Specialist Medical Claims Solicitors
Diabetes rates have been on the rise in the United Kingdom for quite some time and passed the 3 million mark in 2013. Diabetes is a serious clinical condition, and although there are several different forms of the disease, diabetes usually means that the patient has blood sugar levels which are too high. This could be because their body isn’t producing enough insulin, or because the body is not processing the insulin which it does produce. Insulin converts sugars in the blood into energy, and if diabetes is left untreated, the consequences can often be serious health problems.
If your diabetes was misdiagnosed – you could be entitled to claim compensation.
Diabetes – incorrect diagnosis?
Symptoms such as rapid weight loss, needing to go to the toilet more often, tiredness and sight problems may lead a doctor to suspect that you might have diabetes. Diabetes can be difficult to diagnose, and it is quite possible that the GP gets the diagnosis wrong. The consequences of this can be impotence, loss of vision and a related eye condition called retinopathy.
Treating you as if you had diabetes when in fact your problem is different is equally serious.
The consequences of diabetes misdiagnosis
If you don’t get the correct treatment, diabetes can cause you some really serious problems such as loss of vision and impotence. Treating you as if you had diabetes when you do not can also cause health problems in the future.
Hold ups in diagnosing you with diabetes can also result in the condition getting worse in the meantime. If this happens, a patient may be able to make a medical negligence claim for compensation against the doctor who was treating them. If we feel ill and go to the doctor, we put our faith in them to gather the evidence and make the right decisions to treat us properly. If this doesn’t happen, it shakes our trust in the entire medical profession and the NHS itself. There could also be serious, long term health consequences.
Links between diabetes, clinical negligence and some antipsychotic drugs
As well as the problems discussed above, there have been many academic studies which have linked certain antipsychotic drugs such as Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa to problems with blood sugar levels including diabetes and hyperglycaemia. Anyone who has been taking this sort of antipsychotic medication to treat conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mania disorders and who has later developed diabetes should speak to a clinical negligence lawyer as soon as possible.
It may well be that there is a very direct link between taking your prescribed medication and then developing diabetes.
Clinical negligence claims for diabetes
An initial meeting with an experienced clinical negligence solicitor will help you work out whether or not there has been medical mistake connected to your diagnosis of diabetes, or the failure to diagnose which could give rise to a successful claim for compensation.
Our team offer FREE initial phone advice and a FREE first appointment for all clinical negligence claims.
If your solicitor thinks that you do indeed have grounds for a claim, then they will be able to talk you through the next steps which you should take. Diabetes is often underestimated but is a serious clinical condition, and the consequences of delays in diagnosis, missed diagnosis or complications caused by medication can be serious.
Make sure you appoint a specialist panel accredited clinical negligence solicitor
Clinical negligence (also known as medical negligence) is one of the most complex areas of law. It involves being able to understand complex medical procedures and records – and challenging often highly experienced medical professionals. That’s why you need a genuine specialist when making a compensation claim.
As at September 2017, there were over 142,000 practising solicitors – plus many, many more legal executives and unqualified legal advisors. Yet just 180 or so of those are on the two main clinical negligence panels – one run by AvMA, the campaigning UK patient justice charity, and the other by the Law Society itself.
Our clinical negligence team is headed up by one of those 180 panel members. That means, when you appoint us for your medical compensation claim, you can guarantee your case is being dealt with by someone with enormous experience and whose ability is regularly checked independently.
And unlike many other firms, we take these form of negligence compensation claims very seriously. They are all run personally by experienced solicitors – so no unqualified staff or call handlers.
Act now on your clinical negligence claim
If you think you or a family member may have been affected by these sorts of issues, or have other worries about diabetes and clinical negligence, get in touch as soon as you can so that we can give you advice on your case. In most instances there is a time limit set on how long you have to claim for clinical negligence, so it’s really important that you get in touch with us as soon as you can.
Suffer from Diabetes? Considering a Clinical Negligence Claim? Call us today
Please be aware that strict time limitation periods apply to all medical injury compensation claims. So don’t delay getting in touch with one of our specialist team – or you risk losing the compensation to which you are entitled.
For FREE phone advice and a free first interview with expert Medical Negligence Solicitors you can trust, simply
- Phone one of our medical claims team on (01722) 4223000 or FREE on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 OR
- E-mail us using the online enquiry form below
