Compensation for cancer treatment too late

You may be able to make a medical negligence compensation claim if you receive cancer treatment too late, and this has an impact on your health.

Recent figures have indicated that the NHS is unable to hit their targets when it comes to starting treatment for cancer care in England. As many as a quarter of patients may be receiving treatment after the date they ought to have started treatment by. This is believed to stem from increased pressure from large volumes of patients seeking help, and is also likely linked to funding constraints as well.

We know the devastating impact that receiving cancer treatment too late can have on patients as a law firm who specialise in serious medical negligence cases. Here’s some advice about what to do if you have suffered due to starting your treatment too late.

Starting cancer treatment too late: your legal rights

If you have started your cancer treatment too late, we need to know whether this could have been prevented and what impact this had had on you.

To make a claim for medical negligence compensation, we need to establish that the fault of staring the treatment too late is with a medical professional. In some cases, cancer can be too advanced by the time of diagnosis, so it’s not always possible to make a claim. But if an unreasonable delay in treatment has caused further suffering, complications, and / or permanent problems, you may be able to make a claim.

And that’s where we can help you.

What do you claim for?

When you make a claim for compensation as a victim who has received cancer treatment too late, we look at two primary things:

General Damages;
Special Damages.

General Damages is for any pain, suffering and loss of amenity you endure as a result of the treatment being received too late. We may need to look at extended suffering, and whether the spread of cancer will leave you in a worse position as well.

Special Damages is for any losses and expenses you incur. This could be lost earnings from time off work, or it could be private treatment expenses or additional medication expenses. If these losses and expenses are linked to the negligence, you can be entitled to claim them back.