Delayed Diagnosis for Illnesses & Conditions

Impact of Delayed Diagnosis

For many illnesses and conditions, early diagnosis is essential in ensuring that you or your loved ones have the best fighting chance of a full recovery. A delay in diagnosis or treatment could have a serious impact on your health, prolong the recovery period or in some cases could result in fatality.

Recent reports have suggested that NHS waiting lists are at a record high and growing month on month as more people come forward for treatment following the lifting of the lockdown restrictions in Autumn 2021. Some studies have also suggested that those particularly at high risk are cancer patients awaiting life-saving treatment and procedures or those who are yet undiagnosed.

There is also growing concerns amongst clinicians that respiratory symptoms, in particular those relating to lung disease (e.g. coughs, chest pains and shortness of breath) could go misdiagnosed as COVID-19 symptoms.

A recent BBC Panorama Investigation also revealed that more than 2 million screening invitations had not been sent out to patients and more than 21,000 potentially life saving treatments were delayed as a result of the pandemic. A further study predicted that there will be anywhere between 7,000 and 35,000 excess cancer deaths as a result of COVID-19.

What Should I Do If I Believe I Have Suffered Injury As A Result Of Delayed Diagnosis?

If you believe that you have suffered injury as a result of delayed diagnosis because your condition was initially missed by a medical practitioner, it is important that you act quickly and seek appropriate legal advice without any further delay. This is due to the strict ‘limitation period’ imposed on claims for injury caused by medical negligence.

For adults the time limit to start a medical negligence claim is 3 years. This is usually from the date of the negligent act which in some cases will be self-evident. In cases where the injury does not immediately reveal itself, typical in cases of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, correctly identifying the date of the negligent act is not as straightforward. In such cases the 3-year limitation period would start at the earliest date from when you first had the knowledge that you had suffered an injury as a consequence of the negligence, necessary to bring legal action.

For children the time limit is 3 years from the date of their 18th birthday and further special provisions are also made for deceased and protected parties such as those with diagnosed mental impairments or victims of diminished mental capacity.

If you fail to start your claim within the 3-year limitation period, subject to certain limited exceptions, and at the discretion of the court, you will often not be able to claim compensation. In order to avoid this happening to you, we recommend that you seek appropriate legal advice as soon as you suspect that you might have suffered an injury arising from negligence.

Please contact our experienced Medical Negligence team today on 033 3344 9600 or simply email [email protected] with details of your request.

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