Sepsis (also known as blood poisoning) can be extremely dangerous and can cause significant harm if not treated quickly. If left to spread, it can cause life-altering injuries or even prove to be fatal. Medical professionals are there to help you get better, but sometimes, they fail to meet the standards required of them, and negligence can occur. If sepsis is negligently diagnosed as a different condition, then a sepsis misdiagnosis claim could be brought.
This guide will look at what sepsis is, how it can be negligently misdiagnosed and how compensation for such a misdiagnosis is calculated. We then look at how a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help you and finish by answering some commonly asked questions about sepsis compensation claims.
Find out how a medical negligence lawyer from our panel could help you by contacting our team.
- Phone our team on 0800 408 7825,
- Use our online chat to discuss your case with an advisor,
- Send a message to our ‘contact us’ page and ask us to call you back.
Browse Our Guide
- What Is Sepsis?
- What Are Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
- What Is The Process Like For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
- How Much Sepsis Misdiagnosis Compensation Could I Receive?
- Make A No Win No Fee Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis?
- Read More About Medical Negligence Claims
- FAQs About Claiming For Sepsis Misdiagnosis
What Is Sepsis?
Before we look at when and how you could claim sepsis misdiagnosis compensation, we will look at what sepsis is. Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition and is a reaction to an infection which causes the immune system to go into overdrive. If not diagnosed and treated quickly, the condition can lead to multiple organ failure, limb loss and even death.
There are an estimated 123,000 cases of sepsis in the UK each year. Due to the speed and severity of the condition, sepsis awareness is crucial to ensure diagnosis and that treatment starts as early as possible.
To illustrate the effects of sepsis and to show how frequently it occurs, here are some statistics about it.
Sepsis Statistics
Statistics from the Sepsis Trust show that:
- There are at least 245,000 cases annually.
- Which results in approximately 48,000 deaths per year in the UK.
- And leaves nearly 80,000 people per year with life-altering effects.
- More people die from sepsis than breast, prostate and bowel cancers as well as road accidents combined.
- Sepsis is as common as heart attacks.
What Are The Symptoms Of Sepsis?
Sepsis can present with different symptoms in adults and children. Sepsis symptoms in adults can include:
- Having slurred speech or acting confused.
- Skin, lips or tongue being pale, grey, blue or blotchy.
- Rashes which do not fade when you roll a glass over them.
- Being breathless, breathing fast or otherwise having difficulty breathing.
Childrens sepsis symptoms can include those above, as well as:
- Having a weak and high-pitched cry.
- Not being interested in normal activities, feeding or not responding normally.
- Being hard to wake or being more sleepy than normal.
- Vomiting and finding it hard to keep food down.
This NHS sepsis resource has more information on symptoms you should be aware of and what to do if you spot them.
Find out how to make sepsis compensation claims by contacting an advisor today.
What Are Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
In order to make sepsis negligence claims you need to be able to prove that a medical professional has failed to meet expected standards of care, namely that they negligently failed to correctly diagnose your condition and provide the required treatment in a timely fashion. Medical professionals should meet the expected minimum standards of care. This may include following good medical practice as a doctor or meeting nursing standards that discharge their duty of care.
The criteria to make a medical negligence claim are:
- That you were owed a duty of care by a medical professional. This is usually self-evident.
- That this duty of care has been breached, e.g. a doctor has failed to listen to your symptoms correctly and misdiagnosed you with another condition. If they had listened correctly, you would have been correctly diagnosed.
- That this breach caused you avoidable harm, which could include organ damage or the loss of a limb.
You could sue your doctor for negligence in cases of misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis or the failure to provide the correct treatment for an illness if these things were caused by their negligence. Find out how a specialist solicitor could help with sepsis misdiagnosis claims by contacting an advisor today.
What Is The Process Like For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
In order to make a medical negligence claim, you need to show that a medical professional breached their duty to you. To claim for negligently misdiagnosed sepsis, you will need to show that by diagnosing you with something other than sepsis, the medical professional had fallen below the minimum accepted standard of care.
Some examples of things that could be a breach of duty include:
- You have clear signs of sepsis, but these are ignored, and you are misdiagnosed with another condition.
- Steps are not taken to ascertain if you have sepsis despite these steps being medically warranted, e.g. blood tests are not ordered despite the clear need to do so. This leads to a misdiagnosis.
- There is an administrative error, and your blood test results are mixed up with those of another patient. You are misdiagnosed with the wrong condition.
Examples of evidence which could help you make a medical negligence claim could include:
- Medical records which show your original symptoms and incorrect diagnosis as well as the later correct diagnosis.
- The details of anyone who witnessed your symptoms, misdiagnosis and subsequent correct diagnosis.
- A diary of your symptoms, treatment and the impact this has had on you.
If a medical professional negligently failed to diagnose your condition, you could be due compensation. A No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help collect evidence to support your claim. Talk to an advisor about sepsis misdiagnosis claims today.
How Much Sepsis Misdiagnosis Compensation Could I Receive?
As with any type of medical negligence claim, we can not give an exact figure as to how much you could be owed. There is no specific amount which may be paid out for medical negligence. Each case is different and may have different factors affecting what you could be owed. You may be awarded damages for your pain and suffering (general damages) and those for the wider financial impact on you (special damages).
How much compensation you could claim for sepsis misdiagnosis will depend on several factors. These factors include:
- What harm has been suffered?
- How seriously were you harmed?
- What was the wider impact of the harm caused to you?
Solicitors and other parties may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) in order to estimate what you could be awarded in compensation for different injuries and different severity of injury. In the table below we have included examples of different injuries which could be related to sepsis misdiagnosis. The figures are illustrative of what may be awarded.
Please note, figures in the first row also include special damages and are not taken from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple injuries and special damages. | Multiple serious or severe injuries | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain Injury | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Kidney | Serious and permanent (a) | £206,730 to £256,780 |
| Bowels | (a) Double Incontinence | Up to £224,790 |
| Bladder | (a) Double Incontinence | Up to £224,790 |
| Loss of one leg | (a) (iii) above the knee amputation | £127,930 - £167,760 |
| Loss of one leg | (a) (iv) below the knee amputation | £119,570 to £162,290 |
| Loss of one arm | (b) (i) amputation at the shoulder | Not less that £167,380 |
| Loss of one arm | (b) (iii) amputation below the elbow | £117,360 to £133,810 |
| Digestive system | Severe (a) (i) | £46,900 to £64,070 |
Special damages could also compensate victims of medical negligence for further expenses and costs incurred as a result of the harm caused. Examples of special damages could include:
- The cost of medical care, medication or other medical treatment.
- The cost of care in the home or other care.
- Transport costs, getting to and from medical appointments.
- Costs to adapt a home or vehicle where necessary.
- Loss of earnings.
A No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help to calculate your negligence payout and estimate what you could be owed. Talk to our team about sepsis misdiagnosis claims today.
Make A No Win No Fee Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis?
A medical negligence lawyer from our panel could help you on a No Win No Fee basis. Under a Conditional Fee Agreement they could offer you their services without the need for you to make upfront or ongoing payments towards their services.
Instead, you will only be charged for your solicitors services at the end of your sepsis negligence claim. If your case is successful you will be awarded a compensation settlement. Your solicitor will deduct a success fee from this. The success fee is a set percentage of your award and the percentage which can be charged is legally capped.
Find out how No Win No Fee solicitors could help you to understand when to accept a personal injury offer and how to make a successful claim, please contact us.
- Call us about sepsis misdiagnosis claims on 0800 408 7825.
- Send a message to our team using our ‘contact us‘ form.
- Use the live chat on this page.
Read More About Medical Negligence Claims
Read more about making a compensation claim in these resources.
- In this guide we look at compensation payouts for claims against the NHS in Scotland.
- Here we look at instances of testicular cancer misdiagnosis and how you could claim compensation.
- In this guide to leukaemia misdiagnosis we look at when and how you could claim compensation.
Learn more about sepsis negligence and delayed sepsis diagnosis here.
- Learn more about childhood sepsis in this NHS resource.
- In this NHS resource you can learn more about septic shock and what to do if you have the symptoms of this condition.
- Learn about government action to reduce sepsis in this resource.
FAQs About Claiming For Sepsis Misdiagnosis
Here we answer some commonly asked questions about claiming for sepsis misdiagnosis.
What Is The Time Limit For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
With any medical negligence claims, you need to start the claim within the applicable time limit. These time limits are set by the Limitation Act 1980. In most instances this time limit is three years from the date of incident or of you becoming aware of the negligence causing you harm.
Exceptions to this include claims for those under the age of 18 and people who lack the capacity to deal with their own cases. A claim may be made by a Litigation friend at any time before they are 18 (for a child) or where somewhere lacks capacity. The time limit for these exceptions is extended; for those under 18, it runs to their 21st birthday, and for those lacking capacity, they have 3 years after they regain capacity to bring a claim.
Will I Have To Go To Court To Make A Sepsis Claim?
A medical negligence claim will only need to go to court if either the defendant does not accept their liability for the harm caused, or if the two parties are unable to agree upon liability and a compensation settlement. In most instances claims may be settled before getting to court. But there may be instances in which they do need to progress this far.
A solicitor from our panel could help prepare your case for court if it does need to progress this far.
Are There Early Warning Signs Of Sepsis?
As highlighted above, there may be different symptoms or warning signs of sepsis depending on whether the patient is an adult or a child.
Early warning signs could include:
- Confusion,
- Breathlessness,
- Acting differently to other infections,
- Pale, blue, grey or blotchy skin.
If you have any of these signs, please consult a medical professional immediately.
Can I Make A Full Recovery From Sepsis?
According to the NHS, patients may make a full and complete recovery from sepsis. Whilst this may take time, if you are diagnosed and correctly treated in a timely fashion, you could fully recover.
If you have any further questions about sepsis misdiagnosis claims, please contact our specialist team today.Must be uploade here – www.publicinterestlawyers.co.uk/medical-negligence-claims/what-could-you-claim-for-sepsis-misdiagnosis-medical-negligence
Sepsis (also known as blood poisoning) can be extremely dangerous and can cause significant harm if not treated quickly. If left to spread, it can cause life-altering injuries or even prove to be fatal. Medical professionals are there to help you get better, and whilst this is more often than not the outcome, sometimes they fail to meet the standards required of them, and negligence can occur. If sepsis is negligently diagnosed as a different condition, then sepsis misdiagnosis claims could be brought.
This guide will look at what sepsis is, how it can be negligently misdiagnosed and how compensation for such a misdiagnosis is calculated. We then look at how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you and finish by answering some commonly asked questions about sepsis compensation claims.
Find out how a medical negligence lawyer could help you by contacting our team.
- Phone our team on 0800 408 7825,
- Use our online chat to discuss your case with an advisor,
- Send a message to our ‘contact us’ page and ask us to call you back.
Browse Our Guide
- What Is Sepsis?
- What Are Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
- What Is The Process Like For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
- How Much Sepsis Misdiagnosis Compensation Could I Receive?
- Make A No Win No Fee Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis?
- Read More About Medical Negligence Claims
- FAQs About Claiming For Sepsis Misdiagnosis
What Is Sepsis?
Before we look at when and how you could claim sepsis misdiagnosis compensation, we will look at what sepsis is. Sepsis is a common and potentially life-threatening condition. Sepsis is a reaction to an infection which causes the immune system to go into overdrive. If not diagnosed and treated quickly, the condition can lead to multiple organ failure, limb loss and even death.
There are an estimated 123,000 cases of sepsis in the UK each year. Due to the speed and severity of the condition, sepsis awareness is crucial to ensure diagnosis and that treatment starts as early as possible.
Sepsis causes the immune system to turn on the body itself. If not treated promptly, the organs can stop working properly and septic shock can develop.
Sepsis Statistics
Statistics from the Sepsis Trust show that:
- There are at least 245,000 cases annually.
- Which results in approximately 48,000 deaths per year in the UK.
- And leaves nearly 80,000 people per year with life-altering effects.
- More people die from sepsis than breast, prostate and bowel cancers as well as road accidents combined.
- Sepsis is as common as heart attacks.
What Are The Symptoms Of Sepsis?
Sepsis can present with different symptoms in adults and children. Sepsis symptoms in adults can include:
- Having slurred speech or acting confused.
- Skin, lips or tongue being pale, grey, blue or blotchy.
- Rashes which do not fade when you roll a glass over them.
- Being breathless, breathing fast or otherwise having difficulty breathing.
Childrens sepsis symptoms can include those above, as well as:
- Having a weak and high-pitched cry.
- Not being interested in normal activities, feeding or not responding normally.
- Being hard to wake or being more sleepy than normal.
- Vomiting and finding it hard to keep food down.
This NHS sepsis resource has more information on symptoms you should be aware of and what to do if you spot them.
Find out how to make sepsis compensation claims by contacting an advisor today.
What Are Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
In order to make sepsis negligence claims you need to be able to prove that a medical professional has failed to meet expected standards of care, namely that they negligently failed to correctly diagnose your condition and provide the required treatment in a timely fashion. Medical professionals should meet the expected minimum standards of care. This may include following good medical practice as a doctor or meeting nursing standards that discharge their duty of care.
The criteria to make a medical negligence claim are:
- That you were owed a duty of care by a medical professional. This is usually self-evident.
- That this duty of care has been breached, e.g. a doctor has failed to listen to your symptoms correctly and misdiagnosed you with another condition. If they had listened correctly, you would have been correctly diagnosed.
- That this breach caused you avoidable harm, which could include organ damage or the loss of a limb.
You could sue your doctor for negligence in cases of misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis or the failure to provide the correct treatment for an illness if these things were caused by their negligence. Find out how a specialist solicitor could help with sepsis misdiagnosis claims by contacting an advisor today.
What Is The Process Like For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
In order to make a medical negligence claim, you need to show that a medical professional breached their duty to you. To claim for negligently misdiagnosed sepsis, you will need to show that by diagnosing you with something other than sepsis, the medical professional had fallen below the minimum accepted standard of care.
Some examples of things that could be a breach of duty include:
- You have clear signs of sepsis, but these are ignored, and you are misdiagnosed with another condition.
- Steps are not taken to ascertain if you have sepsis despite these steps being medically warranted, e.g. blood tests are not ordered despite the clear need to do so. This leads to a misdiagnosis.
- There is an administrative error, and your blood test results are mixed up with those of another patient.
Examples of evidence which could help you make a medical negligence claim could include:
- Medical records which show your original symptoms and incorrect diagnosis as well as the later correct diagnosis.
- The details of anyone who witnessed your symptoms, misdiagnosis and subsequent correct diagnosis.
- A diary of your symptoms, treatment and the impact this has had on you.
If a medical professional negligently failed to diagnose your condition, you could be due compensation. A No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help collect evidence to support your claim. Talk to an advisor about sepsis misdiagnosis claims today.
How Much Sepsis Misdiagnosis Compensation Could I Receive?
As with any type of medical negligence claim, we can not give an exact figure as to how much you could be owed. There is no specific amount which may be paid out for medical negligence. Each case is different and may have different factors affecting what you could be owed. You may be awarded damages for your pain and suffering (general damages) and those for the wider financial impact on you (special damages).
How much compensation you could claim for sepsis misdiagnosis will depend on several factors. These factors could include:
- What harm has been suffered?
- How seriously were you harmed?
- What was the wider impact of the harm caused to you?
Solicitors and other parties may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) in order to estimate what you could be awarded in compensation for different injuries and different severity of injury. In the table below we have included examples of different injuries which could be related to sepsis misdiagnosis. The figures are illustrative of what may be awarded.
Please note, figures in the first row also include special damages and are not taken from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple injuries and special damages. | Multiple serious or severe injuries | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain Injury | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Kidney | Serious and permanent (a) | £206,730 to £256,780 |
| Bowels | (a) Double Incontinence | Up to £224,790 |
| Bladder | (a) Double Incontinence | Up to £224,790 |
| Loss of one leg | (a) (iii) above the knee amputation | £127,930 - £167,760 |
| Loss of one leg | (a) (iv) below the knee amputation | £119,570 to £162,290 |
| Loss of one arm | (b) (i) amputation at the shoulder | Not less that £167,380 |
| Loss of one arm | (b) (iii) amputation below the elbow | £117,360 to £133,810 |
| Digestive system | Severe (a) (i) | £46,900 to £64,070 |
Special damages could also compensate victims of medical negligence for further expenses and costs incurred as a result of the harm caused. Examples of special damages could include:
- The cost of medical care, medication or other medical treatment.
- The cost of care in the home or other care.
- Transport costs, getting to and from medical appointments.
- Costs to adapt a home or vehicle where necessary.
- Loss of earnings.
A No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help to calculate your negligence payout and estimate what you could be owed. Talk to our team about sepsis misdiagnosis claims today.
Make A No Win No Fee Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis?
A medical negligence lawyer from our panel could help you on a No Win No Fee basis. Under a Conditional Fee Agreement they could offer you their services without the need for you to make upfront or ongoing payments towards their services.
Instead, you will only be charged for your solicitors services at the end of your sepsis negligence claim. If your case is successful you will be awarded a compensation settlement. Your solicitor will deduct a success fee from this. The success fee is a set percentage of your award and the percentage which can be charged is legally capped.
Find out how No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel could help you to understand when to accept a personal injury offer and how to make a successful claim, please contact us.
- Call us about sepsis misdiagnosis claims on 0800 408 7825.
- Send a message to our team using our ‘contact us‘ form.
- Use the live chat on this page.
Read More About Medical Negligence Claims
Read more about making a compensation claim in these resources.
- In this guide we look at compensation payouts for claims against the NHS in Scotland.
- Here we look at instances of testicular cancer misdiagnosis and how you could claim compensation.
- In this guide to leukaemia misdiagnosis we look at when and how you could claim compensation.
Learn more about sepsis negligence and delayed sepsis diagnosis here.
- Learn more about childhood sepsis in this NHS resource.
- In this NHS resource you can learn more about the treatment and recovery of sepsis.
- Learn about government action to reduce sepsis in this resource.
FAQs About Claiming For Sepsis Misdiagnosis
Here we answer some commonly asked questions about claiming for sepsis misdiagnosis.
What Is The Time Limit For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Claims?
With any medical negligence claims, you need to start the claim within the applicable time limit. These time limits are set by the Limitation Act 1980. In most instances this time limit is three years from the date of incident or of you becoming aware of the negligence.
Exceptions to this include claims for those under the age of 18. A claim may be made by a Litigation friend at any time before they are 18. At this point the three year limit applies.
Will I Have To Go To Court To Make A Sepsis Claim?
A medical negligence claim will only need to go to court if either the defendant does not accept their liability for the harm caused, or if the two parties are unable to agree upon liability and a compensation settlement. In most instances claims may be settled before getting to court, but there may be instances in which a court hearing is needed.
A solicitor from our panel could help prepare your case for court if it does need to progress this far.
Are There Early Warning Signs Of Sepsis?
As highlighted above, there may be different symptoms or warning signs of sepsis depending on whether the patient is an adult or a child.
Early warning signs could include:
- Confusion,
- Breathlessness,
- Acting differently to other infections,
- Pale, blue, grey or blotchy skin.
If you have any of these signs, please consult a medical professional immediately.
Can I Make A Full Recovery From Sepsis?
According to the NHS, patients can make a full and complete recovery from sepsis. Whilst this may take time, if you are diagnosed and correctly treated in a timely fashion, you could fully recover.
If you have any further questions about sepsis misdiagnosis claims, please contact our specialist team today.