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Cancer Negligence Claims
Catching cancer early on improves the chances of survival considerably, which is why it can be so devastating if you experience medical negligence at any time in your cancer diagnosis or treatment. Medical professionals have a legal and professional obligation to provide their patients with an accurate diagnosis and subsequent treatment. Should cancer be misdiagnosed due to an error, your access to the right treatment may be delayed, and your condition may become more severe as a result.
If the worst does happen and you find yourself seeking legal advice for a cancer negligence claim, our expert team can provide guidance and reassurance during a truly devastating time.
Making a claim for cancer negligence
Patient Claim Line is owned by the UK’s largest law firm and has over 100 solicitors with 400 years combined experience. We can help with your cancer misdiagnosis claim on a no win no fee basis right now.
Our expert team will help you to:
- Understand how and why cancer negligence happened
- Find out how much compensation you may be entitled to
- Understand how making a claim works and how we prove your claim
- Feel supported like the 1000s of other people we have helped make a cancer misdiagnosis claim.
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What is a cancer negligence claim?
It can be confusing trying to understand if what happened to you really was medical negligence. Every healthcare professional must treat patients according to a code of conduct and have a duty of care. When this duty has not been met, and the consequences have resulted in suffering that would otherwise have been avoided, this is considered to be medical negligence.
With cancer negligence claims, a delay in diagnosing or treating cancer is often the reason for medical negligence. Around two thirds of cancer cases are initially misdiagnosed. As catching cancer early on improves the chances of survival considerably, any delay in diagnosis or treatment can be incredibly costly. Which is why you are entitled to compensation that can help you repair the damage caused by medical negligence.
Commonly misdiagnosed cancers
There are hundreds of types of cancers, many presenting with symptoms associated with less serious illnesses at first. This is just one reason why cancer may be misdiagnosed. The most common cancers in the UK include:
Breast cancer – unexplained lumps can sometimes be diagnosed as blocked milk ducts or benign cysts.
Prostate cancer – an enlarged prostate can cause issues with urination and be misdiagnosed as a urinary tract infection.
Lung cancer – lung cancer can be mistaken for routine respiratory illnesses or even asthma
Bowel cancer – symptoms of bowel cancer can be misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome or food related illnesses like coeliac disease.
Melanoma skin cancer – skin cancer can be misdiagnosed when moles are not investigated correctly or skin changes are diagnosed as other illnesses like psoriasis or eczema.
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma – typically harder to diagnose as symptoms can look like less serious illnesses like the flu. A biopsy is the only way to diagnose this type of cancer.
It’s worth noting that negligence can happen at any stage of your cancer, including initial appointments, after having tests or when receiving treatment like chemotherapy. Different types of cancer will have different symptoms and all of them should be thoroughly investigated and the right course of action taken as quickly as possible.
How do I know if I can make a claim?
If you or your GP are concerned about cancer symptoms, you should be offered an appointment with a specialist within 2 weeks of your General Practitioner (GP) making the referral. This is stated on the NHS’s online waiting times guide.
If you have already waited longer than the 2 weeks specified for your treatment, you are within your legal right to ask to be seen or treated by a different provider. In addition to this, the hospital or clinical commissioning group (CCG) must investigate and offer you a range of suitable alternative hospitals or clinics that would be able to see you. If you’re not happy with the response, you can complain by following the NHS complaints procedure.
Other examples of cancer negligence claims include:
- Failing to request the proper tests in the right time period
- Misreading test results such as blood or tissue samples
- Not recording patient information or symptoms properly
- Diagnosing a different illness
- Prescribing the wrong treatment
To make a cancer negligence claim, it must be proven that if any of the above did occur, this had a direct impact on the outcome of your cancer and that this outcome could have been avoided.
What can I expect?
There is no absolute settlement figure for cancer negligence claims, as every case is different.
We work hard to understand every detail of your cancer diagnosis to get you a fair figure that represents the extreme distress you have suffered. Typically, you will receive compensation for:
- Paying for private healthcare or other medical fees
- Costs of palliative equipment or changes to your home or car
- Loss of earnings while undergoing cancer treatment
- Transport costs if cancer has left you unable to drive
- Loss of earnings for a loved one who has become your carer
- Pain and suffering
- Counselling and support services
Our client was awarded a seven figure sum after a cancer misdiagnosis resulted in the tragic loss of their loved one. Alongside the final settlement the family were given an apology from their doctor which was incredibly important to them.
Why Choose Us
At Patient Claim Line, our specialist legal experts have extensive experience in supporting clients and delivering cancer negligence compensation. We understand the distress and devastation that can be caused by delayed, negligent or misdiagnosed cancer treatment. When you are ready to speak up we will talk through your case and help you access the compensation that could make such a difference to you and your family. Our team of over 100 solicitors have helped thousands of clients access the compensation and support they are entitled to.
No Win No Fee Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
When dealing with a cancer diagnosis, the last thing you want to worry about is funding a compensation claim. All of our misdiagnosis and medical negligence cases are No Win No Fee. If we don’t win your case for you, you don’t need to pay a penny.
Why Choose Patient Claim Line for your Cancer Negligence Claim?
Not just lawyers — medical negligence experts
Patient Claim Line was established in 2014 and consists of a team of medical lawyers specialising in medical negligence and misdiagnosis claims. At Patient Claim Line we have more than 100 solicitors with combined experience of over 400 years and they will work on your behalf to achieve the best result possible for you. It's not enough to use a solicitor who sometimes covers medical negligence. You need someone who knows this area through and through. That is what the solicitors here at Patient Claim Line do. They deal exclusively in this area of law and are experts in the field.Frequently asked questions about Cancer Negligence Claims
Our expert legal team answer your questions about making an Cancer Negligence claim
Meet our medical negligence team
Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence
Peter leads the Medical Negligence Serious Injury department, which now boasts some of our most knowledgeable, dedicated and hardworking team members.
Peter is dedicated to supporting victims of catastrophic medical negligence injuries and endeavours to provide a clear and coherent approach to claims. He recognises the effects serious injuries can have and therefore ensures his customers’ need for support is met. Peter also has a vast amount of experience working with customers who have been injured abroad and is able to act under international law to provide the best outcomes.
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Christian Beadell
Head of Group Action
Christian is Head of Medical Negligence at Patient Claim Line and has specialised in clinical negligence claims since qualifying in 1998; having dealt with a wide variety of claims throughout his career. He is also featured in the Legal 500 as a recommended claimant solicitor in the North West.
Christian qualified as a solicitor in 1998, specialising in clinical negligence. From 2010 onward he has had a particular interest in gynaecological and urogynaecological claims, having represented several hundred claimants in the George Rowland Litigation against the Liverpool Women’s and Aintree Hospitals. This investigated the treatment given to women in the Merseyside area over several decades, and in particular focused on the introduction and development of mesh into the UK in both the treatment of stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. The development of this area involved pursuing claims under a unique ADR protocol with the NHS and also looking to develop the current thinking on the valuation of compensation for complex urinary symptoms. He has successfully recovered hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation on behalf of my clients.
Christian was also involved in setting up and chairing a Claimant Support Group for those involved in the Rowland litigation, which provided a discussion forum for the many women who were left isolated and damaged by negligent gynaecological treatment. He now co-ordinates the firm’s mesh claims and has delivered training and commented extensively on the medico-legal implications of urogynaecological / mesh complications. He is a member of APIL, Liverpool Law Society and Legal 500 recommended.
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Francesca Paul
Associate Solicitor
Francesca Paul is an Associate, Senior Solicitor and Team Leader within the Clinical Negligence Department. She is one of the driving Solicitors in the Group Litigation Team dealing with this niche and specialist area of work that Fletchers undertakes.
Francesca previously worked in Nottingham, dealing with Group Action work. She now works at Fletchers, bringing with her those years of experience heading up a team of 10 people. Francesca is involved in the early identification of potential new Group Litigation Work and analyses information from the collective pool of new enquiries into the business, of which there are hundreds per week looking for hot spots or recurrent issues which might suggest a potential pool of Claimants.
One of the highlights for Francesca and her team is that they have successfully recovered over a million pounds in compensation for clients who have received treatment from a single orthopaedic surgeon who was operating in the Colchester area. Her role requires a specific set of skills, patience and a forensic approach to detail whilst being able to see the wider picture.
Francesca has previously acted for a claimant in a case that reached the Supreme Court in the case of NA v Nottinghamshire County Council.
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Sion Wynne
Team Leader/Senior Solicitor
Sion is a team leader and senior solicitor with many years’ experience in dealing with a wide range of medical specialisms and different types of injuries. He is an experienced medical negligence solicitor and manages a team of lawyers within our department.
Sion joined Fletchers in 2018 as a Team Leader in the Medical Negligence Department. Throughout his 24 year legal career, he has specialised in conducting medical negligence claims on behalf of Claimants, previously working for other highly ranked leading firms in the field.
He has undertaken claims covering the full spectrum of medical specialisms, clinical settings, categories of defendant and types of negligent medical care and treatment.
These include high value and complex maximum severity cases, such as those involving limb amputations and permanent neurological injuries.
Sion is experienced at representing bereaved families at inquests and has a particular interest in fatal accident claims.
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Sarah's Story
"Now we have peace of mind"
My husband, Nick, went back and forth to the doctors for a long time and tried everything the doctor recommended. But his illness got worse, to the point that he was in agony.
In the end we got so desperate that we asked for a referral. The doctor was reluctant, so we had to consult a private hospital. That’s when we found out there was a tumour. It took years from the onset of his illness to finally start cancer treatment.
He used to be a man with a lot to live for, but in the end he was in so much pain that he withdrew from the family. He became angry that nobody had helped him sooner, and the legal team were able to give him the validation that he was desperately seeking. The NHS confirmed if they had done more, Nick would still be alive today.
