Many cancer claims arise as a result of a misdiagnosis or wrongful diagnosis. Cancer is of course a very serious, potentially life threatening condition in any event. Diagnosis and early diagnosis is often key in the patient making a full and complete recovery. Any delay in diagnosis could have huge consequential effects for the patient and his or her family.
When life is at stake, claiming compensation is probably not something you think of. But if you have wrongfully suffered as a result of a wrong diagnosis or there has been undue delay in your treatment, then you may have a genuine claim for compensation.
There are a number of situations which could give rise to a compensation claim, and a claim could fall within the realm of a normal personal injury claim or a clinical negligence claim.
Personal Injury Claims
A cancer claim may come under the field of medical negligence. Some cancers could lead you down a different path as you have to look at what caused or potentially caused the cancer. For example one form of cancer is lung cancer. This is often associated with smoking or exposure to asbestos fibres. It can also be caused by exposure to dust, radiation etc. What I am getting at is that the cause of the cancer could be something at work. If this is the case then you may have a claim against your employer or former employer for exposing you to that risk. With these types of claims there are lots of avenues of investigation. Should there be a delay in making a diagnosis, and an injury or illness suffered (or suffered to a greater extent) then it is likely that you have a claim in medical negligence.
Medical Negligence Claims
As briefly mentioned earlier, a misdiagnosis, or wrongful diagnosis, or perhaps incorrect treatment administered, are all examples of a claim that falls within medical negligence. When it comes to cancer, this kind of malpractice is of course a great deal more serious than a misdiagnosed broken wrist. Whether you have a claim comes down to evidence and the professional opinion of other experts. If evidence clearly shows that the judgement of an expert was wrong, and an alternative was clear, you may have a claim. At the same time, opinions from other experts in the same field confirming that they would have administered a different course of treatment or diagnosed you differently could give rise to a claim. A claim could arise due to a failure to make the necessary referrals, a failure to pick up on symptoms, a failure to interpret or report scans, smears etc.
The sad part is that a professional mistake is likely to cost someone their life. Once cancer spreads too far, its normally just a matter of time.
Medical negligence claims are a little more specialised than general personal injury claims, therefore it is essential that you speak to a firm with experience in dealing with medical negligence cases. As part of the claim it will probably be necessary to obtain GP and hospital records. These can be studied in detail as part of the investigations.
In terms of diagnosing cancer, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) have drafted various guidelines to assist GP’s in making a diagnosis. The guidelines assist GP’s as to whether or not they should make a referral. If the NICE guidelines are not followed then this is potentially indicative of negligence.
If you would like to discuss a potential claim then please do not hesitate to contact The Injury Lawyers today.
