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...

JS, a four-month-old baby, was felt by his mother to be developing a cold and was given oral paracetamol solution, which was effective. The following day his mother noted he was warm and snuffly.

At presentation, Peter was 14 years old and had presented with migraines since the age of 8. He was taking Pizotifen and his headaches were well controlled. Over the past four weeks he had started getting headaches again. They were in a similar location to his migraines, but were different in nature – he couldn’t put his finger on exactly how.

Forty-four-year-old Ms M presented to her GP with pain and swelling of her right knee. She had experienced similar symptoms three years earlier whilst pregnant but had not undergone any investigations at the time

Mr H, a 45-year-old solicitor and father of three, visited his GP Dr P with a persistent headache. He described two months of symptoms, occurring up to six times per week, mainly in the mornings and with associated nausea.

Miss A, a 40-year-old IT consultant, was talking to a colleague at work when she developed a headache, along with blurred vision and nausea.

Mr S was a 35-year-old taxi driver who was visiting his extended family abroad. While he was there he decided to have a routine health check in a private clinic. He told the doctor in the health clinic that he had noticed some rectal bleeding over the previous four months.

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.

Mr O was a 24-year-old man who had just enjoyed a holiday overseas. On the return journey he started vomiting. The nausea and vomiting continued after he arrived home and he began to lose weight because of it. When his symptoms did not abate he made an appointment with his GP.

Mrs Y, 38, was admitted to hospital under the care of consultant Dr F for treatment of anaemia due to excessive menstrual bleeding. A sample of her blood was taken for grouping and cross-matching, for the purpose of a blood transfusion; a pack of compatible A-positive donor blood was sent to the ward for this purpose.

Ms E, a 29-year-old mother, had suffered with ongoing low back pain since the birth of her second child two years ago, which had failed to improve with physiotherapy. She was assessed in orthopaedic outpatients and diagnosed with an L5 disc prolapse and listed for microdiscectomy.