When someone has a stroke, it is vital that they receive prompt and swift medical care. The patient could have life-long disabilities or even suffer a fatality if there is a delay in the correct treatment through misdiagnosing the condition. In this guide, we tell you when a stroke misdiagnosis claim could be made.
We look at when a medical professional could be negligent and what duty of care they owe to their patients. We also discuss how much compensation could potentially be given for a successful stroke misdiagnosis claim and how settlements are calculated.
Moreover, we give examples of how a stroke misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis could potentially happen due to a medical professional not meeting their duty of care.
The medical negligence claims process can be complicated, whether you are making an NHS medical negligence claim or a claim against a private healthcare provider. So, it is advised that you seek professional legal advice.
If you do have an eligible stroke misdiagnosis compensation claim, our team can connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors. They can offer their services without requiring fees upfront. You can find out more about how No Win No Fee agreements work and the benefits they bring later in our guide.
Alternatively, you can contact us at any time for free. To do so, you can:
- Call 0800 073 8801.
- Enquire about starting a claim online.
- Use our live chat box to message a member of our team directly.
Jump To A Section
- When Could You Make A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim?
- How Much Could Stroke Misdiagnosis Claims Be Worth?
- What Are The Different Types Of Strokes?
- Causes Of Stroke Misdiagnosis
- How We Can Help With A No Win No Fee Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim
- Medical Misdiagnosis Claim Resources
When Could You Make A Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim?
All medical professionals legally owe a duty of care to all patients that they treat. This duty of care requires them to provide the correct standard of care at all times. If a medical professional provides a substandard level of care this is a breach of their duty of care.
Someone could potentially make a stroke misdiagnosis compensation claim if they can prove that they experienced medical negligence. Medical negligence is when:
- You were owed a duty of care from a medical professional.
- A medical professional breached the duty of care that they owe you.
- You suffered harm that could have been avoided (avoidable harm) as a result of this breach.
So, if you believe that you can prove the above, please speak to us. Our team can validate whether you are eligible for compensation and help you understand the steps you might need to take as part of the medical negligence claims process.
How Much Could Stroke Misdiagnosis Claims Be Worth?
Compensation awarded for successful stroke misdiagnosis claims could possibly consist of up to two heads of claim addressing the different ways in which you have been affected by medical negligence. These are general and special damages.
General damages address the pain and suffering of the avoidable harm that you have suffered due to a negligent stroke misdiagnosis, both physical and psychological. While general damages are being valued, such factors can be considered:
- The severity of the harm you suffered and pain you experienced.
- What changes there have been to your quality of life.
- The length of recovery and extent of treatment.
You may also be asked to go to an independent medical assessment to assess the extent of your avoidable harm. The report made from this, and the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), can be looked at together to help determine the value of your payout. The JCG is a document with guideline payout brackets for all kinds of psychological and physical harm.
Compensation Table
This compensation table includes figures from the JCG, with the exception of the first entry.
However, none of these brackets can be guaranteed for your specific potential claim due to every claim being unique.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation Brackets | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple severe injuries and/or illnesses and financial losses | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ | Compensation for sustaining more than one severe type of harm and what they have cost you, such as loss of earnings, medical expenses, and professional care costs. |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £396,140 to £493,000 | Paralysis of upper and lower limbs. |
| Paraplegia (b) | £267,340 to £346,890 | Paralysis of lower limbs. | |
| Brain damage | Very severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 | Cases include 'locked in' syndrome with a substantially reduced life expectancy. |
| Moderately severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 | A very serious disability causing substantial dependence on others and the need for constant professional care. | |
| Moderate (c) (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 | Personality, the senses (such as speech), and intellect will be moderately to severely affected. There are also no employment prospects. | |
| Moderate (c) (ii) | £110,720 to £183,190 | A moderate to modest intellectual deficit remains and the ability to work is massively reduced. | |
| Moderate (c) (iii) | £52,550 to £110,720 | Concentration and memory are impacted and there is a small risk of epilepsy. | |
| Chest | Damage to chest and lungs (c) | £38,210 to £66,920 | Leading to some continuing disability. |
Special Damages
Special damages address the costs incurred due to the avoidable harm caused by the negligent stroke misdiagnosis, including both past and future financial losses. Some financial losses which could be reimbursed include:
- Missed earnings.
- Adaptations to your home.
- Professional care costs.
The compensation awarded under special damages aims to return you to the financial position you were in prior to the negligent stroke misdiagnosis. Unfortunately, while general damages are given in every successful case, special damages are not. Because of this, please keep any proof you have of financial losses, including receipts, invoices, bank statements, and payslips.
For more information on how much compensation could be given for a stroke misdiagnosis claim, contact our team today.
What Are The Different Types Of Strokes?
According to the NHS, a stroke is a serious and life-threatening medical condition that occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. There are, in total, three different types of strokes:
- Ischemic – where a blood clot is cutting off blood supply to the brain. This accounts for 85% of all cases.
- Haemorrhagic – where there is bleeding around or in the brain due to a weakened blood vessel supplying the brain burst.
- Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) – a mini-stroke where the symptoms of an ischemic stroke last for a shorter period of time. It involves blood supply to the brain becoming temporarily interrupted.
How a stroke affects you depends on the type of stroke you have suffered. If you can prove substandard care from a medical professional led to a stroke misdiagnosis and you didn’t get the treatment you needed causing avoidable harm, call our team today. They can assess whether you’re eligible to claim for the effects of medical negligence.
Causes Of Stroke Misdiagnosis
There are several things that can put people at higher risk of suffering a stroke, such as smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, stress, lack of exercise, and excessive alcohol intake.
Below, we have provided examples of how a stroke misdiagnosis could occur.
- If you have a suspected stroke, 999 should be called immediately. Ambulance paramedics should have stroke training and should be able to identify whether you need to be taken to a specialist stroke unit. If they haven’t had the required training, they may fail to spot the symptoms resulting in you being taken to the wrong department and receiving delayed treatment, worsening the effects of the stroke.
- You should be checked and tested and may be sent for blood tests or a CT scan to confirm whether you did have a stroke and identify what medical treatment you need. If the medical professional treating you misinterpreted scan results and misdiagnosed you, despite there being clear evidence of a stroke from your scans, this could mean you are diagnosed with a different condition and receive incorrect treatment.
- You may have had at least one of the main stroke symptoms, such as a drooping face, slurred speech, and inability to raise arms but a medical professional failed to refer you for further tests. As a result, the stroke symptoms worsened and you suffer severe cognitive impact from brain damage.
Get in touch to discuss your specific case and find out whether you’re eligible to make a stroke misdiagnosis claim.
How We Can Help With A No Win No Fee Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim
When looking for legal representation for your potential medical negligence claim, you might be wondering where to start. With our No Win No Fee solicitors, you could be represented under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
A CFA could really help you as you would not have to pay for your solicitor’s work before or during the case. You will also not have to pay if your solicitor does not win your case.
Instead, if your case is successful, your solicitor can keep a success fee. Success fees are a legally capped percentage of your compensation.
How Do I Start My Case?
You could potentially start your case today and claim compensation by contacting us and speaking with our team. It is free to get in touch. Our team may assign you a No Win No Fee solicitor to work on your stroke misdiagnosis claim. Here are our contact options, which are live 24/7:
- Call 0800 073 8801.
- Enquire about starting a claim online.
- Use our live chat box to message a member of our team directly.
Medical Misdiagnosis Claim Resources
Here are some of our similar guides:
- How to make a medical negligence claim against your doctor for a misdiagnosed blood clot.
- How to make a complaint formally about a case of medical misdiagnosis.
- A case study example of how much compensation could be awarded for suffering paralysis caused by a stroke.
Moreover, these pages might be useful:
- NHS – Guidance on how to prevent a stroke as much as possible.
- Stroke Association – A charity that provides support on how to cope after being seriously ill from a stroke.
- Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – Details on what duty of care you should expect from nurses.
We hope that this guide on how to make a stroke misdiagnosis claim has provided you with all the information you were after. If you have any questions regarding your potential claim, please speak with our friendly team.