Common cases of GP medical negligence
Every patient expects to receive a minimum level of care. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. GP medical negligence occurs when a General Practitioner breaches their duty of care by providing substandard treatment that results in avoidable harm, injury or worsening of a condition. In this post, we’ll examine more closely some of the primary examples of GP negligence.
What does GP negligence look like?
To understand the difference between a medical mistake and a medical mistake that amounts to negligence, it is necessary to establish three key legal elements:
1. Duty of Care, which a GP typically always has in relation to their patients.
2. Breach of Duty, which rests on the question of whether a GP provided substandard care that no competent GP would have provided.
3. Causation, which can be the hardest part to prove, relies on the fact that the GP directly caused harm to the patient.
To bring a claim for GP medical negligence, all three elements are needed. In other words, the patient (and their solicitor) needs to prove that a person with a duty of care breached that duty and directly caused harm.
Common types
While the facts of GP negligence cases are never identical, there are several common types of claim. These include:
- Misdiagnosis of serious conditions (cancer, meningitis, brain haemorrhages)
If a GP has a duty of care and fails to make the correct diagnosis that would competently be expected, and the resulting delay in getting proper treatment results in direct harm, the patient has likely suffered GP negligence.
- Failure to refer to specialists promptly
Likewise, a follow-on effect of incorrect or missed diagnoses can be a delay in being referred to an appropriate specialist.
- Incorrect medication or dosage, failure to review prescriptions.
Side effects suffered by patients who have been prescribed the wrong medication could result in a claim for medical negligence if the GP had duty of care and breached this duty in their decision.
Other common types of negligence include poor communication and lack of informed consent, failing to act on or interpret test results, and note-keeping failures such as failing to take a thorough medical history.
Early diagnosis
The case of Jessica Brady is tragically typical for GP negligence cases. The 27-year-old died after more than 20 consultations with her GP in which her cancer repeatedly went undiagnosed.
Early diagnosis is critical for conditions such as cancer, sepsis and other life-threatening illnesses, which makes an GP’s role essential in detecting symptoms and correctly referring patients to the appropriate specialist.
Start your claim
If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to GP’s errors, our experts can guide you through making a claim: https://attwaters.co.uk/medical-negligence/. Email enquiries@attwaters.co.uk or call 0330 221 8855 to get started.
