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A stomach ulcer may cause a variety of symptoms which appear to closely resemble other illnesses or medical complaints; however, if a stomach ulcer remains undiagnosed it can cause massive bleeding which will require immediate surgery. If a stomach ulcer is misdiagnosed and the patient suffers personal injury then it may be possible to make a clinical negligence claim.
Misdiagnosing a stomach ulcer
Some patients with stomach ulcers may have only very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. However, many sufferers will experience abdominal pain, usually occurring just below the sternum (breast bone).
Problematically, the pain may come on about 15 to 20 minutes after eating and may be described as a burning or gnawing sensation extending to the back of the abdomen. This can be mistaken for a number of other illnesses including indigestion.
In 2010, relatives of a man who died after his stomach ulcer was diagnosed as flu made it known that they intended to sue the NHS trust charged with his care for medical negligence compensation.
The 77-year-old man had fallen ill in January 2010 and his carer called the local NHS medical centre to request a home visit. The out-of-hours doctor did not go out to visit the pensioner and instead made an over-the-phone diagnosis of flu. He prescribed strong painkillers.
Unfortunately, two days after the phone diagnosis, the misdiagnosed stomach ulcer caused massive bleeding and the patient died before he could receive the emergency treatment he required.
The coroner investigating the man's death stated that the stomach ulcer patient may have survived if he had not received the misdiagnosis.
Out-of-hours care from doctors had been previously criticised on numerous occasions after phone diagnoses failed to spot serious illnesses which caused the patients to suffer unnecessarily.
In this case, the patient may have survived if the doctor had attended him and given a full examination. At the time the family of the medical negligence victim told newspapers that they were considering making a civil claim for compensation.
The man's granddaughter, said, "We don't want anyone else to have to suffer in this way."
Clinical negligence claims after misdiagnosis
If you or a family member has suffered unnecessarily as a result of a misdiagnosis of symptoms, whether it was by phone consultation, in a doctor's surgery or in hospital, you may be able to make a negligence claim with the expert compensation solicitors from YouClaim.
Unfortunately, medical negligence cases are complex and in some cases charges for medical reports are required in advance. We strive to keep these costs to a minimum and always discuss them with you fully before you decide to proceed; in a won case the charges will be reimbursed as fully as possible.
In a won case you are guaranteed to receive 100% compensation; we will never take a penny once a sum has been agreed.
Contact us today
For a no-obligation chat about making a medical negligence claim with YouClaim, call our free helpline now on 0800 10 757 95, have an echat, or fill in an online claim form and we will call you back at a time to suit you.
