Pancreatic cancer can affect anyone, but a pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis due to negligence can have fatal consequences. If your cancer has been negligently misdiagnosed by a medical professional, you could experience delayed treatment and worsening symptoms. In some cases, you may find that your cancer has spread to the point that treatment is no longer effective.
In this article, we’ll explain what medical negligence is and the circumstances that could entitle you to make a claim. We will also look at how legal representation could be beneficial to your claim and how a No Win No Fee agreement could help you fund this.
To learn more, get in touch today by:
- Calling us on 0800 652 3087
- Starting your claim online
- Using the live chat feature
Select A Section
- What Is Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- Symptoms And Causes Of Pancreatic Cancer
- Diagnosis And Treatment Of Pancreatic Cancer
- Could I Claim For Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Calculator
- Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
What Is Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Pancreatic cancer is cancer anywhere in the pancreas, which is an organ in the abdomen that t helps create digestive juices and hormones. However, if cancerous cells begin to develop, these can then spread to the bowels and other organs. When cancer is misdiagnosed, this can give it the opportunity to spread throughout the body due to delayed treatment.
However, not all cases of misdiagnosis can form the basis of a claim. To claim for pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis, you must have suffered harm as a result of medical negligence. This means that your misdiagnosis must be a result of a medical professional breaching the duty of care that they owed you.
All medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. This means that the treatment they provide must meet a minimum standard of care. The General Medical Council (GMC) have outlined the duties that good doctors should follow to adhere to their duty of care. If they fail to meet this standard, and you suffer harm as a result, you may be eligible to make a claim.
Contact our team of advisors today to find out if you could have a valid clinical negligence claim.
Pancreatic Cancer Statistics
According to statistics published by Cancer Research UK, around 10,452 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year in the UK. This makes pancreatic cancer the 10th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 3% of all new cases. Almost half of new cases of pancreatic cancer in the UK each year are diagnosed in over-75s.
Symptoms And Causes Of Pancreatic Cancer
According to the NHS guide on pancreatic cancer, sometimes no symptoms are present prior to diagnosis, or sometimes they are hard to spot. However, in those who do experience them, symptoms can include:
- Jaundice causing yellowing in your skin or the whites of your eyes
- Loss of appetite, or sudden and unexpected weight loss
- Feeling fatigued or having low energy
- Having a high temperature
- Feeling nauseous, or vomiting
- Diarrhoea or constipation
- Pain in your stomach and back
- Indigestion or bloating
The NHS website states that these symptoms do not always mean cancer and can be common in many digestive illnesses, but it’s still important to seek medical attention should you experience them.
To learn more about delayed diagnosis negligence claims, contact our team of advisors today.
Diagnosis And Treatment Of Pancreatic Cancer
There are multiple ways a medical professional could diagnose pancreatic cancer according to the NHS. Some of these can include:
- Blood testing
- Scans such as ultrasounds, CT, PET, or MRI scans
- A biopsy
- A laparoscopy
Following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, your doctor might suggest a course of treatment. This treatment will happen in a hospital, under the supervision of a medical professional, and may include:
- Surgery to remove the cancer
- Surgery to control the symptoms of the cancer
- Chemotherapy
- Radiotherapy
If treatment for your cancer has been delayed because of negligence and this has had a negative impact on your health, you could be owed compensation. Our advisors can offer free legal advice surrounding your claim when you get in touch today. Follow the information at the bottom of the screen to learn more.
Could I Claim For Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis?
As we mentioned above, not all cases of pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis form the basis of a successful claim. Sometimes, misdiagnosis happens even when the care you receive meets the standard expected. However, if you have suffered further harm due to a misdiagnosis caused by medical negligence, you may be able to make a claim.
Some examples of how negligence can contribute to misdiagnosis include:
- Lost medical records: Your medical records hold important information. If they are misplaced, your doctor may not have access to the essential facts needed to make a diagnosis.
- Failure to refer: If you show clear symptoms of pancreatic cancer and your doctor or GP fails to refer you for further testing or to see a specialist, they may be considered negligent.
- Failure to identify: Your doctor may refer you for further testing. Following this, if your scans or biopsies show signs of cancerous growth and your doctor fails to identify this, their failure to make a diagnosis could result from negligence.
How Can I Prove My Claim?
There are steps you can take following your misdiagnosis due to medical negligence that can help strengthen your pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis claim, including:
- Gather evidence: Gathering evidence of negligence or the harm you suffered can help support your claim. This can include evidence such as medical records or notes, prescriptions, and other written documentation of your treatment or mistreatment.
- Keep a symptoms diary: Keeping a symptoms diary can be helpful, as it records any worsening of symptoms due to suspected negligence. You will only be able to claim if the negligence harmed you or caused your symptoms to worsen.
- Get legal advice: We always recommend consulting a legal professional and getting legal advice before starting a claim. Medicine and law are complex subjects; having a legal professional with experience in these areas work on your claim could help you.
Our advisors can provide free legal advice and further information regarding negligence in misdiagnosis, and how to make a claim. Contact us today by following the information at the bottom of the screen.
Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Calculator
If you are considering making a medical negligence claim, you might be wondering what the average settlement is for cancer misdiagnosis. This is difficult to calculate, as compensation varies on a case-by-case basis. However, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can provide a broad estimate of what your pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis claim could be worth.
The JCG provides guideline compensation brackets for a list of injuries and illnesses and is often used by legal professionals to value claims. We’ve compiled some of these figures in the compensation calculator table below, so you can estimate what your claim could potentially be worth.
Injury Type Compensation Bracket Notes
Mental Anguish (e) £4,380 Fear of impending death or of life expectancy being reduced.
Moderate Psychiatric Damage (c) £5,500 to £17,900 Problems coping with work, life and education, but with a good prognosis and improvement over time.
Less Severe Psychiatric Damage (d) £1,440 to £5,500 Consideration given to length of disability and severity of symptoms.
Moderate Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (c) £7,680 to £21,730 Cases of large recovery, with no grossly disabling effects continuing.
Less Severe PTSD (d) £3,710 to £7,680 Virtually full recovery within around two years, with only minor symptoms remaining.
Bowel Injuries (b) Up to £140,870 Loss of natural function with dependence on colostomy.
Bowel Injuries (c) In the region of £75,000 Faecal urgency and incontinence after surgey.
Kidney Injuries (b) up to £60,050 Significant risk of future UTI or other loss of kidney function.
Kidney Injuries (c) £28,880 to £42,110 Loss of one kidney with no damage to the other.
Spleen Injuries (a) £19,510 to £24,680 Loss of spleen with continuing risk of internal infection.
There are two heads of claim you can pursue when you make a medical negligence claim: general damages and special damages.
General damages cover your initial injury and the physical and mental impact it has had on you. The figures in the table above cover general damages amounts. Special damages cover any financial losses you might incur due to your injuries.
For example, if you have to travel to and from appointments, you could claim back the costs of this. Or, if you need additional childcare or domestic help, this could also be covered by the special damages head of your claim.
However, you must be able to provide evidence of these losses to claim them back. As such, it can be helpful to keep any receipts or bills you receive during this time.
Our advisors can provide you with a free estimate of what your claim could be worth when you get in touch today. Furthermore, if you have a valid pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis claim, they could provide you with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel.
Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
Making a medical negligence claim can seem daunting, but we can help. If you contact our advisors, they can offer free legal advice and help start your claim. If your claim is valid, they may be able to forward you to our panel of personal injury solicitors.
Our expert panel of No Win No Fee solicitors can provide legal representation without the financial risk usually associated with this. They can do so by offering a No Win No Fee service, the formal name for which is a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When you work with a solicitor with a CFA in place, you do not need to pay fees to your solicitor upfront, nor do you have to pay anything as the claim is ongoing. If your claim succeeds, they will take a success fee from your award. However, if your claim does not succeed, you will pay nothing to your No Win No Fee solicitor.
To find out how our expert panel of personal injury solicitors can help you start your pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis claim, get in touch today by:
- Calling us on 0800 652 3087
- Starting your claim online
- Using the live chat feature
Other Helpful Guides
- How Long Does A Medical Negligence Claim Take?
- NHS Hospital Negligence Claims
- How To Claim For Misdiagnosis Of Lung Cancer
External Resources
- Macmillan Cancer Support
- NHS – When to call 999
- NICE – National Institute of Health and Care Excellence
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Guide by Cat
Edited by Fern