Failure To Diagnose Skin Cancer Compensation Claims

In this guide, we will look at when you could claim for the failure to diagnose skin cancer. If skin cancer is not diagnosed, or if the diagnosis of this condition is delayed, then it could have a negative impact on your health.

Failure to diagnose skin cancer

Failure to diagnose skin cancer

When you seek medical attention from a healthcare professional, you are entitled to receive the right standard of care. If this is not adhered to, this is an example of negligence.

If the negligent misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of skin cancer has harmed you, you may be owed compensation for the impact that this has had on your health. Please call our claims helpline to speak with an advisor. If we can see that you can claim compensation for misdiagnosis, we could appoint a solicitor from our panel to work on your case.

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What Is Skin Cancer?

Skin cancer is a type of cancer that develops on the skin. It can spread into other areas of the body.

There are two main kinds of skin cancer. These are melanoma and non-melanoma; we look at each in closer detail below.

Melanoma Skin Cancer

This is a kind of skin cancer that can spread to other areas of the body, such as organs. Melanoma skin cancer is the most serious type of skin cancer.

The four types of melanomas are:

  • Superficial spreading melanoma
  • Nodular melanoma
  • Lentigo maligna melanomas
  • Acral lentiginous melanomas

It’s thought to be caused by exposure to UV rays from the sun, but has also been linked to sunbed use.

Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Non-melanoma skin cancer refers to cancers that develop on the upper layer of the skin. Moreover, non-melanoma skin cancer is often less harmful than melanoma.

As with melanoma skin cancer, it can be caused by exposure to UV rays, for example, if you are sunburned while on holiday.

However, there are other risk factors for both kinds of skin cancer which include:

  • Pale skin
  • Red or blonde hair
  • Freckles
  • Blue eyes
  • A relative with skin cancer
  • Having a condition that lowers your immune system such as HIV

Rates Of Skin Cancer In The UK

According to NHS statistics, melanoma skin cancer is the 5th most common type of cancer in the UK. Medical professionals diagnose 1,600 new cases of it every year. Furthermore, doctors diagnose around 147,000 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer every year.

Could Your Skin Cancer Have Been Misdiagnosed?

If you’re concerned about your skin and think you may have skin cancer, you should seek medical attention. Usually, the diagnosis of this condition will begin with your skin being examined.

In some cases, a biopsy might be performed in order to diagnose the condition. This is where the tumour or affected area of the skin is removed and tested.

Your doctor might also take a photograph of the affected area of skin to send to a specialist to be assessed. This is because melanoma skin cancer in particular is very rare, and they may only see a case every few years.

If failure to diagnose skin cancer has happened as a result of medical negligence, and this has impacted your health, you could have a valid claim. Speak with an advisor for more information.

Medical Negligence Leading To Skin Cancer Misdiagnosis:

There are a number of potential reasons for a failure to diagnose skin cancer correctly that can have an impact on your health and wellbeing.

For example:

  • GP negligence can cause skin cancer misdiagnosis if they failed to take your symptoms seriously and as a result, failed to order any follow-up tests. If a GP’s failure to diagnose cancer was caused by negligence, then you could be entitled to claim.
  • Hospital negligence could occur if the results of a biopsy, which show that you have skin cancer, are lost. As a result, the hospital fails to diagnose the cancer.
  • Your doctor takes a photograph of your condition to send to a specialist for an assessment but forgets to send it over.

If your condition was not diagnosed because your doctor was negligent, then you may be able to claim. For more information on claiming for a failure to diagnose skin cancer, speak with one of our advisors today.

Am I Eligible To Claim For The Failure To Diagnose Skin Cancer?

You could potentially sue the NHS for misdiagnosis under the following circumstances:

  • You were owed a duty of care by the healthcare professional treating you
  • This duty of care was breached
  • You were caused harm by the breach

Sometimes, a medical professional needs to cause you harm in order to treat you. For example, many different kinds of cancer (such as breast cancer or bowel cancer) can be treated with chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a treatment that can make you ill, cause you to lose your teeth and make you feel weak. However, this is unavoidable harm and as such, you would not be able to claim.

Late diagnosis or failure to diagnose cancer can have an impact on your wellbeing. You might need more intensive treatment than you otherwise would, which can have an effect on your quality of life. In there’s a failure to treat cancer within an acceptable timeframe, it can become fatal, resulting in wrongful death.

Please contact our helpline today to see if you can get compensation for negligence.

Failure To Diagnose Skin Cancer Compensation Settlements

We’ve included the table below in lieu of a medical negligence claims calculator. You can work out how much compensation you may be eligible to claim.

You could receive two different heads of claim called general and special damages. General damages relate to the pain, suffering and loss of amenity that your condition has resulted in.

We have used guidelines from the Judicial College to create the compensation table. This is a publication that legal professionals can use to assign values to settlements.

However, the amount of compensation you receive may differ depending on your circumstances. Please feel free to contact us, and an advisor can provide you with an assessment of your claim.

Type Of InjuryDamagesAbout
Scars£7,830 to £22,730One disfiguring scar, or a number of scars that are noticeable.
Scars£2,370 to £7,830Minor cosmetic impact caused by one noticeable scar or several scars of a superficial nature
Facial Disfigurement- Very Severe Scarring£29,780 to £97,330


A very disfiguring cosmetic impact with a sever psychiatric reaction.
Facial Disfigurement- Less Severe Scarring£17,960 to £48,420

Significant psychological reaction and substantial disfigurement.
Facial Disfigurement- Significant Scarring£9,110 to £30,090Plastic surgery can or has reduced the worst effects. There is some cosmetic disability. The psychological reaction is not great.
Facial Disfigurement- Less Severe Scarring£3,950 to £13,740Instances where the overall effect has been to mar but not to markedly affect the person's appearance.
Facial Disfigurement- Trivial Scarring£1,710 to £3,530Any effects are only minor.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- Moderately Severe£23,150 to £59,860PTSD which causes significant disability which will last into the foreseeable future. Professional help could give this person a better chance of recovery.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- Moderate£7,680 to £21,730Any continuing symptoms will not be grossly disabling. A recovery will have been made to a largely complete degree.
Mental anguish £4,670

Fear that you will die or that your life expectancy will be reduced

You could also receive special damages as part of your claim. This relates to the financial impact that your injuries have had on you. For example, if you have had to stop working as you recovered, you could recover this loss of earnings.

For more information on how much compensation you could receive in a failure to diagnose skin cancer claim, speak with an advisor today. You could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

No Win No Fee Claims, For The Failure To Diagnose Skin Cancer

If you were injured because of a failure to diagnose skin cancer resulting from negligence, and you were harmed as a result, you may be eligible to claim compensation. If you want to work with a lawyer on your claim, then a No Win No Fee agreement could benefit you.

When you make a No Win No Fee claim, you won’t pay your lawyer before work begins on your claim and there’s also nothing to pay as the claim progresses. If your claim fails, you don’t pay them for their services at all.

If the claim is a success, then you will have a legally-capped percentage of your compensation deducted by your lawyer. The legal cap prevents you from being overcharged and means you always get the majority of the settlement you’re awarded.

To get in touch, you can:

Where Victims Of Cancer Misdiagnosis Could Get Help

These guides explain how to claim compensation for cancer misdiagnosis.

Other Misdiagnosis Claims

Thank you for reading our guide to making a claim for failure to diagnose skin cancer.

Publisher Fern Stiles 

Writer Hana Clarke