Misdiagnosis of diabetes compensation claims

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a life long condition that causes a person's blood sugar levels (glucose) to become too high.

The amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin. When food enters the bloodstream, insulin moves the glucose out of the blood and into cells where it is broken down to produce energy. However, if you have diabetes, your body is unable to break down the sugar into energy. This is because there's either not enough insulin to move the glucose (type 2 diabetes), or the insulin produced doesn't work properly (type 1 diabetes).

The different types of diabetes can have very different treatment requirements, so it’s important for a correct diagnosis to be made so that they can receive the right care. Anyone who presents with diabetes-like symptoms could potentially experience misdiagnosis if the correct tests are not carried out.

Diagnosing diabetes

There are several common symptoms associated with diabetes. These include

• Urinating more frequently (especially during the night)
• Feeling thirsty
• Feeling tired
• Hunger
• Weight loss
• Irritability, and
• blurred vision (caused by the lens of the eye becoming dry)

The different types of diabetes can have very different treatment requirements, so it’s important for a correct diagnosis to be made so that they can receive the right care. Anyone who presents with diabetes-like symptoms could potentially experience misdiagnosis if the correct tests are not carried out.

How can diabetes be misdiagnosed?

Especially in the case of adults developing type 1 diabetes, which can happen at any age, type 1 diabetes misdiagnosis of their condition can occur, and they may be incorrectly given a misdiagnosis of type 2 diabetes instead, which will mean that they are given the wrong treatment for their condition.

Blood tests can help to confirm the correct type of diabetes that the patient has, which should help ensure that they get the correct treatment and lifestyle advice.

Those with type 1 diabetes will need regular insulin injections for the rest of their life. For type 2 diabetes, patients may eventually require insulin injections, but their treatment may include changes to lifestyle which can help control the condition successfully in many cases.

Misdiagnosis of diabetes compensation claim

If someone with type 1 diabetes is misdiagnosed as having type 2 and are treated incorrectly as a result, they can develop ketoacidosis, which is a life threatening condition. There are other issues that may also develop from having high glucose levels due to the type 1 diabetes not being treated appropriately in the long term, such as limb amputation, heart or kidney disease, and there can also be problems with eyes and nerves if type 1 diabetes is misdiagnosed and not treated as it should be. A recent study found that nearly 40% of adults with type 1 diabetes were misdiagnosed at least initially, and many underwent years or even decades of the wrong treatment for their condition as a result, which can have life-changing and even fatal consequences.

If you have experienced a misdiagnosis of diabetes, and have suffered as a result, you may be able to make a claim for compensation. Get in touch with our expert clinical negligence team for more information by calling 0161 696 6165.