A fatal GP negligence claim seeks compensation when a loved one dies due to medical negligence by a GP. The family, spouse and dependents can claim damages for the fatal negligence by a GP in the care of their loved one.

Your GP owes their patients a duty of care when looking after them. If they breach that duty of care and you die as a result, your loved ones can make a medical negligence death compensation claim.

The family left behind suffer anguish and sorrow due to the fatal GP negligence. Dependents also lose their financial security and may need to make significant changes to their lives.

If a loved one suffers below acceptable GP care leading to death, you might be able to claim compensation from those responsible.

A No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor can make your claim for fatal GP negligence and get you the compensation you deserve.

Fatal GP Negligence Claim

What is a 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.

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Common fatal GP negligence claims

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 claim
  • Failing to diagnose a stroke leading to the death of a patient claim
  • Failing to diagnose early signs of a fatal cancer claim
  • Errors in prescription lead to the death of a patient claim
  • Failing to diagnose an infection leading to sepsis claim
  • Failing to follow up on test results claim
Common fatal GP negligence claims

Failing to diagnose a heart attack leading to the death of a patient claim

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 claim

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.

Failing to diagnose early signs of a fatal cancer claim

Failing to diagnose the early signs of potentially fatal cancer can delay treatment or make it too late to treat the cancer by the time a diagnosis is made. 

Cancer, like all serious health complications, needs prompt and correct diagnosis. To miss the signs of cancer at an early stage or not refer the patient for further tests could be GP negligence. 

If a loved one passes away due to a cancer diagnosis missed by the GP, the dependents could have a fatal GP negligence claim for compensation.

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Errors in prescribing medication leading to the death of a patient claim

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 claim

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 claim

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.

Compensation for fatal negligence claims

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:

  • Failing to spot signs of a stroke leading to death – £52,000
  • Failing to diagnose a medical condition – £63,800
  • Errors by the GP when dealing with a heart attack – £125,600
  • Mistakes made by the GP with medications – £196,900
  • Delays in referring a patient for treatment resulting in death – £224,500
compensation claim calculator

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.

Our Process

Our team members have a higher career win rate with a 75% success rate on NHS letters of claim, compared to an industry average of 54.5%.

Enquiry

The first step is to get in touch and tell us what went wrong. It’s free and easy. Call our 24-hour helpline: 0800 246 1122 or request a callback here.

Medical Evaluation

Once you have spoken with our team we’ll let you know how we can help. Typically the next step is to obtain your medical records for us to review.

Legal Letter

Once all your medical records have been received they will be reviewed by a medically & legally qualified member of our team. If there is evidence of medical negligence we will send a letter of claim to the negligent party outlining your medical negligence claim.

Who is eligible for fatal negligence compensation?

The family, parents, dependents, husbands, wives, and partners who are left behind after the fatal medical negligence may be eligible for compensation. They are the ones who have suffered the loss, and the clear fatal GP negligence has caused mental anguish and deep financial strain, possibly for life. 

Loved ones in a fatal GP negligence case are known as ‘dependents’ and can be:

  • A spouse or former spouse of the deceased
  • Someone who lived with the deceased for two years before death as a husband, wife, or civil partner.
  • Blood children, adopted children or those who became children through marriage or civil partnership
  • Parents and those acting as parents, such as a guardian or step-parents
  • Grandparents or great-grandparents
  • Brothers, sisters, cousins, and other direct relatives

When your loved one is a victim of fatal negligence, or you have lost a loved one through GP negligence, you may have a claim for compensation.

Fatal negligence due to failure to follow NICE guidelines

Fatal negligence due to failure to follow NICE guidelines is behind many common fatal GP negligence claims. NICE guidelines exist to try and eliminate errors by medical professionals but fatal negligence may occur when they are not followed.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is a government-sponsored body set up to reduce the errors within the NHS. They identify ‘never events,’ the mistakes which should never happen, and issue guidelines on how to avoid them.

The NICE guidelines are like a list of how-to and how-not-to information points for GPs. NICE continually updates all information, and the guidelines should be followed by anyone involved in a GP practice.

When all members of the GP practice follow the NICE guidelines, GP care should go as planned. If staff do not follow all NICE guidelines, fatal negligence can happen due to the lack of duty of care involved.

You can claim fatal medical negligence compensation when the GP team does not follow NICE guidelines and your loved one dies due to GP negligence.

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Claiming on behalf of a loved one

Yes, you can make a medical negligence claim on behalf of a loved one. Under UK law, if an injured party cannot represent themselves, then a loved one can take the case on their behalf.

GP negligence is a perfect example of claiming on behalf of a loved one. The negligence could take a loved one’s life or leave them unable to make a claim.

Your loved one depends wholly on you and the family for care and to fight for their rights. By making a claim on their behalf for GP negligence, you are fighting for the compensation they deserve.

A parent can make a GP claim on behalf of a child while they are under 18. In some cases, the diagnosis of medical negligence is not made until a child is in their late teens. The child’s parents can make a compensation claim when the child is under 18, but the young adult can make one until they turn 21. 

A No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor will work with you to win the compensation claim for the GP negligence.

Are you eligible for compensation?

If you want to obtain compensation for the negligence you have suffered, we have a simple 3 step process to make sure you get the money you deserve

  • Take our online assessment & speak with our team

  • Our team of doctors and lawyers will undertake a full medical review based on your medical records

  • We will send a legal letter of claim and our solicitors will pursue your compensation on your behalf

All case reviews are 100% cost and commitment free.

Contact The Medical Negligence Team

Contact the Medical Negligence Team today to discuss your fatal GP negligence claim for compensation. We have both the legal and medical experts to guide you along the steps to a successful medical negligence claim for compensation

At the Medical Negligence Team, we fight every compensation claim on a No Win No Fee basis. You will not be out of pocket for an unsuccessful claim.

We have a very high success rate and a reputation for a speedy and successful resolution to all medical negligence cases. 

Our 100% Compensation Guarantee puts all the money you win into your pocket. You or your loved one suffered a fatal GP negligence and deserve every penny of the compensation claim. 

Contact us at the Medical Negligence Team for all your medical negligence needs.

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