This is a guide to whether you could make a medical negligence claim following the misdiagnosis of cancer as kidney stones. Throughout this guide, we will discuss how a misdiagnosis could occur, the harm this could cause and when you could be eligible to bring forward a claim. What’s more, we will provide a compensation table as a guide to potential award figures and explain how you and your claim could benefit from the use of a No Win No Fee solicitor.
There are eligibility requirements that your case must meet to have valid grounds to make a medical negligence claim. All medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists, owe their patients a duty of care. This means they must provide their patients with the correct standard of care. Therefore, failing to do this could lead to a patient suffering avoidable harm, for which they could be eligible to bring forward a medical negligence claim.
If you would like an evaluation of your claim at no cost, speak to a member of our team. Should they find you could be eligible to claim, they could put you in contact with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel. Our advisors can also provide confidential legal advice 24/7.
To speak to an advisor, you can:
- Call our helpline on 0800 652 3087
- Contact us via our webpage
- Use the live chat feature on this page
Select A Section
- Cancer And Kidney Stones
- How Can The Misdiagnosis Of Cancer As Kidney Stones Worsen Your Condition?
- Did Your Doctor Act Negligently?
- Calculating Payouts For The Misdiagnosis Of Cancer As Kidney Stones
- Get Advice On No Win No Fee Claims For The Misdiagnosis Of Cancer
Cancer And Kidney Stones
Kidney cancer and kidney stones share similar symptoms, which could contribute to a misdiagnosis. This can lead to you receiving delayed treatment or the wrong medication, resulting in harm.
Cancer is a condition that can progressively worsen and spread to other areas of the body. Therefore, it is important to receive treatment as early as possible. Cancer Research UK explains that kidney cancer can spread to the following areas of the body:
- Organs or tissues close to the kidney, such as the bowels
- Lungs
- Brain
- Bones
- Liver
In the following sections, we will explain what kidney stones and kidney cancer are and the symptoms that they share, which could lead to a medical misdiagnosis.
What Are Kidney Stones?
The NHS explains that kidney stones are quite a common problem, affecting over 1 in 10 people. They could potentially develop in either one or both of the kidneys and are most likely to affect people aged 30 – 60. Kidney stones are hard stone-like lumps found in the kidneys or the tube connecting the kidneys to your bladder.
The symptoms of kidney stones can include:
- A high temperature
- Pain in the side of your abdomen or groin
- A severe pain that comes and goes
- Feeling sick
- Blood in your urine
What Is Kidney Cancer?
The NHS describes kidney cancer as one of the UK’s most common types of cancer. It can usually be cured if it is discovered early.
The symptoms of kidney cancer can include:
- A high temperature
- Blood in your urine
- Persistent pain in your side or lower back
- Extreme tiredness
- Loss of appetite
If you would like advice on the steps you could take following a kidney cancer misdiagnosis, please speak to a member of our team.
How Can The Misdiagnosis Of Cancer As Kidney Stones Worsen Your Condition?
A cancer misdiagnosis as kidney stones could be evident in the following ways:
- Despite undergoing treatment for kidney stones, your condition worsens.
- The treatment you receive does not match your symptoms.
- Cancer is later diagnosed.
This could cause the following harm:
- The progressive worsening of your condition
- An adverse reaction to the incorrect treatment
- A worsened prognosis
- More extensive and intrusive treatment is required after receiving the incorrect treatment
- Physical pain and suffering
- Psychological harm
- Death
If you have suffered from avoidable harm due to the misdiagnosis of cancer as kidney stones, please speak to a member of our team.
Did Your Doctor Act Negligently?
There are various ways in which a doctor could breach their duty of care. For example, they could mix up your test results with another patient. Therefore, resulting in you receiving a misdiagnosis of cancer as kidney stones which leads to a delay in getting the treatment you require for your cancer. During this period, cancer may spread to another area of the body, and your prognosis could worsen. For this avoidable harm, you may be eligible to claim compensation.
If you would like to discuss your medical negligence claim, speak to a member of our team today.
Calculating Payouts For The Misdiagnosis Of Cancer As Kidney Stones
For a successful medical negligence claim made following the misdiagnosis of cancer as kidney stones, there are two potential heads:
- Special damages – This compensates for the financial damage you have suffered due to medical negligence. It is important that you provide evidence to prove these losses. For example, if you have had to pay for care costs, you could provide the invoices as evidence.
- General damages – This compensates for medical negligence. The level of the award will consider the impact of avoidable harm on your quality of life.
To help value settlements under the general damages head of claim, medical negligence solicitors can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), updated for April 2022. Therefore, we have used this document to create the table below as a guide to potential compensation amounts. Please consider these figures as a guide, not an exact representation of what you will receive.
Harm | Details of this Harm | Compensation Guidelines |
---|---|---|
Brain Damage - Moderately Severe (b) | The person will substantially depend on others and require constant care. They will be seriously disabled. | £219,070 to £282,010 |
Brain Damage - Moderate (c)(i) | This bracket involves cases where the person has a moderate to severe intellectual deficit alongside an effect on their senses, a personality change, no prospect of employment, and a significant risk of epilepsy. | £150,110 to £219,070 |
Kidney (a) | The person will have lost both of their kidneys or will have permanent serious damage to both. | £169,400 to £210,400 |
Kidney (b) | Within this bracket, there will be a significant risk of a urinary tract infection in the future or another complete loss of natural kidney function. | Up to £63,980 |
Kidney (c) | The person will have lost one kidney but the other will be undamaged. | £30,770 to £44,880 |
Bowels (a) | Cases falling within this bracket will involve double incontinence along with other medical complications. | Up to £184,200 |
Bowels (b) | The person will depend on colostomy, depending on age, as there will have been the total loss of natural function. | Up to £150,110 |
Lung Disease (a) | This bracket is applicable in cases of a young person with a serious disability where the probability of a progressive decline leading to premature death is present. | £100,670 to £135,920 |
Lung Disease (b) | This bracket will typically apply in cases of older persons with lung cancer. This causes impairment of function and quality of life, as well as severe pain. | £70,030 to £97,330 |
Please speak to one of our advisors if you would like to discuss potential compensation amounts tailored to your claim. Additionally, you could use a compensation calculator to estimate the settlement you could be eligible to receive.
Get Advice On No Win No Fee Claims For The Misdiagnosis Of Cancer
If, after receiving a misdiagnosis of cancer as kidney stones due to medical negligence, you are thinking of making a claim, why not call our claims team to see if you have a valid case? The claims team will review your case in a free no, obligation consultation. Here you get the chance to ask questions regarding your circumstances and have the opportunity to receive free legal advice.
Should it conclude that you have a case for medical negligence compensation, you have the option to be passed to a specialist solicitor. All of our medical negligence solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis. This is usually under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). No fees are required for the solicitor’s service upfront or while the case progresses.
Successful medical negligence claims will see the solicitor take a small percentage of the awarded compensation. The legislation caps this success fee. Moreover, a solicitor will discuss costs before entering into a No Win No Fee agreement.
To get in touch with a member of our team, you can:
- Call us on 0800 652 3087
- Contact us via our webpage
- Use the live chat feature on this page
References n
Explore the additional guides we have provided below for more information regarding medical negligence claims:
- How Long Does a Medical Negligence Claim Take?
- What Proof Of Medical Negligence Do You Need To Claim Compensation?
- Failure To Treat Cancer Compensation Claims
Also, take a look at some external sources for support and information:
- GOV.UK – NHS Constitution for England
- NHS – Urgent and emergency care services
- General Medical Council – Ethical guidance for doctors
Thank you for reading this guide to making a medical negligence claim for the avoidable harm you have suffered due to the misdiagnosis of cancer as kidney stones.