How to deal with Epilepsy Misdiagnosis

Can I claim epilepsy misdiagnosis compensation for my daughter? She was misdiagnosed with epilepsy and has been on prescription drugs for over a year. I recently had her re-examined and the original epilepsy diagnosis was wrong.

Epilepsy misdiagnosis compensation claims have recently been covered extensively in the media due to the high number of epilepsy misdiagnoses in recent years. Due to the highly complex nature of epilepsy and the difficulty in obtaining a definitive diagnosis for the condition, many children are diagnosed with the condition when it is something else entirely which is causing the seizures. Since over 40 different types of epilepsy have been identified, and the symptoms, age of onset and test results will differ for each, arriving at an accurate epilepsy diagnosis may not be as straightforward as with other health conditions.

Unfortunately an epilepsy diagnosis is often made from just one seizure, which is rarely enough to enable an accurate diagnosis to be made. An epilepsy misdiagnosis can be particularly damaging for a child, as not only will this cause a delay in obtaining the right treatment, but the strength of the drugs used to control seizures means that there is high potential for children to be injured by epilepsy drugs.

Epilepsy misdiagnosis compensation can be claimed if it can be proven ‘on the balance of probabilities’ that a hospital made an error of judgement when diagnosing the condition, an epilepsy misdiagnosis compensation claim may be possible. This can only be confirmed by getting a second opinion, and another doctor will be required to testify that under the same circumstances, the symptoms should have led to a correct diagnosis being made or have resulted in further diagnostic tests being prescribed - such as an EEG or an MRI scan – which would have ensured a correct diagnosis of your daughter´s condition was made. If this was the case, an epilepsy misdiagnosis compensation claim should be possible and will stand a good chance of being successful.

However, as with any personal injury compensation claim, a claim for epilepsy misdiagnosis compensation will only be possible if your daughter has suffered an injury due to the diagnosis, has come to harm, or if the failed diagnosis of your daughters actual condition has caused it to deteriorate. The injury which is claimed for may be psychological in nature, provided that it is a quantifiable and recognised psychological injury.

It is strongly recommended that you contact a specialist medical negligence solicitor for legal advice about your case. Your eligibility to claim epilepsy misdiagnosis compensation will be assessed, and you will be advised on what you must do to file a claim for compensation as a litigation friend for your daughter.