Dr Sophie Haroon and Alison Clarke look at how surveillance of a claimant can be useful when defending against claims.

GP Dr D and consultant gastroenterologist Dr B face a claim after an abandoned colonoscopy fails to pick up the required diagnosis. Medical Protection handles the case.

Patient facing kidney transplant or lifelong dialysis makes a negligence claim against GPs and hospital following delayed referral to nephrology and failure to recognise her underlying renal condition. This case report looks at where clinicians went wrong, and explains how MPS managed to settle the case for a moderate sum that was substantially less than the original request.

The quality record-keeping of a GP member is key to the defence of this claim.

Baby T was eight weeks old when his mother brought him to his GP’s morning surgery. His mother had become increasingly concerned about his general irritability and frequent crying episodes, which lasted up to two hours. These had become apparent over the past three days, not settling with breast feeding.

Mr S was a 60-year-old lorry driver. He was overweight and smoked, and couldn’t walk far because he suffered with pain in his calves.

When Mrs C, a keen golfer in her early forties, began to experience constant pain in her lower back, she consulted a GP at her local surgery. Dr P took a history of slow onset of pain with restricted mobility. He did not examine her, but prescribed an NSAID and advised Mrs C to return in two weeks if there was no improvement.

Mr U has a hernia repair and is later diagnosed with lung cancer. He makes a claim against two surgeons involved, alleging it should have been identified sooner.

Dr Marika Davies, medicolegal consultant, looks at the recent case of GA v Greater Glasgow Health Board [2019] CSOH 31, where the death of a 77-year-old patient raised questions over where the liability for the negligence lay: the junior doctor or the consultant?

In this video, we look at how red flags for cauda equina syndrome were missed by both GP and hospital, leading to a costly claim.

A woman is seen by a consultant gynaecologist, scheduled to have a diagnostic laparoscopy and her copper IUD removed. After the laparoscopy the woman is in pain, which worsens as a diagnosis is missed.

Mrs D presents to her GP Dr N with a long-standing lesion on her scalp. Dr N removes it but what has he missed?

Treatment of an itchy rash leads to a claim against GP Dr U, but was he negligent?

Mr E, a 50-year-old accountant, was playing squash with a colleague after work and hurt his left ankle. He couldn’t keep playing but he was able to walk, so he went home. The next day his ankle became quite swollen, so Mr E kept it on ice and took some ibuprofen...

Miss F, an overweight 11-year-old, attended her GP, Dr A, complaining of knee pain and clicking for two months following a twisting injury whilst playing football...

A female patient at a medical centre consulted GP Dr F and was subsequently sent for further treatment at another department within the building.

A man made a claim against his GP for a missed diagnosis. An expert witness was instructed to provide advice on the case...