A medical practice in the Durham area

4. Mrs N her daughter was misdiagnosed with conjunctivitis when she went to the Practice on 2 August and 11 August, and when she spoke to her GP on the telephone on 17 August 2021. Mrs N took her daughter to A&E after the telephone appointment and she was diagnosed with shingles in her eye and treated immediately.

5. Mrs N says her daughter has been affected physically and emotionally. Mrs N says because her daughter did not get the right treatment her day-to-day life has been affected. She was in pain and had blurry vision. She was sensitive to light and missed out on her education. She has ongoing treatment and takes oral medication and eye drops. Mrs N’s daughter now has a fear of seeing her GP.

6. By bringing the complaint to us Mrs N would like financial compensation for her daughter’s unnecessary discomfort and sight damage which has also affected her mental health.

8. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has (or had) the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is (or was) unreasonable in the circumstances. We have discussed this with Mrs N to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

9. It is our understanding that a clinical negligence claim may be available to them. This is because Mrs N told us her daughter experienced physical and emotional harm caused by the Practice’s actions.

10. Mrs N was unable to say how much compensation would be acceptable. However, she did say she would like to get as much as possible as her daughter’s treatment is ongoing. She would want to use some of the money for private treatment, if needed.

11. Taking this into account, it appears that Mrs N would be seeking a moderate amount of compensation. This would be to compensate for her daughter’s physical and emotional loss, as well as private medical treatment, if this is needed.

12. Mrs N has not considered a legal claim yet because she followed the advice of the Practice to contact us. We note that most clinical negligence claims are funded by no win no fee agreements and there does not appear to be any concerns about this type of funding. Mrs N said she would be nervous pursuing legal action because she has not done this before, and asked if we could guide her on who to contact. We have given information on this in a separate letter to Mrs N. We have not seen that there is anything stopping Mrs N from getting legal representation.

13. While we can make recommendations on investigation for financial compensation, the amounts we recommend are typically modest when compared with what can be achieved through legal action. We do not achieve financial outcomes like the courts do. It would seem that legal action would be the best route for Mrs N to achieve her outcomes. This is because Mrs N only seeks compensation. We feel it is fair for Mrs N and in her best interests to speak to a solicitor before she asks us to reconsider her concerns.

14. Furthermore, private medical treatment is typically only granted as compensation through legal action, and we know this is something Mrs N is considering.

15. It appears reasonable for Mrs N to pursue legal action, by making a clinical negligence claim. Our decision is not made without recognition of the stressful circumstances surrounding the events. We understand this has been an upsetting time for her and her daughter.

16. If Mrs N is unable to pursue legal action, she can ask us to look at the complaint again.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs N’s complaint about a medical Practice in the Durham area (the Practice) and the care given to her daughter.

2. We are sorry to hear about what happened. We understand this has been and is still an upsetting time for them.

3. We have decided not to do a detailed investigation of this complaint. We consider Mrs N could take legal action, by making a clinical negligence claim. We have explained our decision within this statement.