Dear Claudine,

I have been attending my GP for the last two years in relation to a minor medical condition. He has issued me with several prescriptions over the last two years. I have recently attended with a different Doctor who indicated to me that a wrong diagnosis had been made in relation to my condition. The original GP I had been attending had furnished me with the wrong prescriptions due to the wrong diagnosis which he had made in relation to my conditon. I am annoyed that it has taken two years for me to obtain the correct medical diagnosis for a problem which could have been cured over a period of weeks, had I been prescribed the correct medication. Can I make a claim against the original Doctor for medical malpractice?

Thank You

Sarah

Dear Sarah,

Thank you for your e-mail. I can appreciate your frustration over the delay which you have experienced in obtaining the correct medical diagnosis and treatment. Firstly, the predominant issue to be addressed is the wrong diagnosis. Where a wrong diagnosis is made there are several medical questions raised. Firstly, have you suffered any physical damage to your health or had any unpleasant side effects as a result of taking the wrong medication. If you have not experienced a direct negative impact from the medication prescribed by your original Doctor, then as such, you have not suffered any damage and there is very little cause for claiming compensation. Secondly, as an incorrect diagnosis was initially made, this failure has resulted in your actual medical problem being treated. This failure must have resulted in you suffering real damage to your health. The extent and nature of the damage will obviously depend on the nature of your medical problem. It is extremely important to note that there is a duty on you to establish that on the balance of probability, the original Doctor with whom you initially consulted should have made the correct diagnosis. The Doctor making a wrong diagnosis on its own is insufficient, if a Doctor of similar status and skill would have made the same diagnosis and recommended the same treatment. In order to determine whether you would have a claim, it would be necessary to establish that a competent Doctor would have provided the correct diagnosis and treatment for your medical condition. This would require an investigation of your Medical Notes and Records in addition to obtaining an Expert medical opinion to determine if the Doctor really made a mistake in the original diagnosis and treatment. A Solicitor will only be in a position to confirm to you whether you have a claim once they have obtained an Expert Medical Opinion confirming that a competent Doctor would have made the correct diagnosis and provided the correct treatment. It is important to note that you have two years from your date of knowledge that the wrong diagnosis and treatment was afforded to you, within which to pursue a claim, however, this would entirely be based on an Expert Medical Report.

I hope that the above is helpful to you.

Claudine