Claiming Compensation for Failure to diagnose Lung cancer / misdiagnosis of Lung cancer
Cancer services are vastly improved across Britain compared with 20 years ago, but occasionally misdiagnosis of cancer does happen. If you have suffered as a result of misdiagnosis of cancer, or failure to diagnose cancer, and someone has been negligent, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a common cancer of the respiratory system and is one of the most fatal types of cancer. It is the leading cause
of cancer death in both women and men. It is commonly caused by smoking but it can also be a result of inhaling other toxic substances such as asbestos.
The prognosis for someone with lung cancer is poor. Less than 10% of people with the disease live longer than five years after diagnosis. Diagnosis of lung cancer in its earliest stage provides the best hope for successful treatment and a cure.
Lung cancer can be difficult to diagnose early as it produces no symptoms in its earliest stages and can often go undiagnosed as it shares similar symptoms to another disease called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder or smokers’ lung.
Tests such as biopsies, chest x-rays and CT scans can reveal a mass or tumour in the lungs, resulting in the diagnosis of lung cancer, however these can often be delayed or not carried out at all due to negligence on the part of the doctor. The result in a patient not being diagnosed leads to further suffering, or in some cases premature death.
Cancer is one of the most common serious illnesses in the UK with statistics showing that one in three of us will develop some form of it during our lifetime.
The problem can be where you suffer from cancer but you are given a negative result following tests, or the medical team treating you fails to make a diagnosis at all. In this scenario, failure to diagnose can mean that the cancer is allowed to grow untreated. The opportunity to treat the cancer can be lost completely, leading to additional pain and suffering and possibly to a reduced life expectancy or death.
Medical negligence claims involving cancer often involve one of the following factors:
- Failure to diagnose – this can be due to your doctor either missing or misinterpreting your symptoms, or misinterpreting test results
- Delay in diagnosis – this can be caused by delayed referrals to specialists, delays in carrying out a biopsy or failure to act quickly enough in reaction to test results, as well as many other factors
- Misdiagnosis – some patients are diagnosed as having cancer when they do not. This can lead to them having to endure difficult and painful treatments such as chemotherapy unnecessarily
A specialist solicitor can deal with medical negligence compensation claims for any type of cancer where your health care provider has been negligent.
How much can I claim?
A number of factors will determine the value of your settlement:
- The type of injury and how severe the injury is
- Did you recover fully from the injury or do you have ongoing problems
- What are the long term effects on your health
- Did the injury cause you other losses such as loss of earnings
What can I claim compensation for?
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of earnings
- The loss of comfort/convenience/quality of life caused by your injury
- Medical care costs
- Costs involved in adapting your home to meet your new requirements as a result of your injury
- Other out of pocket expenses incurred whilst receiving medical treatment, such as travel expenses
Making a claim for compensation
A specialist medical negligence solicitor can assess your case and inform you about:
- How strong your case is
- The likelyhood of making a successful claim
- The amount of compensation you may receive if your claim is successful
- Pursue a claim on your behalf