Decision Report 201305691

Summary

Mr C complained that his medical practice had failed to appropriately assess and diagnose the cause of pain and swelling in his leg. Mr C saw three GPs at the practice and was diagnosed with a Baker's cyst (a fluid-filled swelling that develops at the back of the knee and is caused by a problem with the knee joint or the tissue behind it). However, he subsequently had a pulmonary embolism (a blockage, usually a blood clot, in the pulmonary artery, which is the blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the lungs). Mr C considered that the pain in his leg had in fact been a blood clot that had travelled up his veins and caused the pulmonary embolism.

We took independent advice on Mr C's complaint from one of our medical advisers. We found that the GPs who saw Mr C had carried out the correct investigations and had provided him with a reasonable standard of care in relation to the pain and swelling in his leg. Based on the investigations, it had been reasonable to assume that the swelling was a Baker's cyst. The GPs had also considered alternative diagnoses. We found that the pulmonary embolism could not have been foreseen and we did not uphold this aspect of Mr C's complaint.

Mr C also complained that the results of a specialised blood test he had to try to detect pieces of blood clot in his bloodstream were inaccurate. The blood test had been negative. However, there was no clear evidence that Mr C had a blood clot at that time. We found that there was no evidence that the test results were inaccurate and we did not uphold this aspect of his complaint.