By Cat Wayne. Last Updated 27th September 2023. If you’ve suffered avoidable harm as a result of cancer misdiagnosis, you might be wondering how much compensation for misdiagnosis you could receive if you were to make a successful medical negligence claim. In this guide, we’ll be discussing when you could claim a cancer misdiagnosis payout, and how settlements are calculated.
Following this, our guide will touch on the time limits in place for medical negligence claims, and how long you have to start proceedings.
If you have any questions, or if you’d like to start your misdiagnosis compensation claim, contact our team of advisors today. They can offer more information and can provide a free evaluation of your claim, through which they may be able to connect you with one of our solicitors. To get in touch:
- Call on 0800 652 3087
- Contact us online
- Use the live chat feature
Average settlement for cancer misdiagnosis claims guide
Select A Section
- Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Amounts
- Eligibility To Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Examples Of Medical Negligence
- What Evidence Do You Need To Make A Claim?
- Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Amounts
- Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims – Time Limits
- No Win No Fee Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims – Could A Solicitor Help Me?
Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Amounts
Cancer claims could consist of two heads of compensation. General damages, which compensates you for the emotional harm or physical suffering caused by your injuries. This is also awarded to compensate for any loss of amenity caused by your injuries, for example, if you are unable to enjoy hobbies or leisure activities you usually would have before your cancer misdiagnosis.
Legal professionals use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help value your claim in terms of general damages. The table below includes figures from the JCG that relate to cancer misdiagnosis. Compensation amounts in the JCG are formed by the outcome of previous claims settled in court.
However, you should only use the figures as guidelines only.
| Injury Type | Compensation Bracket | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Female Infertility (a) | £114,900 to £170,280 | Infertility due to disease or injury with scarring, depression/anxiety, and pain. |
| Bladder Injuries (b) | Up to £140,660 | Complete loss of function and control. |
| Asbestos-Related Mesothelioma (a) | £63,650 to £114,460 | Mesothelioma causing impairment of life and pain. |
| Severe PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) | £59,860 to £100,670 | Cases where the patient cannot function at the pre-trauma level. |
| Lung Disease (b) | £70,030 to £97,330 | Lung cancer causing impairment and severe pain. |
| Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye | £49,270 to £54,830 | Consideration given to regional scarring and risk of sympathetic ophthalmia. |
| Loss of One Kidney (c) | £30,770 to £44,880 | Loss of one kidney with no damage to the second. |
| Loss of Spleen | £20,800 to £26,290 | Continuing risk of internal infection due to weakened immune system. |
| Moderate Psychiatric Damage | £5,860 to £19,070 | Significant change in the patient's ability to cope with life, work, and education, but with marked improvement over time and good prognosis. |
Special Damages For Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
In addition to general damages, your award might include special damages. This head of a claim reimburses the expenses incurred due to the negligent misdiagnosis of cancer. To claim special damages, you should present proof of your costs, such as receipts and bank statements.
Special damages in cancer misdiagnosis claims may include:
- Your loss of earnings for time spent off work for treatment and recovery.
- Medical expenses, such as the cost of painkillers and therapy.
- Travel expenses, such as the cost of a taxi to attend appointments.
- The cost of any specialist equipment needed as a result of the medical negligence.
To discuss negligent misdiagnosis cancer claims, please get in touch with an advisor from our team. They can also provide you with a free personalised claim valuation.
Eligibility To Claim For Cancer Midiagnosis
As we mentioned above, not all cases of misdiagnosis will result in a successful claim. This is because some cases of misdiagnosis are not the result of medical professionals acting negligently. For example, you might be exhibiting symptoms that are very different to the condition you’re suffering from, meaning that your doctor cannot be expected to make the right diagnosis based on the information they have.
Every medical professional has a duty of care to the patients that they treat. This means that any actions they take in regards to you and your treatment must meet a minimum standard of care, as outlined in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) duties of a doctor. If their actions do not meet this standard, and you suffer harm as a result, you could be eligible to make a claim.
Examples Of Medical Negligence
To make a successful medical compensation claim, you must prove that you suffered harm due to negligence. We’ve included some examples of how negligence can contribute to a cancer misdiagnosis in the list below:
- Misreading test results: An example of this could be if your doctor orders a mammogram, but misses a suspicious mass or lesion that could have led to a timely breast cancer diagnosis.
- Ignoring symptoms: This could include cases in which you clearly relay your symptoms to your doctor, but they ignore any that could link your diagnosis to cancer. For example, in cases of bladder cancer, the patient may be experiencing blood in the urine among other symptoms, but the doctor ignores this and diagnoses the patient with a UTI.
- Failure to refer: If your doctor or GP suspects you might have cancer but fails to refer you to a specialist, this could result in a delayed diagnosis or no diagnosis at all.
Our advisors can give you an estimate of what your claim could be worth, as well as more information on the average settlement for cancer misdiagnosis.
What Evidence Do You Need To Make A Claim?
If you start a hospital negligence claim, you must be able to provide proof that a medical professional breached their duty of care and you suffered harm as a result. If you choose to hire a No Win No Fee solicitor, they can help you gather evidence to prove that the harm done to you was caused by negligence.
Some steps you can take to strengthen your claim include:
- Requesting medical records: Medical records or patient notes that show your symptoms and any decisions that a medical professional made can be used as evidence in your claim.
- Collecting witness details: Collecting the details of anyone who might have witnessed the suspected negligence can be helpful, such as a spouse or family member.
- Keeping a symptoms diary: Keeping a diary of any symptoms that may worsen due to the suspected negligence can be helpful, as this can later be used as evidence in your claim.
Your case might also be put through something called the Bolam test. This means that a group of professionals in the field relevant to your claim will assess the actions taken by your doctor, and decide if their behaviour was reasonable or negligent.
To learn more about the average settlement for cancer misdiagnosis, contact our advisors today. If you have a valid claim, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims – Time Limits
In cancer misdiagnosis claims, the time limit to start a compensation claim can be three years from the date of the negligence. It could also be 3 years from the date of knowledge, which is when you realised you were harmed due to negligence. This is outlined in the Limitation Act 1980.
The time limit does not apply to any patients who lack the mental capacity to make their own decisions. It is suspended indefinitely unless they recover. Before this point, a litigation friend can start a claim on their behalf.
If the claimant is a child, the limitation period begins from their 18th birthday. Similarly, a litigation friend can claim on their behalf before this date.
We would recommend that you start a misdiagnosis of cancer claim as soon as possible. Get in touch with our advisors to find out if you’re still eligible to claim.
No Win No Fee Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims – Could A Solicitor Help Me?
If you are ready to make a claim, a cancer misdiagnosis compensation solicitor from our panel may be able to help. There are many benefits to working with a solicitor; for example, while we can’t offer an average payout for cancer misdiagnosis in the UK, a solicitor may be able to provide more information on your potential payout.
Our panel of solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis by offering their clients a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means you can access their expertise without paying an upfront fee or any fees for their continued services. Similarly, if your claim fails, you won’t pay for their work on your claim.
If your claim succeeds, you will pay a success fee. This is taken directly from your cancer misdiagnosis payout as a small percentage. However, this percentage is capped by law, which means you keep the larger share of what you receive.
To find out if working with a solicitor from our panel could be right for you, contact our team of advisors today. They can evaluate your claim for free, and may pass you on to a legal professional. To get started:
- Call us on 0800 652 3087
- Contact us online
- Use the live chat feature
Find Out How Damages Claims Are Calculated
To find out more about medical negligence claims, try:
- Failure To Diagnose Cancer Compensation Claims
- How Do I Make A Claim Against The NHS?
- Time Limits For Suing The NHS
Or, for more helpful resources, try:
If you would like to know more about the average settlement for cancer misdiagnosis, speak with an advisor today.
Guide by Cat
Edited by Fern