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Hello, quite a long read this for which I do apologise.
I write here on behalf of my wife-to-be, Lindsey. At 4 months old she was falsely diagnosed with having coeliac disease (basically, is unable to eat anything containing gluten). There is no history of the disease in the family. Her symptoms were her weight had started to go up and down erratically and stools were not normal. She had a blood test done and the doctor said "There is an inflammation in the blood" and just assumed coeliac disease. The doctor also said she would be invited back when she was older for a biopsy to double check, but never specified when and in the end it never happened. Her parents, having no real understanding of the disease, were under the impression that the first blood test was enough of a confirmation.
Lindsey suffered massively from bullying in school. It all started when the other children noticed she was eating different food from everyone else, which was pretty much from day one. At first they teased her, and then they started to bully her believing she was getting some sort of special treatment. She moved schools a couple of times but the damage was done. Her self confidence was shot and it just attracted more bullying. The bullying continued for over ten years, until she was eventually removed from mainstream school.
Throughout her childhood, Lindsey had to go for regular blood tests to monitor her condition. These tests often showed a high white blood cell count but nothing ever came of it. Lindsey was frequently unwell before her teenage years (vomiting and infections) but no investigation into the frequency of illness was ever made. The staff responsible for taking the blood did an awful job at calming her and actually caused her more upset. This led to Lindsey developing a terrible needle phobia, which we recently found out is worse when a female is at the other end. The needle phobia made it extremely difficult and stressful when blood tests were required during her pregnancy (one test was even completely prevented). Although clearly at fault, the NHS have offered nothing to her as treatment when asked.
At thirteen, she started to cheat on her coeliac diet. At first, small things like a biscuit here and there, and later, bigger things like sandwiches and garlic bread. She noticed no ill effects from eating gluten and began to wonder why. Her general health also started to improve (vomiting from viruses and water infections stopped). Despite this her parents continued to pressure her and tell her off for eating gluten. If she was ever ill, they immediately blamed it on her for eating gluten as the cause. This stress caused her great emotional upset. By sixteen the sickness and infections had cleared up entirely and she has been normal in that respect ever since.
At fifteen, the stress and bullying became too much and she made an attempt to end her own life by taking an overdose of her father's painkiller medication. She was very lucky to have survived and at the same time, surprised she did. Needless to say this was a very low point in her life. After this, she refused to go back to school and was instead put into a special education centre especially for children who simply could not tolerate a standard school. She also received counseling to help combat the depression, although it didn't really help. Lindsey only built up some confidence after she was persuaded to go into college, and had a much better experience there than school.
More recently, she was retested (another blood test, different doctor) and the result was that there were no coeliac antibodies in her blood. Our new doctor was able to lookup her old records and determined that it was unlikely she ever had the disease. She was retested only because she was required to have a blood test anyway for something else and it made sense to take the two samples at the same time.
Lindsey strongly believes that had she not been diagnosed with coeliac, she would not have been bullied from day one of school the way she was. She would not have required regular blood tests and would not have developed the needle phobia or suffered because of it. She also believes that if she had not been bullied to the extent she was, she would not have attempted to end her own life, which very nearly succeeded.
After all that, does Lindsey have a case for compensation? ie. False diagnosis of coeliac disease, which at the very least, has had a profound negative influence on Lindsey's life. I presume most of the evidence required for a case would be available in the form of her medical records, which she intends to get official copies of.
I write here on behalf of my wife-to-be, Lindsey. At 4 months old she was falsely diagnosed with having coeliac disease (basically, is unable to eat anything containing gluten). There is no history of the disease in the family. Her symptoms were her weight had started to go up and down erratically and stools were not normal. She had a blood test done and the doctor said "There is an inflammation in the blood" and just assumed coeliac disease. The doctor also said she would be invited back when she was older for a biopsy to double check, but never specified when and in the end it never happened. Her parents, having no real understanding of the disease, were under the impression that the first blood test was enough of a confirmation.
Lindsey suffered massively from bullying in school. It all started when the other children noticed she was eating different food from everyone else, which was pretty much from day one. At first they teased her, and then they started to bully her believing she was getting some sort of special treatment. She moved schools a couple of times but the damage was done. Her self confidence was shot and it just attracted more bullying. The bullying continued for over ten years, until she was eventually removed from mainstream school.
Throughout her childhood, Lindsey had to go for regular blood tests to monitor her condition. These tests often showed a high white blood cell count but nothing ever came of it. Lindsey was frequently unwell before her teenage years (vomiting and infections) but no investigation into the frequency of illness was ever made. The staff responsible for taking the blood did an awful job at calming her and actually caused her more upset. This led to Lindsey developing a terrible needle phobia, which we recently found out is worse when a female is at the other end. The needle phobia made it extremely difficult and stressful when blood tests were required during her pregnancy (one test was even completely prevented). Although clearly at fault, the NHS have offered nothing to her as treatment when asked.
At thirteen, she started to cheat on her coeliac diet. At first, small things like a biscuit here and there, and later, bigger things like sandwiches and garlic bread. She noticed no ill effects from eating gluten and began to wonder why. Her general health also started to improve (vomiting from viruses and water infections stopped). Despite this her parents continued to pressure her and tell her off for eating gluten. If she was ever ill, they immediately blamed it on her for eating gluten as the cause. This stress caused her great emotional upset. By sixteen the sickness and infections had cleared up entirely and she has been normal in that respect ever since.
At fifteen, the stress and bullying became too much and she made an attempt to end her own life by taking an overdose of her father's painkiller medication. She was very lucky to have survived and at the same time, surprised she did. Needless to say this was a very low point in her life. After this, she refused to go back to school and was instead put into a special education centre especially for children who simply could not tolerate a standard school. She also received counseling to help combat the depression, although it didn't really help. Lindsey only built up some confidence after she was persuaded to go into college, and had a much better experience there than school.
More recently, she was retested (another blood test, different doctor) and the result was that there were no coeliac antibodies in her blood. Our new doctor was able to lookup her old records and determined that it was unlikely she ever had the disease. She was retested only because she was required to have a blood test anyway for something else and it made sense to take the two samples at the same time.
Lindsey strongly believes that had she not been diagnosed with coeliac, she would not have been bullied from day one of school the way she was. She would not have required regular blood tests and would not have developed the needle phobia or suffered because of it. She also believes that if she had not been bullied to the extent she was, she would not have attempted to end her own life, which very nearly succeeded.
After all that, does Lindsey have a case for compensation? ie. False diagnosis of coeliac disease, which at the very least, has had a profound negative influence on Lindsey's life. I presume most of the evidence required for a case would be available in the form of her medical records, which she intends to get official copies of.
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