GP negligence

General practitioners are responsible for primary care including the treatment of certain conditions and referring patients to hospital specialists.

General practitioner errors tend to fall into a number of categories:

• delay in treatment or referral. In some cases delays of a year or more will make no difference to a patient's outcome. In others, a delay of less than an hour can make the difference between life and death
• misdiagnosis including failure to recognise that a condition requires hospital investigation or admission
• prescription errors including giving the wrong drug or wrong dose or failing to recognise contra-indicating factors such as pregnancy, Penicillin intolerance or other medicines already being taken.

General practitioners are not defended by the National Health Service Litigation Authority but most are represented by either the Medical Defence Union or Medical Protection Society. These bodies are not insurers and their approach to defending cases can differ from that adopted by both the NHS and private sector insurers.

For further information please contact one of the team. Alternatively please click here to complete a short enquiry form so we can assess your claim.