First Doctor made incorrect diagnosis

ardinn

So my mother went to the doctor on thursday with chest pain. The Doctor told her it was simply heartburn and prescribed nexium and sent my nearly 70yr old mammy off down the road in agony to the chemist.

Cue 12 hrs later my mother is in an ambulance - now - the ambulance service did say it wasnt her heart as well, but, since then its been discovered it was, and she got 4 stents in about 2hrs ago.

The original doctor on thursday never took my mothers blood pressure, never did an ECG - she has a history of angina ffs - she was just simply sure it was heartburn and sent her on her way - more than likely in the midst of a mild heart attack and in agony!

Is their recourse for such negligence, I am lucky to have a mother today and to say im livid is putting it mildly,

(can a mod edit title please and thanks)

nuac

Medical negligence cases are difficult and expensive to prepare.
No Irish based doctor of any rank will report on or give evidence on quality of treatment given. That raises major issues of cost and delay. Reports from UK based experts are expensive and arranging their attendance at a trial in Ireland even more so.
It seems your mother was correctly diagnosed within a short period of the wrong diagnosis. Therefore the actual damages recoverable may not be worth the expense of the action.
Leaving open for general discussion.

Hope your mother is keeping well.

( Title amended )

heldel00

Make appointment with doctor and discuss this with them?

NUTLEY BOY

In the context of medical negligence doctors owe a reasonable duty of care.
Specifically, they will be judged by reference to the standard reasonably to be expected of a doctor of their standing.
In context, that would mean the standard to be reasonably expected of a competent G.P..

The burden of proof of negligence rests on OP's mother. The standard of proof is that of the balance of probabilities.

Misdiagnosis or a missed diagnosis do not constitute presumptive evidence of medical negligence.

Even if OP's mother established negligence the next step is to establish what injuries or losses she has sustained.

+1 nuac's observation about difficulty and expense attaching to medical negligence cases. A potential plaintiff must weigh the balance between risks of costs against likely possible recoverable damages.

Incidentally, I take it that OP's mother did draw the doctor's attention to the history of angina. I am not being mean but am just pointing out something that will be asked.

On another tack, OP's mother does have the right to complain to the Medical Council about the professional standard of the doctor. Here is a link to the Medical Council's complaint function https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/Public-Information/Making-a-Complaint-/
Be aware that it is a very serious matter to make such a complaint.

All of that said I relate to the OP's position and that of her mother. This has been a near miss. I respectfully suggest a short period of calm reflection before deciding what, if anything, you wish to do. Most importantly, I do hope that OP's mother does recover fully.

Samuel T. Cogley

Doctors can close ranks faster than any other profession on the planet.

4ensic15

One of the ingredients in the tort of negligence is damage. It happens in some cases of a delayed diagnosis that permanent harm results. In some situations like childbirth, even a delay of a few minutes can be catastrophic. In other cases, a delay, even of a few months may not result in any harm other than perhaps some discomfort. Before contemplating any kind of legal action it is vital to identify the damage actually caused and what the remedy might be. In a situation where there is no loss of earnings and no medical expenses were incurred the only damage will be pain and suffering. A few hours discomfort is not going to result in any award of damages.

splinter65

ardinn wrote: »

So my mother went to the doctor on thursday with chest pain. The Doctor told her it was simply heartburn and prescribed nexium and sent my nearly 70yr old mammy off down the road in agony to the chemist.

Cue 12 hrs later my mother is in an ambulance - now - the ambulance service did say it wasnt her heart as well, but, since then its been discovered it was, and she got 4 stents in about 2hrs ago.

The original doctor on thursday never took my mothers blood pressure, never did an ECG - she has a history of angina ffs - she was just simply sure it was heartburn and sent her on her way - more than likely in the midst of a mild heart attack and in agony!

Is their recourse for such negligence, I am lucky to have a mother today and to say im livid is putting it mildly,

(can a mod edit title please and thanks)

What kind of recourse do you think would be appropriate?

ardinn

splinter65 wrote: »

What kind of recourse do you think would be appropriate?

I wasnt looking for money tbh - I was more hoping for disciplinary action or whatever - to not have checked the blood pressure of a person complaining of chest pain simply boggles the mind. Im not after a court case but something should be done imo.

splinter65

ardinn wrote: »

I wasnt looking for money tbh - I was more hoping for disciplinary action or whatever - to not have checked the blood pressure of a person complaining of chest pain simply boggles the mind. Im not after a court case but something should be done imo.

Make a complaint following the instructions here:

https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/Public-Information/Making-a-Complaint-/Complaint-Form.html