What Compensation Could Be Awarded For Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims?

By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 19th September 2024. If you have been affected by a cancer misdiagnosis, then you may be eligible to claim compensation for medical negligence with sufficient evidence. In this guide, we aim to provide you with the information you need to understand whether you’re eligible to seek misdiagnosis compensation.

A medical negligence claim could be possibly made for a misdiagnosis of cancer if you experienced avoidable harm due to a healthcare professional breaching their duty of care. We will explore the duty of care all trained medical professionals have towards you throughout this guide.

In addition, we’ll provide examples of clinical negligence resulting in someone experiencing a misdiagnosis or delayed cancer diagnosis.

Furthermore, we’ll help you understand what evidence you need to obtain in order to build a strong claim. In this guide, we will also outline the average payout for cancer misdiagnosis. We’ll also look at what your settlement could comprise.

Although we have aimed to cover the information you need, we understand that you may still have questions. If so, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on the details below:

• Telephone — 0800 073 8804
• Contact form — Fill out the form with your query and an advisor will get back to you
• Live chat — Speak with an advisor instantly using the feature below

If you’d like to learn about the key points from this guide, why not check out our video below:

Learn More About Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims

1. What Is The Average Payout For Cancer Misdiagnosis?
2. Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims – The Criteria For Claiming
3. How Could Cancer Misdiagnosis Occur?
4. Gathering Evidence When Claiming For A Cancer Misdiagnosis
5. How Long Do You Have To Seek Medical Negligence Compensation?
6. Get Help From Our No Win No Fee Solicitors 
7. Further Resources And Additional Links On Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims

What Is The Average Payout For Cancer Misdiagnosis?

So, what is the average payout for cancer misdiagnosis? This question can be difficult to answer, because medical negligence cancer payouts depend on a number of factors, including how much evidence you have and how severely you were harmed. This can mean that knowing the average payout might not be particularly useful for you and your claim. 

A successful cancer misdiagnosis claim can result in two different parts (or heads of loss) of compensation in the final settlement. First, we’ll talk about general damages, which all successful claimants receive. This heading provides compensation for the pain and suffering you’ve endured as a result of the misdiagnosis.

Often, solicitors and others responsible for valuing general damages will refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when calculating compensation under this heading. This is because the JCG’s guideline brackets for compensation can be good reference points.

In the table below, you can take a look at some examples of JCG brackets. Be aware that the first entry here hasn’t been taken from the JCG.

Both private and NHS cancer misdiagnosis payouts can also include special damages. This heading covers the financial losses you endured because of the misdiagnosis, such as the cost of:

• Prosthetic limbs
• Mobility aids
• Professional home care
• Help with cooking and cleaning
• Childcare
• Private medical care
• Prescriptions
• Travel

These are only a few of the expenses that could be included in your compensation. To learn more, get in touch with our friendly team.

Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims – The Criteria For Claiming

Cancer misdiagnosis can happen in a number of different ways. You may be showing clear symptoms of cancer but be diagnosed with a different condition entirely. Or mistakes during scans or testing could result in you not being referred to further treatment that you require.

Every medical professional, both private and public, has a duty of care to provide their patients with medical care that meets the correct standard. This includes diagnosing them correctly and providing the right treatment or referring to a hospital or specialist. Failing to uphold this duty can lead to patients suffering avoidable harm.

The criteria to begin a cancer misdiagnosis claim are as follows:

1. You were owed a duty of care by a medical professional.
2. This duty was breached through that professional’s failure to provide the correct standard of medical care.
3. Their failure resulted in you experiencing avoidable harm.

“Avoidable harm” refers to harm that you experienced, which would not have occurred had the correct standard of care been provided. For more information on the eligibility criteria to claim cancer misdiagnosis compensation, talk to one of our friendly advisors today using the details provided above.

How Could Cancer Misdiagnosis Occur?

As we’ve already mentioned, you cannot claim compensation for cancer misdiagnosis alone. You must be able to prove that your misdiagnosis was due to negligent treatment, and that it caused you avoidable harm.

Some examples of how cancer misdiagnosis could occur due to a medical professional breaching their duty of care include:

• Failure to refer: You could receive a wrong diagnosis if you show certain symptoms, but your doctor fails to refer you for the appropriate tests, letting tumours or cancerous cells go unnoticed.

• Misreading tests: If you were referred for a test, such as an ultrasound, biopsy, or x-ray, you could receive an incorrect cancer diagnosis if your doctor misread your results. For example, if your x-ray clearly showed the presence of a cancerous tumour, but your doctor did not notice this, this could delay your cancer diagnosis.

• Mishandling samples: Biopsy and blood samples should be properly labelled and handled. If they aren’t, this could result in incorrect or inaccurate test results, causing a wrong diagnosis or a delayed diagnosis.

• Ignoring patient concerns: If your doctor does not take your symptoms or concerns seriously, this could result in a misdiagnosis. 

These are just a few examples of how medical negligence could lead to a cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim. Our team of advisors can offer more information on making a medical negligence claim when you get in touch today.

Gathering Evidence When Claiming For A Cancer Misdiagnosis

Collecting evidence is an important step when making a medical negligence claim for the misdiagnosis of cancer. It could help prove that your cancer misdiagnosis was a result of a medical professional failing to meet the minimum standard of care and illustrate the harm you have suffered due to this misdiagnosis.

Some examples of evidence that you could collect to help strengthen your claim include:

• Witness contact details: The contact details of potential witnesses, like anyone who came to your appointments with you, can be used to ensure their statements are taken at a later date.
•   Keeping a symptoms diary: Keeping a symptoms diary can help create a record of the harm you experience as a result of your misdiagnosis by tracking how certain symptoms get worse and how this affects your day-to-day life.
• Medical records: This could state your original misdiagnosis and that you were later diagnosed with cancer and the treatment you need.
• Scans, X-rays, or test results: If your doctor failed to identify cancerous cells, lumps, or masses on a test or scan, then these can be used to strengthen your claim.

The findings of the Bolam test could also help support your claim. This is when a panel of relevantly trained medical professionals asses whether you received an appropriate standard of care.

To find out if you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim for your misdiagnosed cancer, you can contact our advisors. If they believe you could have a strong case, they may connect you with one of our solicitors.

How Long Do You Have To Seek Medical Negligence Compensation?

As with all medical negligence claims, you must initiate your cancer misdiagnosis claim within the 3-year time limit. This is set by the Limitation Act 1980, and starts when medical negligence occurs or when you connect the avoidable harm you suffered with a medical professional providing substandard care. However, there are some exceptions to this three-year time limit. 

For example, the time limit is indefinitely suspended for protected parties who do not have the mental capacity to launch their own cancer negligence claim. During this time, a court-appointed litigation friend can file a claim for clinical negligence on their behalf. If no claim is made and they regain the needed capacity, the time limit will restart on the date of their recovery.

Children under the age of 18 have the time limit suspended until their 18th birthday, during which time a litigation friend could claim on their behalf. If no claim is made, they will have three years from the date of their 18th birthday to start the process.

If you have any questions about the limitation period when making a clinical negligence claim, please speak with a member of our advisory team.

Get Help From Our No Win No Fee Solicitors

If your cancer has been misdiagnosed as a result of medical negligence, you may be eligible to start a claim. The cancer misdiagnosis claims process can seem complex, but one of our experienced lawyers could help. For example, they can help you gather relevant evidence to support your case and ensure you put forward a full claim.

Additionally, our lawyers offer their services through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee contract. Under a CFA, you typically won’t have to pay any upfront fees to your lawyer for them to start working on your case. Likewise, you won’t have to pay any ongoing fees for their services as your cancer misdiagnosis claim progresses.

If your claim succeeds, your solicitor will require a success fee. This is taken from your compensation award, but there is a legislative cap in place, so you keep the majority of your settlement. If your claim doesn’t succeed, this fee is not paid.

Get In Touch To Learn More 

Our solicitors are here to help if your cancer has been negligently misdiagnosed. With cancer misdiagnosis claims, there are many points to consider, such as starting your claim within the time limit and gathering evidence. Our solicitors can help ensure your claim is filed in full and all areas are covered. Get in touch today to learn more about misdiagnosed cancer claims:

• Telephone — 0800 073 8804
• Contact form — Fill out the form with your query and an advisor will get back to you
• Live chat — Speak with an advisor instantly using the feature below

Further Resources And Additional Links On Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims

Below, we have provided other guides exploring cancer claims following medical negligence. We have also included some additional external resources.

• Our guide on bladder cancer negligence claims could help if you’ve experienced something similar.
• See our guide on breast cancer negligence claims.
• If you’re wondering whether you can make a claim after a lung cancer misdiagnosis, see our guide.
• Visit the NHS Resolution to see how they may be involved in your claim.
• For more information on claiming compensation after an accident or injury, see the government website.
• Visit this guide on seeking compensation following an incident of medical negligence resulting in death.

Other Medical Negligence Guides

• How Much Compensation For Orthopaedic Negligence Claims?
• A Guide to Bed Sores/Pressure Sore Negligence Compensation Claims
• £500,000 Compensation For Undiagnosed Cancer Claims Guide

If you still have any questions about cancer misdiagnosis claims, you’re welcome to contact Legal Expert using the contact details included in this guide.