Misdiagnosed and treated for two years - NHS Medical Negligence Suit?

hertsgirl44

I am looking for advice as to whether I have a potential case of Medical Negligence and if it is worth pursuing a legal settlement or not.

Summary:

In summary, I have been misdiagnosed with Hypothyroidism and mistreated accordingly for over 2 years. The impact of which has been significant life disruption (time-off work for over 25 blood tests, appointments, etc), emotional and physical stress, an unnecessary colonoscopy and even a pointless operation under General Anesthetic in 2020 (with two weeks leave from work). This, along with enduring the side effects of the medication I did not need, including extremely high heart rate, bowel issues, brain fog, menstrual issues, acne and I suspect longer-term impacts that are yet to come to fruition. 

I will go into further detail below, but as I understand it to make a successful claim for medical negligence you have to prove 2 things that I believe my case does: 

• The standard of care you received fell below that of a reasonably competent health care professional.

• You have suffered a physical or mental injury as a direct result of the negligent action. 

Timeline of Events:

I originally saw my GP a few months after having Glandular Fever (Aug 2018) as I was still feeling very tired and generally unwell. I was expecting an IBS diagnosis and was sent for a range of blood tests, instead, my blood showed I had Hypothyroidism (Mar 2019). I was instructed to start taking medication and have monthly blood tests to review my levels and increase my dose if needed. 

Over the course of the next two years, I continued to have regular blood tests and take the medication as instructed. However, my thyroid levels got dramatically worse over this period, despite my medication being quickly and dramatically increased. After two years my medication reached the maximum level the GP could prescribe and I was finally referred to a specialist (Mar 2021). 

The specialist performed their own blood tests at the hospital which were not consistent with the results my GP had been getting for the last two years. After a few retests, it was confirmed by an independent lab at Cambridge University I had never had Hypothyroidism and that my GP’s lab had not been correctly screening my bloods - which had led to a false Hypothyroidism diagnosis.  

Conclusion: 

1. If my GP and their lab had correctly screened my blood I would not have been misdiagnosed and unnecessarily treated for Hypothyroidism - I believe this constitutes medical negligence. 

2. If the multiple doctors I’d seen as part of my GP practice had listened to my symptoms, and seen that these were increasing, despite the blood results I could have potentially not been misdiagnosed. 

3. Finally, if my GP practise had listened to me they may have referred me to a specialist sooner, rather than after two years and the problem could have been addressed. 

I’d greatly appreciate any help or advice you can share. I'm in my twenties and really unsure as to what to do. 

Thanks!

Floss

Have you followed the appropriate complaints process for your GP practice? And then taken that up with their CCG? I think you will need to have exhausted all vailable processes before any legal action could be considered.

By the way, what (if anything) have you been diagnosed with?

theoretica

hertsgirl44 said:

If my GP and their lab had correctly screened my blood I would not have been misdiagnosed and unnecessarily treated for Hypothyroidism - I believe this constitutes medical negligence. 

I think it would help to separate the GP surgery from the lab in your complaint as they will be separate organisations.  Did the GP give the lab the wrong instructions?  The lab repeatedly get false readings?  The GP wrongly interpret results (eg wrong units)? Do you know what went wrong?

hertsgirl44

Floss said:

Have you followed the appropriate complaints process for your GP practice? And then taken that up with their CCG? I think you will need to have exhausted all vailable processes before any legal action could be considered.

By the way, what (if anything) have you been diagnosed with?

Thanks so much for advice. I’ve expressed my worries and concerns with my GP practice and sent a couple of emails, but nothing formal no. I also haven’t contacted the CCG but I’ll do this as a next step. 

To your second point, no I’ve not been diagnosed with anything outside the original Hypothyroidism diagnosis. 

hertsgirl44

theoretica said:

I think it would help to separate the GP surgery from the lab in your complaint as they will be separate organisations.  Did the GP give the lab the wrong instructions?  The lab repeatedly get false readings?  The GP wrongly interpret results (eg wrong units)? Do you know what went wrong?

Yes I agree, though I have no direct contact with the lab other than through my GP and they have shared very little detail on what exactly has happened. It could be any combination of the issues you’ve mentioned. All I’ve been told is my bloods were repeatedly incorrectly read due to "multiple interferences in my blood". Like I say they’ve not been forthcoming. 

mrsS_2

Arrange a free consultation with a firm of solicitors who specialise in medical negligence cases

they will be able to tell you what you need to prove ( would a reasonably competent gp have made the correct diagnosis given those same lab results) in respect of actual negligence and what you need to prove in terms of loss ( is it permanent, have you or will you lose earnings, not be able to have children etc) and what you can expect in compensation

They can also advise on costs you will be expected to pay such as expert medical opinions, insurance to cover the nhs legal fees if you lose ( even if it’s no win no fee) etc

I think you need specialist advice

hertsgirl44

mrsS_2 said:

Arrange a free consultation with a firm of solicitors who specialise in medical negligence cases

they will be able to tell you what you need to prove ( would a reasonably competent gp have made the correct diagnosis given those same lab results) in respect of actual negligence and what you need to prove in terms of loss ( is it permanent, have you or will you lose earnings, not be able to have children etc) and what you can expect in compensation

They can also advise on costs you will be expected to pay such as expert medical opinions, insurance to cover the nhs legal fees if you lose ( even if it’s no win no fee) etc

I think you need specialist advice

Thanks, that’s really clear. I appreciate it! 

Greylocks

In endocrinology it is well known heterophile antibodies occasionally produce misleading results even in the best run laboratories. Which is why you were eventually referred to a specialist where further tests were performed to explain the anomaly between your clinical symptoms and your original blood tests.
It may be difficult to ascribe negligence to the original blood screening as you may be a 0.01% outlier.

Edited to add reference.
https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2014/june/when-lab-tests-lie/
Thyroid tests are all antibody-based.

Justiceforme

Hi, you can write to your doctors and request a copy of your medical records, this may give some clarification but I think you have to confirm that you will not use these records for medical negligence cases, I may be wrong.  You will need to speak a specialist in medical negligence.  Have you checked whether your home insurance has any legal cover?

PterionPterion

Firstly I'm sorry to hear of your experience. 
It is a difficult and complex situation one which most definitely requires legal negligence specialist advice. Several things stand out. 
1. As mentioned in another comment, clarification is needed as to whether the lab were incorrectly testing/analysing/producing results or whether they were incorrectly interpreted. This will usually require legal specialists as the lay person is usually spun in circles. 
2. If the errors weigh heavier on the lab side then it is questionable as to why multiple doctors have come to the same conclusion repeatedly. How frequently did you return to the practice in the time period as 2 years is a long time to monitor/review especially if there is no improvement in dose response and symptoms are worsening dramatically. 
You mentioned over 25 blood tests, were all of these conducted by the same lab. Furthermore what was the indication for procedure under general anaesthetic. 
What could complicated matters is the lack of diagnosis at present. Unfortunately practitioners can only go by what results show them and referral guidelines. (Referring every patient who isn't improving to secondary care is not viable and sometimes all primary options have to be exhausted before referrals. This is why I believe it is important to note how many visits and the outcomes of those visits)

hertsgirl44

Greylocks said:

In endocrinology it is well known heterophile antibodies occasionally produce misleading results even in the best run laboratories. Which is why you were eventually referred to a specialist where further tests were performed to explain the anomaly between your clinical symptoms and your original blood tests.
It may be difficult to ascribe negligence to the original blood screening as you may be a 0.01% outlier

Thanks for sharing. If it's a well-known issue, could it not have been screened for? Particularly as I had around 25 blood tests at the practice? The first test I had with the specialist must have screened for it as standard and that is why they didn't get a Hypothyroidism reading? Really appreciate your help!