When dealing with serious medical complaints such as cancer, timely tests, referrals, investigations and treatment can literally mean the difference between life and death. Even if the patient does survive, their ongoing prospects may be seriously affected by medical negligence at the early stages of their treatment.
Cancer Late & Misdiagnosis Claims
If you or a loved one suspect that your cancer was misdiagnosed, you may be entitled to claim compensation. At OP Law, our medical negligence solicitors have helped many patients just like you claim compensation to rebuild their lives following misdiagnosis or late diagnosis of cancer.
Types of cancer misdiagnosis
We have assisted clients make compensation claims for misdiagnosis of the following types of cancer:
- Bowel cancer
- Breast cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Lung cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Skin cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Testicular cancer
- Throat cancer
Missed and delayed diagnosis of cancer
Medical professionals are trained to diagnose and treat diseases, however mistakes can and do happen. In some cases, patients can be told that they have nothing to worry about and that they are in good health, or that their condition is something other than cancer. If the clinician fails to correctly diagnose cancer or diagnose the cancer too late, this can have a serious effect on your prospect of recovery and survival.
Medical professionals have a duty of care to ensure that thorough checks, investigations, and tests are undertaken to diagnose the condition. There are guidelines outlined by the NHS to ensure best practise is followed. On occasion these guidelines are breached as a result of negligence, incompetence, overstretched or overworked staff, or the failure of a doctor to diagnose a disease which is outside their experience.
Some of the more common failures to diagnose cancer result from:
- Failure to check a patient family history of cancer
- Failure to properly examine a patient
- Failure to investigate symptoms
- Failure to recognise symptoms
- Ignoring, losing or misinterpreting test results
- Not referring the patient for specialist treatment quickly enough
What damages can you recover if your cancer misdiagnosis claim is successful?
There are various damages you can claim for cancer misdiagnosis, including:
- Damages for pain and suffering for physical and psychological trauma
- Loss of past and future earnings
- Cost of care and assistance
- Prescription and medical treatment fees
- Cost of adaptation in the home and transport costs
- Out of pocket expenses
- Specialist care aids and appliances
- Travel expenses
In order to succeed in cancer misdiagnosis claim, you must prove that the standard of care was below the standard of the reasonably competent healthcare professional. Medical professionals, like any professionals, have a certain duty of care. Should the standard not be met, and injury suffering or loss follow, then you will be able to make a claim for compensation.
Claiming compensation for cancer misdiagnosis
Like any medical negligence claim, cancer misdiagnosis claims need to meet certain criteria. These are:
- You must have suffered an injury. If the cancer was misdiagnosed as a result of medical negligence, you will be able to make a claim.
- Someone needs to be at fault. The injury needs to be the fault of someone else, and they must have failed to meet the correct standard of care while treating you.
- The injury must have been caused by the event in question. If the misdiagnosis did not lead to your loss or injury, or the loss or injury may have occurred in any event, or is not causally linked to the negligence, you will be unable to claim compensation.
- The injury must have occurred (or become obvious) within the last three years. Normally, personal injury claims have to be made within three years, with some exceptions. For children, the three years runs from the date of their 18th birthday, for example.
If you have suffered loss or injury as a result of a cancer misdiagnosis resulting from medical negligence, OP Law can help you seek financial compensation. Our experienced team will guide you through the complex legal process, ensuring that you receive the best possible outcome to your compensation claim. Click here to get in touch or call us on 01727 790510