In this guide, we outline what compensation you could receive if you make a successful medical negligence claim after a sepsis misdiagnosis. We explore what your award could consist of and what resources legal professionals may refer to when valuing your settlement.
Sepsis misdiagnosis claims guide
Our guide also details the criteria you need to meet in order to be eligible to make a medical negligence claim. Furthermore, the time limitations to which you should adhere to start a claim will be explored.
Additionally, this guide outlines the duty of care owed to you by medical professionals and how a misdiagnosis could occur if this is not adhered to.
Moreover, we set out the steps you could take after experiencing harm in a medical setting, including gathering evidence and seeking legal advice.
Finally, we will discuss the benefits of working with a solicitor under a type of No Win No Fee agreement.
If you would like to learn more, please continue to read our guide. Alternatively, you can chat about your potential claim directly and receive further guidance from one of our advisors. To get in touch, you can:
- Call on 0800 408 7825
- Refer to our contact form
- Use our live feature to begin a chat with an advisor
Select A Section
- What Could You Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Medical Negligence?
- Could I Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis?
- Causes Of Misdiagnosis And Diagnostic Delays
- How Do I Prove Medical Negligence Harmed Me?
- Why Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Medical Negligence On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Learn More About The Medical Misdiagnosis Claims Process
What Could You Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Medical Negligence?
You may be wondering how much compensation you could get for medical negligence. If you successfully claim, you could receive a settlement that comprises two types of damages. The first is called general damages which compensates for the pain and suffering you have been caused by the medical negligence.
When solicitors are valuing this head of claim, they may use the guideline compensation brackets provided by the Judicial College Guidelines.
Figures from this document have been included in the table below, however, they are only to be used as a guide. The settlement you receive will be dependent on your actual circumstances, so the amounts in the table are not guaranteed representations of what you will receive.
Compensation Guidelines
| Injury and Severity | Guidelines For Compensation |
|---|---|
| Kidney (a) | £169,400 - £210,400 |
| Kidney (b) | Up to £63,980 |
| Kidney (c) | £30,770 - £44,880 |
| Bowels (a) | Up to £184,200 |
| Bowels (b) | Up to £150,110 |
| Bladder (b) | Up to £140,660 |
| Spleen (a) | £20,800 - £26,290 |
What Further Damages Could You Claim?
Your settlement could also include special damages. These serve the purpose of reimbursing you for the monetary damage you have incurred due to medical negligence.
For example, if you have needed to pay for professional care, you may be reimbursed for these costs. Additionally, if you incur transportation costs due to journeys made to hospital appointments, you could be compensated for these expenses.
Invoices, bank statements, and receipts will be useful in supporting your claim for special damages.
To get an idea of how much money you may get for a medical negligence claim, please get in contact with our advisors. They can provide a free assessment and evaluation of your claim.
Could I Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis?
In order to make a medical negligence claim following a sepsis misdiagnosis, you need to meet the eligibility criteria set out below. This means you have to illustrate that:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty of care by failing to provide care that met the correct standard.
- This led to you suffering harm that would have otherwise been avoidable. This is known as medical negligence, for which you could be eligible to seek compensation.
Medical professionals must provide a minimum standard of care to their patients. If they fail to do so, it could lead to you experiencing either physical or psychological harm that was unnecessary.
Time Limits On Clinical Negligence Claims
You will be expected to adhere to the time limit in place for beginning a medical negligence claim. This is set out by the Limitation Act 1980.
The general rule is that you will have three years from the date of the medical negligence to start a claim. In other cases, the time limit could start from the date you became aware of medical negligence.
Certain other exceptions could also apply; to find out more about these and whether they could be relevant to your specific case, get in touch on the number above. An advisor can also discuss whether you’re eligible to put forward a claim following a sepsis misdiagnosis.
Causes Of Misdiagnosis And Diagnostic Delays
Sepsis is your body’s reaction to an infection that can be fatal if left untreated. This can happen when your immune system overreacts and begins to damage the tissue and organs in your body, such as your kidneys, bowels, lungs, and spleen.
The condition can be diagnosed through different types of tests, including taking your temperature, carrying out blood tests, and checking your heart rate and your breathing rate. Additionally, other tests can help to determine the type of infection and the body parts that have been affected. For example, a doctor could take urine or stool samples, a sample of tissue or saliva, a test to check your blood pressure and an X-ray or ultrasound scan.
Examples of how a sepsis misdiagnosis could occur include:
- Your blood test results could be mixed up meaning you receive another patient’s diagnosis. As a result, the infection spreads to other areas of the body causing you further avoidable harm.
- You may show clear signs and symptoms of sepsis and a doctor does not send you for the relevant tests. As a result, you don’t receive any treatment for your condition.
As sepsis can be hard to spot, it’s not always possible to claim if you have experienced harm due to a sepsis misdiagnosis. You need to provide evidence that you experienced harm that could have been avoided had a medical professional provided the correct standard of care.
For more information on when you could seek medical negligence compensation, get in touch using the number provided above.
How Do I Prove Medical Negligence Harmed Me?
Being able to establish liability in your sepsis misdiagnosis claim will be helpful. It can illustrate that you suffered avoidable harm as a result of a medical professional providing a substandard level of care.
Examples of the evidence you could acquire include:
- Doctor reports.
- Hospital reports.
- An in-depth report from an independent medical appointment.
- Statement of diagnosis.
- Treatment plan.
Findings from the Bolam test are another form of evidence which could be useful to have. As part of this test, medical professionals trained in a relevant field of medicine evaluate the care that you received and assess whether it was up to the correct standard.
Medical negligence solicitors from our panel can help you to gather the evidence you will need. If you would like to find out whether you could be eligible to have them represent your case, get in touch on the number above.
Why Claim For Sepsis Misdiagnosis Medical Negligence On A No Win No Fee Basis?
If you are eligible to make a sepsis misdiagnosis, you may benefit from accessing the services provided by a solicitor from panel. They have experience handling claims similar to your own and could offer to represent you under a No Win No Fee arrangement. There are several types of these, including a Conditional Fee Agreement, which the solicitors from our panel could offer.
Under a CFA, if your claim is unsuccessful, you will usually be under no obligation to pay your solicitor for their services. Alternatively, if your claim is a success, they will take a fee. This is taken as a deduction of your compensation.
The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 puts a restriction in place regarding the percentage that solicitors take.
Get In Touch
For more information on the process of making a sepsis misdiagnosis claim, get in touch with an advisor. They are available to provide you with guidance 24/7 and can assess your eligibility to claim. Also, they can inform you about whether a solicitor from our panel could represent your medical negligence case.
To reach them, you can:
- Get in touch with us on 0800 408 7825
- Submit your contact information via our ‘contact us’ form
- Start a discussion with an advisor using our live window feature
Learn More About The Medical Misdiagnosis Claims Process
You can find more of our guides relating to medical negligence below:
- How Long Does A Medical Negligence Case Take?
- Sepsis Claims – Get Help From Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Can I Sue My Doctor For Negligence?
- If you have experienced untreated bed sores as a result of your treatment at a hospital find out how you can claim here.
Additionally, you can find external resources below:
- Raise A Concern – General Medical Council
- Annual Statistics – NHS Resolution
- Statutory Sick Pay – Government Guidance
Thank you for reading our guide on when you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim for a sepsis misdiagnosis and the compensation you could receive if you succeed. If you have any other questions, please get in touch using the details provided above.
Article by EA
Publisher EI