Success Stories for Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
Whether you received a misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis or other substandard medical treatment, you may be considering pursuing a Cancer Misdiagnosis Claim. Read our success stories to get an idea of what to expect when you make a claim – and the type of compensation you may be entitled to.
£250,000 for delay in diagnosing cervical cancer, leading to infertility for young female
We acted for a young lady who suffered a one year delay in diagnosis of cervical cancer after visiting a gynaecologist at her GP surgery, who missed the signs of cancer. As a result of the delay, our client required aggressive treatment including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which lead to her womb being damaged and the possibility that she may not be able to conceive and carry a child of her own.
We obtained expert evidence from an Oncologist and Gynaeoncologist who confirmed that if our client had been correctly diagnosed earlier, she would have avoided the chemotherapy and radiotherapy and her fertility would not have been affected.
As a consequence of the delay in diagnosis, our client suffered the physical effects of the chemotherapy and radiotherapy, permanent damage to her fertility and depression and anxiety which impacted her overall quality of life. As part of the her claim for compensation, we included psychiatric treatment to help our client come to terms with her injuries and a claim for surrogacy costs to provide the financial support she needed as she wanted to have children in the future.
Liability was denied but despite this we were able to negotiate with the Defendant and we successfully secured compensation for our client of £250,000.
£250,000 for fatal delay in diagnosing lung cancer
We represented a male client who suffered a 10 month delay in diagnosing lung cancer. Our client had an x-ray which showed a tumour, but because of an administrative error at the hospital, he was not called back for treatment. Tragically, this meant that the cancer was too advanced to successfully treat it when he was finally diagnosed 10 months later. Our client died as a result of the negligence.
His family continued the claim and brought a financial dependency claim. This type of claim can be brought by family members who were financially reliant on someone who died as a result of negligence.
The Defendant admitted liability, but they denied a significant part of the dependency claim. We fought hard to obtain justice for the grieving family and successfully secured £250,000 for them.
Delay in diagnosis of young lady’s breast cancer lead to her death
We acted for a young woman who suffered a three year delay in diagnosis of breast cancer. Her symptoms – a lump and nipple discharge – were not considered suspicious initially because of her very young age.
By the time she was diagnosed, the cancer had spread through her body. She had very aggressive cancer treatment including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy but her cancer was too advanced to be controlled and she very sadly died of the disease.
Her mother continued to fight her deceased daughter’s case. We helped her mother to conclude the legal claim her daughter had started.
The claim was fiercely defended by the Defendant. However, shortly after we issued the claim in the court the Defendant finally succumbed and we were able to obtain compensation of £90,000 for our client.
Delay in diagnosis of myeloma (blood cancer)
Our client attended hospital with symptoms of a severe headache. A blood test indicated that he was suffering from myeloma, but this was not picked up on. He was incorrectly diagnosed as suffering from temporal arteritis, without the correct test to confirm this. He attended hospital on several more occasions with further symptoms including chest and back pain. After a delay of 18 months, the correct diagnosis of myeloma was made and treatment was commenced. The Defendant admitted that there was a negligent delay in diagnosis and treatment. As a result, our client suffered injuries including multiple spinal fractures, which could have been prevented if he had not received negligent treatment. We obtained expert evidence that our client needed additional care and assistance because of the negligence and he could not return to work.
The negligence had a significant effect on his quality of life. The claim was settled out of court and our client was awarded the sum of £235,000 plus costs.
Delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer
The Claimant had a routine smear test which was reported to be normal. Her next smear test five years later detected severe dyskaryosis and she was referred for a colposcopy. She was diagnosed with invasive cancer of the cervix and underwent a radical hysterectomy. An audit of the Claimant’s smear tests identified that the smear test five years previously had been incorrectly reported and had in fact shown pre-cancerous cell changes. Had this earlier smear test been correctly reported the Claimant’s cancer would not have advanced, she would have avoided surgery and the risk of the cancer recurring would have been significantly reduced.
Our medical negligence solicitors settled the claim for £65,000.
Delayed diagnosis of lung cancer
The Claimant, a retired lady in her 60s, underwent a chest x-ray for an unrelated medical condition. The reporting radiologist identified a suspicious mass in her lung and recommended further investigation. The report was filed with no action taken. Ten months later the Claimant reported suffering from severe shortness of breath. A further x-ray was taken which revealed a larger mass in her lung and a number of smaller masses. The hospital reviewed the earlier radiology and identified that the cancer was present on the earlier scan. As a result of the ten month delay in diagnosis the Claimant’s treatment options, life expectancy and quality of life were significantly compromised.
The claim was settled for £24,000.
Delayed diagnosis of ovarian cancer
The Claimant presented to A&E in hospital with severe abdominal pain and bloating, two ultrasounds were performed and the Claimant was diagnosed with fibroids. She remained concerned, however she was reassured by her treating gynaecologist. In later follow-up appointments with her gynaecologist, the diagnosis of a necrotic fibroid was maintained and arrangements were made for her to have a hysterectomy a number of months later. During the operation, instead of a fibroid, a large ovarian cyst was discovered and removed. Biopsies confirmed a diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
The Claimant received £230,000 in compensation for her injuries and financial losses as a result of the four month delay in diagnosing her ovarian cancer.
Misdiagnosis of bone cancer
The Claimant had previously been successfully treated for breast cancer and also suffered from a degenerative genetic condition. She experienced pain in her hip and her GP feared her cancer had recurred. Following a hospital referral the Claimant was mistakenly told that she had bone cancer. The hospital discovered their mistake but failed to rectify the situation. The Claimant remained under the impression that she had cancer for 5 weeks. She developed post traumatic stress disorder.
The claim was settled for £10,000.
Delay in diagnosis of kidney cancer
MB was seen by Derriford Hospital in September 2005 with abdominal discomfort. A CT scan showed an ovarian mass and renal mass, both suspicious of cancer. Following surgery, the ovarian mass was removed, but due to negligent treatment, the renal mass was not removed and there was no follow up investigation or confirmation of whether it was cancerous or not. Furthermore, MB was actually told that there were no concerns about the renal mass.
In 2011, following further abdominal discomfort, MB was again seen at Derriford Hospital and the renal mass was found again in June 2011. The explanation for the earlier errors of the hospital was that there had been “a bit of a hoohah” about the mistake. Following investigations, it was confirmed that the mass was cancerous, and by that time had spread to her lymph nodes around her kidneys. These were removed along with the kidney and treatment was provided over a year afterwards, including Cyberknife treatment, a complex type of treatment only available at a few locations in the UK.
It was very disappointing that the Trust were so slow to recognise their catastrophic errors and acknowledge the distress caused to the patient, but by robustly pursuing the claim with strong evidence, we were able to achieve the right and just result for MB.
After delays from the Trust in responding to the Claim, liability was admitted and a six figure sum of damages was obtained for MB in an out of court settlement in April 2014.
