICAL MISDIAGNOSIS WHAT IS MEDICAL MISDIAGNOSIS? Medical misdiagnosis is a type of clinical negligence which is defined as when a medical professional fails to diagnose a health problem correctly or diagnoses a condition too late. TYPES OF MEDICAL MISDIAGNOSIS There are three types of medical misdiagnosis - Total misdiagnosis Late misdiagnosis Incorrect misdiagnosis Failure to diagnose a health condition or illness after initial health problems. As a result of missing the symptoms the first time or taking too long to refer the patient to a specialist. A patient is diagnosed with a condition they do not have and may be prescribed unnecessary medication or treatment. TIME LIMITS FOR A CLAIM HOWEVER There are exceptions such as: Under 18 There is a 3 YEAR The victim is under The injured party is suffering from a 18 years of age at the time of misdiagnosis. mental illness. They have three years after recovery from their illness. time limit on claims; FACTS AND FIGURES As at 31 March 2014 the NHS Litigation The NHS Litigation Authority received Authority had potential liabilities of 1,945 £26.1 billion new clinical negligence claims in 2014 of which £25.7 billion relates to clinical negligence claims. 9'13 billion £26.1 billion Nearly a quarter of the £113 billion was paid out in claims in 2014 annual health budget. Number of claims for 18% It takes an average of 1.26 years to set a claim for clinical negligence through the medical misdiagnosis rose by almost 18% from 2013-2014. Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts. Total number of reported Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts claims by speciality APRIL 1995 - MARCH 2014 943 Paramedical Support Services 1,080 Ambulance 504 Primary Care (GP) 1,417 Pathology 405 Nursing 1.820 Radiology 303 Public Health 2.111 Anaesthesia 2.483 Psychiatry / Psycho / Mental Health 37,528 Surgery 11,676 Accident. and Emergency TOTAL CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE SCHEME FOR TRUSTS CLAIMS 17.479 Medicine 18.132 Obstetrics and Gynaecology TOP 5 NHS TRUSTS FOR CLAIMS IN 2013-14 Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust 478 Pennine Acute 179 Hospitals NHS Trust United Lincolnshire 3 166 Hospitals NHS Trust Barts Health 4 155 NHS Trust Hull & East Yorkshire 155 Hospitals NHS Trust Blackwater Law TELEPHONE: 0800 083 5500 EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: blackwaterlaw.co.uk Design by Reflactdigital INFORMATION SOURCED FROM: www.FT COM www.NHSLACOM £113 BILLION