Making A Compensation Claim After A Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis
By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 9th August 2023. In this guide, we will look at the circumstances in which you may be able to claim for a lung cancer misdiagnosis. When you’re suffering from a condition that is misdiagnosed, it could mean that you experience a delay in treatment.
If you’re suffering from lung cancer, this delay in diagnosing and treating the condition could mean that you require more severe treatment when it is diagnosed. In some cases, it may mean that the condition has progressed to a point where it can no longer be treated, resulting in an impact on your quality of life or even causing death.
Lung cancer misdiagnosis claims guide
Not every instance of a cancer misdiagnosis will be an example of medical negligence. However, if negligent misdiagnosis of your condition resulted in a negative effect on your health, then you may be able to claim.
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Select A Section:
- What Is A Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- How To Prove That Medical Negligence Has Occurred
- Why Might A Misdiagnosis Happen?
- What Are The Consequences Of A Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- Could I Make A Complaint About A Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis – How Much Compensation You Could Be Owed
- How Could A No Win No Fee Agreement Help Me?
- More Resources For Claiming Compensation After A Lung Cancer Diagnosis
What Is A Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis?
When you are suffering from a condition like lung cancer, it’s important that this is diagnosed as promptly as possible. This enables you to receive treatment which could improve your chances of recovering from the condition.
However, lung cancer is not always spotted initially. In some cases, it may first be mistakenly diagnosed as another condition. This could mean that you don’t get the right treatment straight away.
Not all instances of lung cancer misdiagnosis are due to medical negligence. Sometimes, you can experience a misdiagnosis even when you’re being given the correct level of care by your healthcare provider. For example, you might be exhibiting symptoms that are not typical of someone suffering from this condition, meaning that your doctor would not be expected to arrange follow up tests based on this information alone.
In the event that the misdiagnosis was caused by negligence, however, you may be able to claim. Please bear in mind that you will only be able to claim for additional harm to your health caused by the misdiagnosis. If you were misdiagnosed initially but this did not have an overall effect on your health or cause you any additional suffering, you would not be able to claim.
Is There A Time Limit To Claim?
If you intend to try and make a compensation claim for a lung cancer misdiagnosis, you need to start your claim within the applicable claims time limit. You don’t need to resolve your claim within this time limit, however.
The general claims time limit in the UK is three years. This can either run from the date of the incident that caused you harm, or the date that you became aware that your symptoms were caused by negligence.
There are external factors that could have an effect on the time limit, however. For example, the time limit differs for minors or those who lack the mental capacity to claim. For more information on the time limits that might apply in your circumstances, speak to a member of our team today.
If you suffer physical, psychological or financial harm due to a lung cancer misdiagnosis caused by negligence, you may be able to make a compensation claim. However, you will need to be able to prove that clinical negligence was the cause. Get in touch with one of our advisors today for free legal advice about building a claim.
How To Prove That Medical Negligence Has Occurred
As part of the lung cancer misdiagnosis claims process, you’ll need to provide evidence of any unnecessary harm you have sustained. Additionally, you must prove that the harm was caused as a direct result of a medical professional breaching their duty of care.
Some examples of the evidence that could be used to help support your medical negligence claim include:
- A letter confirming your lung cancer diagnosis.
- A copy of your medical records stating your diagnosis and the treatment you have required.
- Correspondence with the medical institution regarding the treatment you received.
- Evidence of any financial losses you have suffered due to your lung cancer being misdiagnosed. For example, a copy of your payslips could help prove a loss of earnings.
Furthermore, the findings of a Bolam Test could be used as evidence in your claim. This is when a panel of relevantly trained medical professionals assess whether the standard of care you received was of an appropriate level.
One of our specialist medical negligence solicitors could assist you with gathering evidence. To see if you could be eligible to work with one of them, you can contact our advisors.
Why Might A Misdiagnosis Happen?
There are a number of different reasons that a condition like lung cancer could be misdiagnosed. As we have already mentioned, not all instances of misdiagnosis result from negligence.
However, if the misdiagnosis resulted from negligence, you may be able to claim. A negligence claim can be made against a private hospital or GP, or an NHS healthcare facility.
Below, we have included some examples of misdiagnoses that could result from negligence:
- A doctor who is examining you misses one or more clear symptoms that you may be suffering from lung cancer. Because of this, they fail to arrange diagnostic tests.
- The results of your test are misinterpreted. This means that you’re told you have a less serious condition when you actually have cancer.
- Your test results are mixed up with those of another patient. You receive their diagnosis, instead of your own.
For more advice related to making a clinical negligence claim, please call and speak to one of our claim advisors. If your claim is valid, you could be connected with one of our solicitors to work on your claim.
What Are The Consequences Of A Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis?
A lung cancer misdiagnosis can have very serious consequences. Below, we have listed some of the ways that misdiagnosis could harm you:
- A misdiagnosis causes a delay in your treatment. Because of this delay, your chance of recovering from your lung cancer reduces considerably.
- Because of a misdiagnosis, your treatment is delayed. If the cancer had been caught earlier, you would have required less extensive treatment. However, because it has progressed, you now need chemotherapy. This makes you ill and you wouldn’t have needed this were it not for the misdiagnosis.
- Misdiagnosis leads to you being treated for the wrong illness. This treatment had a negative impact on your health in some way. For example, you may have undergone treatment that negatively impacted your health and was ultimately not needed.
These are just some examples of how a misdiagnosis could cause you harm. There are many more.
If you can prove that you have been harmed through a misdiagnosis that resulted from negligence, please call and speak to our team. They will let you know whether you have a potential claim. If so, you could be connected with a solicitor to represent you.
Could I Make A Complaint About A Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis?
If you believe you have been harmed by a lung cancer misdiagnosis, you could take steps to complain. While a compensation claim will attempt to return you as much as possible to the position you were in before being harmed, making a complaint could help you in making sure that other people don’t experience the same series of events as you.
Each healthcare provider in England has its own complaints procedure. They’ll often have information on this procedure on their website or in waiting rooms or receptions. If you’re unsure about the complaints procedure, a member of staff may be able to advise you.
If you’re not happy with how the NHS has dealt with your complaint, you can then raise the issue with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. They’re independent of the NHS and are able to make a final decision on any complaints that cannot otherwise be resolved.
When you make a complaint to the NHS, this will generally not result in you receiving compensation. In order to be compensated, you would need to pursue a medical negligence claim. Our helpful team of advisors can speak with you about your circumstances and let you know if you’re eligible to claim; simply get in touch today.
Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis – How Much Compensation You Could Be Owed
If your lung cancer misdiagnosis claim succeeds, the compensation you receive could be made up of two heads: general damages and special damages. The first head, general damages, covers the pain and suffering you undergo as a result of being misdiagnosed. With lung cancer, a misdiagnosis can mean your treatment is delayed, which in turn can give the cancer more time to spread and cause you further harm.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a text that helps solicitors calculate settlements for general damages. This text provides guideline compensation awards for different injuries and illnesses of various severities. The table below illustrates some of these guidelines as they relate to lung cancer.
Your payout will depend on the various factors that affect your claim so do not take the below figures as guaranteed.
| Severity | Notes | Possible Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Mental Anguish | Fear of impending death or of life expectancy being reduced. | Up to £4,380 |
| Death – Full Awareness | Where consciousness levels fluctuate for between 4 and 5 weeks followed by death within a couple of weeks up to 3 months. | £11,770 to £22,350 |
| Death – Followed by Unconsciousness | Where excruciating pain is followed by unconsciousness after 3 hours and death within 2 weeks. | £10,510 to £10,670
|
| Lung Cancer | As an example, a case of lung cancer that is affecting somebody who is elderly, who already has a limited life span ahead of them. The illness would be painful, and cause a significant negative impact on quality of life. | £65,710 to £91,350 |
| Lung Cancer | Lung cancer which carries less painful symptoms than mesothelioma but that is more protracted. | £65,710 to £91,350 |
| Chest Injuries (a) | Total removal of one lung. | £94,470 to £140,870 |
Special damages addresses any financial losses caused by the misdiagnosis of lung cancer. To claim special damages, you need to provide proof of the losses that you have sustained. These losses can include:
- Medical bills
- Prescription costs
- Mobility aids
- Travel to and from appointments
- Loss of earnings
For more information on claiming for a lung cancer misdiagnosis caused by negligence, get in touch with our team.
How Could A No Win No Fee Agreement Help Me?
Under a No Win No Fee agreement, or Conditional Fee Agreement, you won’t be asked to pay your solicitor until certain conditions are met. It means that:
- There’s nothing for you to pay your solicitor upfront or while they’re working on the claim
- You won’t be asked to pay them anything in the event that the claim is unsuccessful
- If you’re awarded compensation, a legally-capped percentage of it will be deducted by your solicitor. This is known as a “success fee”.
If this is something that is of interest to you, why not speak with one of our advisors today? You could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel to work on your claim.
If you can prove that medical negligence led to your condition worsening, you could be owed compensation. Our helpful and friendly team of advisors are on hand to answer any questions you might have about claiming. You can get in touch via:
- Telephone: 0800 073 8804
- Email: info@legalexpert.co.uk
- Or use our web contact form.
More Resources For Claiming Compensation After A Lung Cancer Diagnosis
Here are some useful websites that have more information.
- NHS Hospital Complaints– This information from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau lets you know how to complain about hospital treatment in the NHS.
- Macmillan Cancer Support– This charity offers support and guidance for those suffering from cancer.
- Chemotherapy– Information from the NHS about chemotherapy, a treatment that can be used to treat cancer.
We’ve also included some links to other guides that we have published that you may find useful.
- What Are The Time Limits For Suing The NHS?
- How Can I Claim Against A Doctor Or GP For Negligence?
- Clinical And Medical Negligence Claims
If you would like to speak to an advisor about making a claim for a lung cancer misdiagnosis, then you’re welcome to contact Legal Expert for help. You can reach us using the contact details included within this guide.
