- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
- Delay in diagnosing an acute medical infection eg. sepsis, meningitis
- Delay in referring to a hospital, specialist treatment centre eg. the misdiagnosis of a serious medical condition such as brain haemorrhage, stroke, heart attack, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism.
- Delay in diagnosing a serious medical condition eg. misdiagnosis of bowel cancer
- Failure to provide adequate emergency care or treatment
- Negligent or sub-standard medical treatment
- Mistakes made before, after or during surgery eg. perforation of a blood vessel or damage to internal organs
- Mistakes made by an anaesthetist
- Catastrophic errors when prescribing medication – including the type and dose of the drug
- Serious errors being made during childbirth
- Failure to monitor fetal distress or conditions affecting a child leading to its death
