Appendicitis Misdiagnosis & Negligent Compensation Claims

Appendicitis is where the appendix becomes inflamed and painful. If appendicitis is not treated, the appendix can burst, which can be life threatening. Appendicitis can be caused by a blockage which can then cause the appendix to become inflamed and lead to ruptures.

In order to treat appendicitis, the patient will normally need to undergo an operation to remove the appendix. Appendicitis needs to be spotted and treated quickly to reduce further complications that can be life threatening.

But what happens if something goes wrong with your treatment or diagnosis, and this causes significant medical problems?

There are many things that can go wrong which may give rise to a claim:

Negligently performed appendectomy

There are circumstances where the patient has been diagnosed with appendicitis but, due to a mistake being made during the surgery, problems or complications arise. A negligently performed appendectomy can mean further surgery and increased pain and discomfort. This can go on for a period of time before the mistake is recognised, and you can claim for further pain and complications caused as a result of it.

Misdiagnoses

There are cases where appendicitis has been misdiagnosed and people have gone on to have further complications, like their appendix rupturing before it is realised they have appendicitis.

The symptoms of appendicitis can be common for other disorders, such as urine infections, which means that they can go misdiagnosed and may not be picked up until later on when serious damage has already been done. Patients can suffer prolonged pain, and if the appendix bursts, severe infections can arise, or patients may not survive. For women, if there is a misdiagnoses, this can ultimately lead to them being unable to have children.

Can you claim?

If you have suffered further injury from a misdiagnosis or from a negligently performed appendectomy, you may have a claim.

Where patients have further suffered from the misdiagnosis that would not have occurred if the correct diagnoses had been made, you may be able to claim for damages to cover the additional suffering and / or complications that arise.

A negligently performed appendectomy can leave a patient suffering for months before they are treated for the mistake that was made. Both misdiagnosis and a negligently performed procedure can have a severe impact on someone’s life, such as becoming infertile, or being able to return to work for a period time, meaning loss of earnings.

We can help

If you have been a victim of misdiagnosed appendicitis and have suffered because of this, we can help. We specialise in medical negligence claims and are able to help you. If you think you have been a victim of medical negligence we urge you to contact us and we can advise you on whether you have a claim.