How To Make A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim

This guide will address all you need to know about making a stroke misdiagnosis claim. It will highlight the various ways in which medical negligence may lead to a misdiagnosis and offer advice on the evidence to gather in support of a claim.

Stroke misdiagnosis claim
Stroke misdiagnosis claim guide

Furthermore, this guide lists some examples of compensation amounts for stroke-related injuries to give you an idea of what your claim may be worth. The guide also explains the  No Win No Fee agreement for solicitor services.

We have included additional resources that will help you learn more about medical negligence claims. However, if you prefer more support or would like to see if you can start a claim today, our advisors are able to provide free legal advice. They are also able to connect you to our panel of personal injury solicitors who can help you with your stroke claim provided you have a valid case.

You can reach us in any of these ways:

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  1. How To Make A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim
  2. Reasons For Medical Misdiagnosis
  3. What Evidence Supports A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim?
  4. Medical Misdiagnosis Claim Payouts
  5. No Win No Fee Stroke Misdiagnosis Solicitors
  6. Learn More About Making A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim

How To Make A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim

Medical negligence is when a medical professional provides care and treatment that is beneath the minimum standard expected of them. If you receive substandard service from a health professional, that means that they have breached their duty of care. If you are injured due to their negligence, and you are able to prove this, you may be able to pursue a medical negligence compensation claim.

You can make a claim against a private healthcare provider or a claim against the NHS for harm caused by negligence, depending on which is relevant. The requirements for claiming are the same in both scenarios.

A stroke can potentially be a life-threatening condition, and the impact can be life-changing. For example, delay in treating a stroke could make some effects, such as paralysis, more likely than if it had been treated quickly. If you have been harmed because a doctor failed to diagnose a stroke, and this happened because they were negligent, you may have grounds to make a claim.

While making a stroke misdiagnosis claim, your claim is valid if you can show that:

  • The medical personnel or the hospital in question owed you a duty of care.
  • They breached their duty of care.
  • You sustained an injury, illness or worsening of your condition because of their action or inaction 

Current Statistics For Stroke 

The Stroke Association outline the following key statistics relating to strokes in the UK:

  • A stroke occurs every five minutes
  • 100,000 people experience a stroke every year
  • 1.4 million people in the UK have survived a stroke
  • Strokes account for around 75% of cerebrovascular diseases in the UK

Reasons For Medical Misdiagnosis

A medical misdiagnosis is when a medical professional attributes your symptoms to a condition that is different from the one you’re suffering from. Furthermore, you might have unnecessary treatment as a result of being misdiagnosed. However, you can only claim if this was caused by negligence and it resulted in you experiencing harm.

If, for example, you were misdiagnosed despite your doctor adhering to the standard of care expected of them, then you would not be able to claim. Similarly, if you were misdiagnosed but the misdiagnosis did not have an impact on your health, then your case would not be valid.

Below, we’ve included some examples of how a stroke could occur as the result of negligence:

  • Your doctor ignores your symptoms and because of this, your condition is mistakenly diagnosed as another, less serious condition.
  • The tests that should be performed when a stroke is suspected (for example, blood tests, checking for an irregular heartbeat or a blood pressure test according to the NHS) are not performed because of negligence, meaning the stroke is not correctly diagnosed.
  • The above tests are performed, but the results of the test are misinterpreted, meaning that you are told you have a different condition than a stroke.

For more information on whether the circumstances of your misdiagnosis could form the grounds of a hospital negligence claim, speak with one of our advisors today. They could connect you with a lawyer to work on your stroke misdiagnosis claim.

What Evidence Supports A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim?

In any kind of claim, it’s important that you provide evidence in support of your case. This is the same when you’re making a medical negligence claim for failure to misdiagnose a stroke.

Examples of evidence you may provide for your medical negligence claim are:

  • Any communication that you’ve had with the relevant healthcare provider. For example, you might have made a complaint about the care you received. The response to this complaint could be used to support your claim. 
  • Photographs of your injuries and any CCTV footage that shows the medical negligence taking place.
  • Record of costs you incurred because of your injuries will enable you to include those financial losses in your claims.
  • Your medical records. For example, it might show that you attended A&E with clear symptoms of a stroke but that the appropriate follow-up tests were not performed. 

If you need more information on how to make a medical negligence claim for a stroke misdiagnosis, please contact our solicitors to get free legal advice. If you have a valid case, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. 

Medical Misdiagnosis Claim Payouts

Your stroke misdiagnosis claim payout will be worked out by taking a number of factors into consideration. Solicitors use compensation amounts from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) as guides to assist them when valuing claims. Factors like the severity of the effect of the misdiagnosis, any permanent disability you’re left with and the financial impact of the harm you were caused could impact the amount you receive. 

Your medical negligence settlement could comprise general damages and special damages. General damages will compensate you for the suffering caused by physical and psychological injuries. Special damages compensate for financial losses you incurred due to your injuries. This could include transportation costs, prescription costs and loss of earnings.

Below is a list of stroke-related injuries and their corresponding compensation amounts, taken from the 2022 edition of the JCG. These amounts are guides and the amount you actually receive might differ.

InjurySeverityNotesAmounts
Brain damage Very Severe There will be little meaningful response to the environment from the injured person, if any at all. £282,010 to £403,990
Brain damage Moderately Severe The person who has been injured will be left with very serious disabilities. £219,070 to £282,010
Brain damage Moderate (i) Moderate to severe impact on intellect, no employment prospects and significant risk of epilepsy. £150,110 to £219,070
Brain damage Moderate (ii) Moderate to modest impact on intellect, greatly reduced employment prospects and some risk of epilepsy. £90,720 to £150,110
Brain damage Moderate (iii) Impact on memory and concentration and small risk of epilepsy but a limited dependence on others.£43,060 to £90,720
Brain damage Less severe A good recovery will have been made and the injured person can return to work and enjoy a normal social life. £15,320 to £43,060
Epilepsy Established Grand Mal Award will be affected by factors such as whether the condition can be controlled by medication and the impact on social and work life £102,000 to £150,110
Epilepsy Established Petit Mal Award will be affected by factors such as whether the condition can be controlled by medication and the impact on social and work life £54,830 to £131,370
Other Epileptic ConditionsN/A£10,640 to £26,290£10,640 to £26,290
Psychological Harm Severe £54,830 to £115,730Award will depend on factors like the extent to which treatment is successful and future vulnerability

No Win No Fee Stroke Misdiagnosis Solicitors

If you have been harmed due to a doctor’s failure to diagnose a stroke, you may have grounds for a claim. Stroke misdiagnosis solicitors experienced in medical claims cases can make the claims process smoother. However, you might be concerned at the prospect of paying large upfront fees to secure the services of a lawyer to work on a claim. 

Our panel of solicitors are able to represent you under a Conditional Fee Agreement, which is a kind of No Win No Fee agreement. This agreement means you won’t pay upfront legal fees. You won’t also pay ongoing legal fees during the claims process. 

A small percentage of your compensation will go to your lawyer if your claim is successful. This percentage is capped by law so that you keep the majority of your compensation. Furthermore, if your stroke misdiagnosis claim is not successful, you will not pay this fee.

Ask About Making A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim

If you need further support to start your missed stroke diagnosis claim, our advisor can provide you with free legal advice. If you’re looking for stroke misdiagnosis solicitors, they can also connect you with our panel of solicitors to help you claim compensation provided you have a valid stroke misdiagnosis claim.

There are various ways to reach us which include:

Learn More About Making A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim

We have also included some external resources that you might find useful: 

Mortality From A Stroke

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

Duties of a Doctor- General Medical Council 

IF you have any more questions about making a stroke misdiagnosis claim, get in touch today.

Writer Mary Mullen

Publisher Fern Strickland