I think we can agree that receiving a diagnosis of leukaemia would be life-changing. However, it could be even worse if your leukaemia was misdiagnosed, which left you needing more invasive treatment or a poorer prognosis.
Not all misdiagnoses happen due to medical negligence. It may be the case that the symptoms that you were experiencing did not align with the textbook signs. However, if the misdiagnosis was because the medical professional was negligent, it could be possible to make a leukaemia misdiagnosis claim.
Throughout this guide, we will take you through the claims process and explain all about clinical negligence.
We begin the guide by explaining what leukaemia misdiagnosis is and will explain the key factors in determining what could be included in your claim should it be successful.
At the end of this guide learn how our experienced solicitors will ensure the claims process runs smoothly on a No Win No Fee basis.
Contact us today using our details below, you can speak with one of the team and discuss your situation.
- Call on 0800 073 8804
- Talk about your claim online
- Live chat available
Select A Section From Our Guide
- What Is A Leukaemia Misdiagnosis Claim?
- How Is Leukaemia Diagnosed?
- How Could Leukaemia Be Misdiagnosed?
- What Is The Time Limit When Claiming Misdiagnosis Compensation?
- What Do I Need To Make A Leukaemia Misdiagnosis Claim?
- How Much Compensation For A Blood Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- Claim For Leukaemia Misdiagnosis Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- More Useful Resources About Medical Negligence Claims
What Is A Leukaemia Misdiagnosis Claim?
Medical professionals owe a duty of care to their patients. Should the medical professional act negligently, breaching their duty of care, then a clinical negligence claim can be made.
In order to make a leukaemia misdiagnosis claim, we need to establish:
- Was there a duty of care owed by the medical professional to the patient?
- Did the medical professional’s negligent act breach their duty of care?
- Did the negligent act lead to a misdiagnosis that caused you harm?
If you have suffered from a leukaemia misdiagnosis, you may be able to make a claim for compensation. Call our team to learn more about how we can help you.
How Is Leukaemia Diagnosed?
According to MacMillan Cancer charity, leukaemia is a type of blood cancer, and statistics show that approximately 392,000 people are diagnosed each year.
Basically, leukaemia is diagnosed by having blood tests. If your GP suspects you have a condition affecting your blood or suspects that you are suffering from anything sinister, it is often good practice that the GP will send you for blood tests to check:
- Checking a patient’s general health.
- Find out if a specific condition
- It will confirm how well a condition is being managed and/or treated.
Once the blood has been taken, it will be sent off to a blood test laboratory for testing and to provide a diagnosis. If the blood tests show anything concerning the GP will send you for further specialist testing. It may be that the specialist conducts further testing, such as taking a small sample of your bone marrow to examine under a microscope. This procedure is known as a bone marrow biopsy.
How Could Leukaemia Be Misdiagnosed?
Some examples of leukaemia misdiagnosis could be:
- If a doctor and/or nurse has failed to listen to their patient, who has clearly explained their symptoms and did not send the patient for blood tests
- A misdiagnosis of pneumonia and/or lung disease after presenting to the medical professional with coughing and the GP failing to send the patient for a blood test.
- A GP receiving the blood tests and misinterprets the results
If you feel that you have received a misdiagnosis from a medical professional, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to find out if you could make a misdiagnosis compensation claim.
What Is The Time Limit When Claiming Misdiagnosis Compensation?
The Limitation Act 1980 sets out a legal time that the claim must start in, also known as the limitation period. However, medical negligence claims have potentially two different time limits, that being 3 years from:
- When the medical negligence act occurred, alternatively
- When the patient would have been aware that medical negligence had occurred
However, in certain circumstances, the court will make exceptions. Examples of such circumstances could be:
- If the patient is a minor (under the age of 18). Those under the age of 18 can not legally make their own claim so the time limit is paused until they reach this age.
- If a person does not have the mental capacity to make their own claim the time limit is paused if they make a recovery.
In both instances, when the time limit is paused there is an option for a litigation friend to be instructed to run the claim on their behalf. Our specialist will assist you in making an application to the court to become a litigation friend.
A litigation friend is a responsible adult who can make decisions about the claim on the claimant’s behalf whilst always having the claimant’s best interest in mind.
You can call our advisors today for free advice with no obligations.
What Do I Need To Make A Leukaemia Misdiagnosis Claim?
In order to make a leukaemia misdiagnosis claim, we need to prove the misdiagnosis was negligent and caused avoidable harm.
When making a claim for leukaemia misdiagnosis, it is essential that we collate as much evidence as possible. It can be not easy to collect evidence. However, our legal specialists are here to help you with that. Types of evidence that we would request could be:
- Medical records of both GP/nurse and hospital specialists
- Records of any specialist appointments, surgeons, phlebotomists, treatment providers
- Medical reports
- Witness details (this could be a person who assisted you when receiving the misdiagnosis)
- A diary of everything that has happened before, during and after the misdiagnosis
We understand that receiving a misdiagnosis of leukaemia is stressful enough, and being asked to collect all this evidence is just another burden you could do without. However as previously mentioned, our legal team are here for you to try and take the stress out of making a compensation claim.
We are here to help, so please call our advisors for your free, no-obligation consultation.
How Much Compensation For Blood Cancer Misdiagnosis?
It is difficult to confirm the amount of compensation that you could receive for a leukaemia misdiagnosis claim.
There are both general damages and special damages that could be awarded in a medical negligence compensation claim. General damages compensate for your pain and suffering, including any mental harm suffered. Whilst special damages could reimburse you for the financial impact.
Your medical condition will be confirmed by an independent medical professional who will, in turn, provide a medical report which will have a prognosis period (how long it will take for you to recover) and confirm if you require any other treatments and/or assessments.
Those responsible for valuing your general damages will use your medical report and a document such as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to value your claim. These guidelines provide suggestive compensation values for all types of injuries.
Please note the first insert in the table is not taken from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple injuries including numerous special damages | Most severe | £1,000,000 |
| Brain and head injury | Very severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderate (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 | |
| Moderate (ii) | £110,720 to £183,190 | |
| Lung disease | Very severe (a) | £122,850 to £165,860 |
| Very severe (b) | £85,460 to £118,790 | |
| Very severe (c) | £66,890 to £85,460 | |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | Severe | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Moderately Severe | £28,250 to £73,050 | |
| Psychiatric damage generally | Severe | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Moderately Severe | £23,270 to £66,920 |
Examples of special damages could be:
- Loss of earnings – we would request you keep wage slips for the time period you want to claim for
- Travel costs – we recommend keeping hold of receipts, travel tickets, including parking tickets
- Medical expenses – This could be paid for prescriptions, costs of treatment and any other medical cost that has been recommended.
- Care & assistance – whether it be from a care professional or a member of the family
Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings Caused By Medical Misdiagnosis?
As previously mentioned, you can claim for loss of earnings as a special damage. The defendant will request evidence of wages 3 weeks pre-misdiagnosis and 3 weeks post-misdiagnosis, this allows them to calculate an average they believe you have lost. However, there can be circumstances where a person would have been offered overtime and bonuses, so this will also be taken into account.
If the person who has the misdiagnosis is self-employed, the defendant’s team will request tax returns for their business as well as bank statements to support any loss that is being requested.
For further help, call our advisors today.
Claim For Leukaemia Misdiagnosis Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
Our medical negligence solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA)
This basically means if your case is unsuccessful, you are not required to pay for our services. The benefits of working with us on a No Win No Fee arrangement are that you get the skills and expertise from our knowledgeable solicitors without having to pay any upfront or ongoing fees.
If your claim is successful, your solicitors will deduct a small success fee from your compensation. It is a legally capped percentage, meaning you will receive the majority of your compensation.
If you would like to find out if you are eligible to make a leukaemia misdiagnosis claim, then call us for a free, no-obligation consultation.
- Call on 0800 073 8804
- Talk about your claim online
- Use the chat window in the corner
More Useful Resources About Medical Negligence Claims
Below are additional resources that could help in understanding misdiagnosis through medical negligence.
- Advice on when you could claim for head and neck cancer misdiagnosis?
- To find out what is the average payout for cancer misdiagnosis?
- Information about how to sue the NHS for medical negligence
Further resources.
- Read about childhood cancer information | Children with Cancer UK
- Find out more about leukaemia – leukaemia UK
- Learn more on The NHS Constitution for England – GOV.UK
We would like to thank you for taking the time to read our guide on how to make a leukaemia misdiagnosis claim. Call our advisors today for your free, no-obligation advice.
