Welcome to our guide on cancer misdiagnosis claims. If your cancer was misdiagnosed, and you suffered harm that should’ve been avoided (avoidable harm) as a result, then you could be eligible to claim cancer misdiagnosis compensation.
The first section of this guide discusses what criteria must be met in order to make an eligible cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim. We follow this by looking at some examples of how negligent treatment could lead to a cancer misdiagnosis.
Furthermore, we tell you what evidence to collect to best support a cancer negligence claim and the time limits in which you need to begin a compensation claim by.
Towards the end of our guide, we discuss how cancer misdiagnosis compensation could be calculated and why it may be best for you to begin a claim on with a solicitor working on No Win No Fee terms.
To talk to one of our advisors about your specific claim, and to ask any questions at all, please contact us using one of the free methods below. Our friendly advisors can give you a free assessment of your circumstances and may connect you with one of our specialist No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitors:
- Call 0800 652 3087.
- Fill out our claim online form.
- Use our live support chat box on the screen.
Jump To A Section
- What Are Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims?
- How Does Cancer Misdiagnosis Happen?
- What Should I Do After A Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- What Is The Time Limit For Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims?
- How Much Compensation For A Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- Can I Use No Win No Fee Cancer Misdiagnosis Solicitors To Claim?
- Resources About Medical Negligence
What Are Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims?
Cancer misdiagnosis claims are when cancer patients can claim compensation because they suffered avoidable harm due to a medical professional breaching their duty of care.
All medical professionals, including GPs, doctors, surgeons, nurses, etc., all owe a duty of care to every patient that they see and treat. This duty of care requires medical professionals to provide the correct standard of care that is expected from them. So, if a medical professional provides the incorrect standard of care that is below what is expected, this is considered to be a breach of duty.
As such, each of the three criteria below must be shown and proven in order to have an eligible cancer misdiagnosis claim:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care as they were treating you.
- The medical professional in question breached their duty of care because they provided substandard care.
- As a result of this breach of duty of care, you suffered avoidable harm.
You should contact us today if you have proof that each of the above eligibility criteria applies to you and your circumstances. Meanwhile, we discuss in the next section of this guide how a medical professional could potentially breach their duty of care and cause avoidable harm.
How Does Cancer Misdiagnosis Happen?
Here are some examples of different ways a medical professional could potentially breach their duty of care and cause avoidable harm through a cancer misdiagnosis:
- Misreading test results. For example, you may have been referred for a mammogram, x-ray, ultrasound, or biopsy, and your test results clearly showed a suspicious tumour mass. However, your doctor fails to notice this on the scan, despite the fact that any other doctor would have noticed it. This can lead to a delayed diagnosis, meaning you need harsher treatment as the cancer has advanced.
- Ignoring symptoms and failing to refer. For example, you visit your GP with concerns of clear symptoms of bladder cancer, such as blood in your urine and unintentional weight loss. However, your GP fails to refer you for further testing and decides to diagnose you with a UTI. A delayed cancer diagnosis could potentially lessen the chances of you being cured.
- Mishandling samples. For example, a urologist could mislabel your urine sample with another patient, meaning you get given the wrong diagnosis. Again, a cancer misdiagnosis could lead you to suffer more painful symptoms that you wouldn’t have if the cancer was diagnosed promptly.
As these are just some selected examples of cancer misdiagnosis claims, please do not worry if your circumstances are not listed above. Medical misdiagnosis could occur in many different ways. So, it is best to have a chat with one of our advisors today about your specific case.
What Cancers Can Be Commonly Misdiagnosed?
Any type of cancer can be misdiagnosed if a medical professional provides substandard care. However, here are some types of cancer that may be more commonly misdiagnosed, as their symptoms could be mistaken for other conditions:
- Cervical cancer misdiagnosis.
- Bowel cancer misdiagnosis.
- Breast cancer misdiagnosis.
- Ovarian cancer misdiagnosis.
- Prostate cancer misdiagnosis.
- Lung cancer misdiagnosis.
Please remember that cancer misdiagnosis claims can only be made if a medical professional was negligent. Although unfortunate, sometimes cancer misdiagnosis can occur even when a medical professional provides the correct standard of care. So, it is always best to give us all the details of your circumstances.
What Should I Do After A Cancer Misdiagnosis?
If you have suffered from a cancer misdiagnosis, it is essential to collect evidence to prove your case. The evidence you collect should prove exactly what avoidable harm you have suffered and how this was caused by negligent actions or inactions.
As such, here are the types of evidence we highly recommend you to collect:
- Patient notes and medical records that show what decisions have been made by a medical professional and when, and what avoidable harm you are suffering.
- A symptoms diary where you record what symptoms you are suffering with and what treatment you are going through.
- Witness contact details from anyone who was with you to witness a medical professional’s substandard care. This can be from other medical professionals or loved ones who attended your medical appointments with you.
- Copies of test results that were misread.
- Dated photographs of your visible symptoms.
It may be daunting to collect every piece of evidence you need to support your cancer negligence claim. This is why if you have suffered from a cancer misdiagnosis, you should get in touch with us. If you are connected with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors, they will be able to help you collect your evidence, which can make the claims process a lot less stressful for you.
What Is The Time Limit For Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims?
The Limitation Act 1980 states that the usual time limit to begin a medical negligence claim is 3 years from either the date negligence occurred, or the date of knowledge that negligence occurred.
However, there are a couple of exceptions to this time limit. These exceptions apply if the patient looking to claim:
- Is under the age of 18.
- Does not have the mental capacity to be able to claim.
Under these exceptions, the time limit will be paused. While the time limit is paused, a litigation friend may be appointed to begin the claim on the patient’s behalf.
However, if a litigation friend has not begun a claim, the usual 3-year time limit will commence once the patient either:
- Turns 18.
- Regains their mental capacity.
For more information on the cancer misdiagnosis claims time limit, please contact us today. Another part of our specialist solicitors’ services is that they can ensure that your claim is filed on time within these time limits.
How Much Compensation For A Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Compensation in successful cancer misdiagnosis claims will be calculated depending on potentially two different heads of loss. These are called general and special damages. Compensation for general damages is always awarded in successful claims, whereas compensation for special damages is only sometimes awarded.
General damages cover the physical and psychological effects of the cancer misdiagnosis, including:
- The severity of your pain.
- How long the recovery of your avoidable harm is expected to take.
- Loss of amenity.
Along with reports from independent medical assessments, legal professionals and others responsible for valuing this part of your claim can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to work out how much your general damages compensation could be worth.
The JCG is a document that contains guideline compensation amounts for different types of physical and psychological harm.
Guideline Compensation Amounts
We have included in the table below, some different types of harm that could be suffered after a cancer misdiagnosis. The guideline compensation amounts, apart from the first figure, are also from the JCG.
This table should be used as a guide only. No average settlement can be guaranteed for your specific cancer misdiagnosis claim because all claims are unique.
| Harm | Severity | Guideline compensation amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious types of harm and special damages | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ | An award for suffering more than one serious type of harm and what finances you have lost as a result, such as domestic care costs and loss of earnings. |
| Brain damage | Very severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 | Cases within this bracket include quadriplegic cerebral palsy. |
| Moderately severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 | Cases that result in a severely reduced life expectancy with a minimally conscious state. | |
| Kidney | Loss or serious and permanent damage (a) | £206,730 to £256,780 | To both kidneys. |
| Loss of one kidney (c) | £37,550 to £54,760 | Where there is no damage to the remaining kidney. | |
| Bowels | Double incontinence (a) | Up to £224,790 | Loss of complete natural function and control in the bowel and bladder. |
| Loss of natural function (b) | Up to £183,190 | Where a colostomy is needed. | |
| Bladder | Serious impairment of control (c) | £78,080 to £97,540 | With some incontinence and pain. |
| Scarring to parts of the body | Large laceration scars or one disfiguring scars | £9,560 to £27,740 | To the chest, back, legs, arms or hands. |
Special Damages
Special damages cover the money you have lost due to medical negligence. For example:
- Loss of earnings for not being able to work.
- Professional and domestic care costs.
- Travel costs to and from medical appointments. For example, travelling to the hospital regularly for chemotherapy.
Receiving compensation for special damages is important as it can restore your financial position to what it was before you experienced substandard care.
Since compensation for special damages is not always awarded in successful cancer misdiagnosis claims, it is essential to collect evidence to prove your financial losses. Such evidence can be invoices, payslips, bank statements, and receipts.
Contact us today for more information on how compensation for cancer misdiagnosis claims is calculated.
Can I Use No Win No Fee Cancer Misdiagnosis Solicitors To Claim?
If you have an eligible cancer misdiagnosis claim, then you can claim compensation with one of our No Win No Fee cancer misdiagnosis solicitors. Specifically, one of our solicitors may offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to help with your compensation claim.
Here is what it means to claim cancer misdiagnosis compensation with a solicitor working under a CFA:
- You pay nothing for your solicitor’s work before the claims process.
- You pay nothing for your solicitor’s work during the claims process.
- If your No Win No Fee cancer misdiagnosis claim is unsuccessful, you pay nothing for your solicitor’s work.
- If your No Win No Fee cancer misdiagnosis claim is successful, you pay nothing for your solicitor’s work directly out of your pocket. Instead, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation. Success fees are a percentage. However, the law caps success fees at 25% to ensure that you receive the majority of your compensation if you win your case.
Get In Touch With Us Today
To receive legal aid from a specialist No Win No Fee solicitor and to claim cancer misdiagnosis compensation, please contact us today. Our solicitors help their claimants through every step of the claims process to make it easier for you. You can contact us 24/7:
- Call 0800 652 3087.
- Fill out our claim online form.
- Use our live support chat box on the screen.
Resources About Medical Negligence
Here are a few of our other guides on medical negligence claims:
- Advice on how to make a failure to treat cancer claim.
- How to make a medical negligence claim against a private healthcare institution.
- Brain cancer misdiagnosis claims.
Additionally, these other sites might be useful for you:
- General Medical Council (GMC) – what professional standards are expected from doctors.
- Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – more information on a nurse’s duty of care.
- NHS – an overview of cancer and how to spot the signs.
We hope that our guide on cancer misdiagnosis claims has been informative and helpful. If there are any other remaining questions you have, our advisors will be happy to help.
