Last week reports were in the news about Angela Skeffington, 43, a former warehouse worker and mother of three who was told she had just weeks to live after Doctors had failed to trace signs of cancer. Today another report has been released about a mum-of-three who has been given just months to live after doctors failed to diagnose her cancer during 20 examinations.
Catherine Watkins, 55, was failed repeatedly by medical staff in Southend, Essex. Despite losing two stone and being in so much pain that she could hardly move, Doctors refused to give her a CT scan. Mrs Watkins, who also suffers from diabetes, was told by Doctors that she had gallstones. She started suffering from abdominal pain in December and had been rushed to the A&E department of Southend Hospital four times in the past nine months.
After endless arguments by her daughter, Mrs Watkins was finally given a CT scan last month. This is when Medical staff discovered Catherine had advanced liver and pancreatic cancer. Southend University Hospital is currently investigating the cancer patient’s treatment.
Mrs Watkins told The Sun: “I went to the doctors and they fobbed me off. I knew something was seriously wrong.” She told the paper that she is suffering from a lot of pain in her back but has refused to take strong painkillers yet.
Doctors have said there is little they can do because the cancer is so far advanced. Meanwhile, Mrs Watkins is focusing on performing a charity sky dive to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK, along with 10 friends and family members. Mrs Watkins said: “It was on a wish list of things I had always wanted to do. Then I thought I might be able to raise some money for cancer research at the same time.”
Here at The Injury lawyers our heart goes out to Mrs Watkins and her family. Although it is very rare, cases like this occur; and when they do it wrecks the lives of so many people. Medical negligence is something we all fear, because as a nation we put trust into our doctors. We all hope that if we ever do become severely ill, our medical service will be there as a safety net.
If you feel that you’ve been a victim of medical negligence and have suffered further illness due to mistreatment, The Injury Lawyers can offer you free legal advice on whether you are able to claim injury compensation.
