A patient undergoing a colonoscopy claims her modesty is disregarded during the procedure. What did Medical Protection do to tackle this allegation?

Mrs D presents to her GP Dr N with a long-standing lesion on her scalp. Dr N removes it but what has he missed?

Ophthalmologist Dr P receives a claim alleging poor consent and technique – but is that the real cause?

Two hospital doctors receive claims after a delayed cancer diagnosis, which Medical Protection eventually takes to trial.

Treatment of an itchy rash leads to a claim against GP Dr U, but was he negligent?

After a serious car crash, Dr C is called before an inquest – Medical Protection is called in to support.

Gross negligence manslaughter is a topical issue in healthcare, but cases against doctors are still comparatively rare. Dr John Jolly, head of member risk education and Dr Richard Stacey, head of policy and technical, look at a more common cause of criminal cases brought against members of Medical Protection: sexual assault.

The case of Dr Bawa-Garba and the resulting collision between the medical community and the criminal justice system, sent shockwaves around the world. Dr Richard Stacey, head of policy and technical at Medical Protection, analyses criminal cases handled by MPS in 2017 to gauge the likelihood of further charges of gross negligence manslaughter.

A common cause of claims at Medical Protection is injection errors. While generally low in value, they frequently cause anxiety to patients and clinicians, and are easily avoided. Dr Dawn McGuire, Medical Claims Adviser at Medical Protection, looks at some typical cases.

A patient presents with a sore wrist after a fall.

A patient’s solicitor sought disclosure of a GMC expert report after a case had been closed. Medical Protection successfully challenged this, only for the decision to be overturned at appeal. Kirsty Sharp, content editor at Medical Protection, looks at the challenges of making a challenge

Mrs F, a 30-year-old housewife, visited her GP, Dr O, with a four-week history of diarrhoea. Dr O arranged a stool sample for microscopy and culture (which was negative) and prescribed codeine. Four months later, Mrs F was still having diarrhoea, especially after meals, and she had started to notice some weight loss. She returned to the surgery and this time saw Dr P, who examined her and found nothing remarkable, but decided to refer her to gastroenterology in view of her persistent symptoms.

Mr E, a 50-year-old accountant, was playing squash with a colleague after work and hurt his left ankle. He couldn’t keep playing but he was able to walk, so he went home. The next day his ankle became quite swollen, so Mr E kept it on ice and took some ibuprofen...

Mr X, a 25-year-old fit and active man, was reviewed by his GP, Dr A, with a recurrence of lower back pain. He had noticed lumbar back pain intermittently throughout his 20s, but played a lot of sports to which he attributed his symptoms.

Ms Q, 58 years old, consulted Dr G, a gastroenterologist, with a history of dyspepsia, early satiety and altered bowel habit. Clinical examination, including digital rectal examination, was recorded as normal...

Mr H was a senior consultant general and breast surgeon who worked in a district general hospital. He was recognised by his colleagues as an expert in breast surgery and an informal arrangement was put in place to transfer all patients with breast problems to Mr H. This arrangement was endorsed by the hospital clinical director but was not formally agreed...

Miss F, an overweight 11-year-old, attended her GP, Dr A, complaining of knee pain and clicking for two months following a twisting injury whilst playing football...

A patient presents with symptoms of haemorrhoids but is it something more sinister?

A patient alleges her GP was negligent for failing to prescribe antibiotics