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GP Negligence – know your rights!

When we are feeling ill or have a medical concern, our first point of call is normally our GP in order to ease our worries and remedy any illness we have with medication or referrals. As our GP is a person who we trust to help us, we generally expect them to always get it right.

However, doctors are only human; which means that, sometimes, GP’s get it wrong, which is commonly known as medical negligence.

We expect a certain standard of care from our GP’s, but if they fail to meet this standard, it can have serious life altering consequences for patients.

Common GP medical negligence claims

When GP’s are negligent, it can be for a number of reasons. The most common ones are:

These can all have detrimental effects on a patient and can lead to prolonged suffering; medical treatment that could have been avoided; and further complications and costs to the patient.

This could include a delayed diagnosis of cancer in the early stages that is then picked up later on when it has developed into much more serious stages. A patient could have to undergo chemotherapy and radiation therapy as well as undergo operations that they would not have needed had there not been a delayed diagnosis. Treatment and prolonged pain and suffering are the common problems with a delayed or incorrect diagnosis.

In some incidents a GP’s misdiagnosis or failing to refer a patient could ultimately lead to the death of a patient – something that could have been avoided.

Can I claim?

If you have suffered due to a GP’s negligence, you may be able to claim compensation for medical negligence.

A GP’s negligence can affect someone psychologically, physically, and financially, which are all aspects that a victim can claim for.

Physically
The pain and suffering that may have been caused by a misdiagnosis – or the failure to be referred – can lead to longer suffering and treatment which could have been avoided. Complications can arise which can affect the outcome of any recovery as well.
Psychologically
Having to come to terms with being let down by your GP, and then having to come to terms that your life could potentially be altered, can lead to depression and other mental illnesses. If a person was to die as a result of a GP’s medical negligence, a family member could suffer psychologically due to the loss as well.
Financially
This can impact a patient as GP negligence could mean that they would be unable to work for a period of time or not able to return to work at all. This would mean that they would be facing a loss of earnings. There may be extra medical costs that would be endured as well.

We can help

If you or a family member has been a victim of a GP’s negligent behaviour, we can help. We specialise in medical negligence claims, so if you think you have been a victim of medical negligence, we urge you to contact us so we can help you.

The content of this post/page was considered accurate at the time of the original posting and/or at the time of any posted revision. The content of this page may, therefore, be out of date. The information contained within this page does not constitute legal advice. Any reliance you place on the information contained within this page is done so at your own risk.

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