Medical Negligence claim against GP

[amnidyaa]

Aibu to think I have grounds for a claim?

In March 2023 I had an operation on my spine for Cauda equina syndrome. After the operation the spinal specialist sent a letter to me and mh GP saying there is a 5cm growth on my ovary and they recommend a follow up with a Gynecologist and another scan. I went to see my GP and enquired about getting the growth looked at by gynaecology. The GP refused and said people have growths all the time and its nothing to worry about and she said she will not be ordering a follow up.
Then 1 year later in March 2024 I had pain and went to A&E and they did a scan and found the growth was now 10cm and had spread all over the pelvic region. I ended up having to have a hysterectomy within 2 weeks and I had to lose both my ovaries and uterus because the growth had spread. I am now in menopause at the age of 39 and unable to have children all because my GP didnt follow up on the growth before it spread.

Would it brlw unreasonable to think I have a claim?

Did you have any symptoms related to that growth March 2023-2024?

Doesn't matter whether she had pain/symptoms or not - the fact was it had been identified. The GP obviously didn't have a scooby what it was a referral I'd have thought (and the first dr thought) was appropriate. Saying that locally its a 12 month wait to see gynaecology so it may not have made any difference.

Absolutely not unreasonable, if you were refused further investigation for a growth on your ovary that was found incidentally on an investigation for something else and the growth has progressed to the extent that you have experienced significant consequences that might have been avoided by earlier investigation. I wish you well.

Thanks for the replies.

I had pains on left side but the GP said its just period pains.

The discharge letter after my Cauda equina operation had a section called 'Recommendations for GP' and it detailed the 5cm growth and said 'this should be further evaluated with ultrasound and gynaecology referral'

The GP failed to follow up and I don't think she'll be able to justify why she didnt follow the recommendations. Thats why I'm thinking it comes under negligence...

The only way to find out if you have a claim is to seek legal advice then it will be a long process of liability and causation with medical experts

Agree with @FishersGate - no-one here will be able to tell you if you do or not, you need to go to a clinical negligence solicitor, who (if they think there is something in the claim) organise for liability, causation and prognosis reports from experts. Good luck.

I don’t know whether or not you’d be successful but if it were me I’d certainly be trying given the circumstances. I’m sorry you’ve been through this, first cauda equina and then all the subsequent troubles.

It's a very long and intrusive process legal action and your medical notes will be cross examined. However the only way to know if you have a claim is to seek legal advice in real life. Totally understand you looking into it.

I've emailed a medical negligence solicitor so I'll update on what they say.

I work in med neg claims & would advise you speak to a solicitor as there could be something there (impossible to say as no details) x

Good luck op x

This is correct. I’ve been through a clinical negligence claim and it’s complex.

Im sorry this happened to you and I’d certainly recommend talking to a reputable firm of lawyers who specialise in medical negligence. I also recommend getting on with your life and getting well and strong because these things drag on for a very long time indeed.

You should also take advice on making a complaint t the GMC and your surgery. I was advised to wait until the claim was concluded.

Good luck.

So why didn’t your neurosurgeons refer your you to gyn? It’s not just the GP’s responsibility particularly because the NS/Ortho team ordered your MRI and so they should be responsible for the results IMO. Besides that, incidental findings appear on scans all the time, and an MRI is superior imagining to an US so really a referral to gyn would have been what you needed and I think that should have been done by the team that ordered your scan.

Sorry to hear you lost your uterus, but you aren’t being very specific about this growth either. In terms of what the scan said it was and what it turned out to be.

Usually in the NHS Referrals have to go via the GP so the neurosurgeons can't refer to Gynae.

Whether you have a case of not will go down to medical experts and if one argues your GP did something other GPs would do as normal practice.

I’ve no idea whether you have a legal case or not, but I’m so sorry that it happened OP, it sounds heartbreaking 💐

@AnnaMagnani not true. Like @5431go said neurosurgeons could have referred directly to gynaecology.

I think it depends on the area. I have certainly been told by a consultant to go back to my GP and ask for a referral for a different speciality. They stated that referrals need to come from primary care because whoever makes the referral pays for it??????? Or something to do with funding anyway.

I would say that you do have a shot at a claim.

It's obviously been very distressing for you, and I am very sorry that this is the outcome.

You have to make the claim within 3 years, I don't know if that would mean from the initial referral or from your surgery.

I am in the midst of pursuing a claim myself and it is a very long, very drawn out process, they will use anything in your notes to try and win. The Dr I have a case against has been struck off the medical board but still it is our (hundreds of patients) word against his/the trust and it is dragging.

It's mentally difficult and I would try to access therapy if at all possible.

@Truetoself It really is true. In England consultant to consultant referrals have been banned for years except for certain circumstances eg cancer treatment or to see a specialist about the same condition.

So you have to make a trip to the GP for a referral.

A new gynae cyst would in practically all of these referral policies be back to the GP, neurosurgery would not be able to refer.

Even if you don't get to the point of a payout, the GP would be investigated. So I would go ahead and try.

I'm so sorry this happened. If a solicitor takes your case there will be an expert witness assigned who will determine the most likely course if the GP had made the referral.

They will then look at the difference in likely outcomes and any settlement will be determined from there.

There is every chance the expert could determine that this would have been the outcome on the balance of probabilities. Or they could determine it would have been rectified if addressed earlier, more likely it's somewhere along the bell curve.

@AnnaMagnani

I Don’t work in England, but I can’t see how what you’re saying is true. E.g patient comes into an acute receiving unit with an MI, managed medically, but requires cardiology review and follow up. A review being requested by that speciality is essentially consultant to consultant referral.

What about a TIA? Referred to a stroke consultant for secondary prevention on d/c.

I agree with the earlier poster - in my area there isn't referral between consultants, it always goes back to the gp first

Hell yes I’d say you have a case. Sounds like the standard shoddy GP. They don’t give a crap about women’s issues most of the time. I had to fight for my diagnosis with gynae. Good luck. Because of their negligence they took the right you have to a child away so I wouldn’t let it drop.

That’s very upsetting for you. Do you remember what kind of cyst they said it was? I do gynae ultrasounds and if it’s a simple cyst or haemorrhagic 5cm or less we don’t follow them up. Greater than 5cm we rescan in one year.

Absolutely disgusting treatment. I am so sorry this has happened to you. Speak to a medical negligence lawyer, it will not cost you anything while they assess your case. Send me a private message if you would like a recommendation.