Fatal GP Negligence Claim

A fatal GP negligence claim is for compensation when a loved one dies due to below-standard medical care by the GP. Your loved one could die due to a misdiagnosis, a failure to refer, a prescription error, or a missed diagnosis of a medical condition.

A GP owes their patients a duty of care when dealing with a patient’s health. They must provide an acceptable level of care and not provide GP service below that which no other GP acting professionally would provide.

Medical negligence is medical care below that any other medical professional acting at an acceptable level would provide. In a fatal medical negligence claim, the doctor has not provided your father, mother, son, daughter, husband, or wife with an acceptable level of medical care, causing their death.

Your No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor can make your fatal medical negligence case for compensation.

Common fatal GP negligence claims range from failing to refer a patient for further testing to missing the signs of a heart attack or severe infection. The GP is often the first line of defence for health problems. If the GP is negligent, they could miss a vital sign and lose time getting the patient life-saving treatment. 

GP negligence could cost the life of your loved one. If you lose a trusted family member through GP negligence, you may have a fatal negligence claim for compensation.

Common fatal medical negligence claims are:

Failing to diagnose a heart attack leading to the death of a patient is fatal GP medical negligence. The GP must be aware of the signs of a heart attack and refer the patient for emergency treatment.

When a patient presents at the GP surgery, the GP must do all the tests needed and refer the patient for further treatment if necessary. A GP should follow NICE guidelines to avoid errors.

To miss the signs of a heart attack could be GP negligence, and if the patient dies, it may be fatal GP negligence.

Failing to diagnose a stroke leading to the death of a patient would not happen if the GP follows the FAST guidelines. The GP should diagnose a stroke as accurately and as quickly as possible.

The FAST guidelines give a quick diagnosis of a possible stroke, and the GP should notice the signs if they are giving you a professional level of treatment.

Not diagnosing a stroke or not referring someone for emergency treatment could be a fatal GP negligence claim if the patient passes away due to stroke complications.

Errors in prescribing medication leading to the death of a patient can happen when the GP prescribes a medication the patient is allergic to, or a medication that counteracts with other ones the patient is taking. 

The GP may also prescribe the wrong medication for a patient or a dose that is too high, or too low, for the patient’s condition. The GP may fail to prescribe medication as ordered by the hospital consultant, leading to a condition becoming fatal rather than being under control. 

The family may have a case for fatal GP negligence compensation if the patient passes away due to errors in prescribing medication. 

Failing to diagnose an infection leading to sepsis happens when the GP misses the early signs of infection and does not prescribe a suitable antibiotic. 

The body shuts down quickly when sepsis takes over. The minor infection grows and causes the immune system to overreact and can be very difficult to treat in the elderly, the vulnerable and in children.  

A patient may die quickly when suffering from sepsis, and the GP should be aware of the complications from untreated infections.

The deceased’s loved ones could make a compensation claim for fatal GP negligence if their relative died from sepsis due to the failure to treat an infection.

Failing to follow up on test results should never happen, but it does when the GP is guilty of medical negligence. All test results must be followed up on, and ignoring the test results could be fatal. 

Test results may show the early signs of cancer, diabetes, and other severe conditions. The patient may need further treatment and make lifestyle changes to save their lives. 

Fatal GP negligence is a lack of duty of care by a GP, and the dependents may have a fatal GP negligence claim for compensation.

You can seek compensation for fatal negligence claims in amounts from the low £10,000s to over £10 million in some cases.

How much compensation you receive depends on a few factors. Some fatal medical negligence cases see very high awards, such as when a young mother passes away, or the main breadwinner in the family dies due to the fatal medical negligence.

Compensation amounts in fatal GP negligence claims can be:

All amounts are approximate and are only a guide to what is possible in fatal negligence claims. Figures can be high in some claims as a loved one could leave behind a family and others who rely on them for care.

The family left behind will be able to claim for future care, educational expenses, and other costs in the future.

As in all medical negligence claims, each case is dealt with on merit and how much those left behind suffer due to the fatal negligent medical treatment by a GP.

A No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor will be the one to advise you on a fatal negligence claim. They will know from experience what your case may be worth and how to make a successful claim.

Your No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor will handle your fatal negligence claim for compensation and for all damages incurred.