Have you suffered as a result of a pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis? Are you wondering if you may be eligible for compensation? Our guide covers everything you need to know about making a pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim.
Key Things To Remember When Claiming For A Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis:
- You can claim if your healthcare provider was negligent and this caused you to suffer unnecessary harm.
- You can claim against the NHS or a private healthcare professional
- Misdiagnosis can affect your physical and mental health, as well as your finances
- You generally have three years to make a medical negligence claim
- A No Win No Fee solicitor could potentially help you claim pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis compensation
Read on to learn more, or contact our team to get started by:
- Calling on 0800 073 8804
- Start your claim online
- Using the live chat feature
Jump To A Section
- Can I Make A Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Claim?
- The Impact Of Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Who Is Most At Risk Of Pancreatic Cancer?
- How Can Cancer Be Negligently Misdiagnosed?
- Compensation In Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
- Make A Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Claim With Legal Expert
- More Information
Can I Make A Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Claim?
To make a pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim, you need to establish that medical negligence occurred. But what does this mean in the context of a claim?
Duty Of Care
All medical professionals immediately owe their patients a duty of care. This means the correct standard of care must be provided when treating their patients, and they must avoid causing unnecessary harm. Different disciplines have to take different steps to meet this standard; For example, the General Medical Council provides guidance on professional standards for registered doctors.
If you suffer harm that was unnecessary because a medical professional failed to meet the minimum standard, this is known as medical negligence. And if you can prove that medical negligence occurred, then you may be able to claim compensation.
To see whether you may have a valid medical negligence claim, you can contact one of our advisors today.
The Impact Of Cancer Misdiagnosis
Cancer misdiagnosis can greatly impact your health, finances, and quality of life. Below, we set out some examples of these.
Mental Impacts
A misdiagnosis can cause significant mental health impacts and can lead to conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression, as you may worry about the progression of your cancer.
Physical Impacts
Likewise, pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis can have a huge effect on your physical health. For example, the delay in treatment could allow the cancer to spread and symptoms worsen. it can also affect your health in other ways; for example, if your pancreatic cancer is misdiagnosed as diabetes, taking insulin could negatively affect you.
Financial Impacts
In terms of your finances, a misdiagnosis can be devastating. For example, you may lose out on earnings due to the delayed treatment, or you may have to pay out of pocket for childcare or home adjustments to make day-to-day living easier.
If you’ve been impacted by a cancer misdiagnosis, get in touch with our team today and find out how we can help.
Who Is Most At Risk Of Pancreatic Cancer?
Like all cancers, pancreatic cancer can affect anyone, but certain groups are more at risk. In fact, according to Cancer Research UK, it’s the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, with around 10,300 people being diagnosed each year.
According to their statistics, the age range most at risk of developing pancreatic cancer is those aged 75 and above. They also state that around 20% of diagnosed cases are attributed to smoking, with cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and pipes all contributing to the risk.
If you have any questions about making a claim following a pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis, you can contact our advisors.
How Can Cancer Be Negligently Misdiagnosed?
Not all cases of cancer misdiagnosis are classed as medical negligence. This is because, as we’ve already mentioned, you need to prove that a medical professional breached their duty of care and caused you avoidable harm. This could look like:
- Your doctor misreads an MRI that clearly shows a tumor in your abdomen, and instead misdiagnoses you with IBS based on your symptoms, which delays your treatment and causes your symptoms to worsen.
- You clearly describe your symptoms to your GP or doctor. Despite clearly pointing to a need for further tests, your GP dismisses you, and misdiagnoses you with anxiety. This causes the cancer to spread.
- After being hospitalized for your symptoms, your blood test is mislabeled, and you receive another patient’s diagnosis of anaemia. This leads to an early discharge and allows your cancer to go undiagnosed.
There are many other ways that pancreatic cancer can be misdiagnosed. If you would like to learn more about your eligibility to make a medical negligence claim, contact our team today.
Compensation In Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
You may be wondering how much compensation you could get if you were to make a successful claim. We can’t tell you exactly how much you could receive in terms of compensation payouts, because every claim is different, and is valued depending on unique factors like:
- How much evidence you have
- How severe the harm you suffered is
- Your financial losses
However, we can go into more detail on what your medical negligence compensation could contain. To start with, every successful claim will result in general damages. This is the first of two potential heads of compensation, and it covers the physical and mental suffering you’ve endured due to the medical negligence. It also covers loss of amenity, which basically means the effect the misdiagnosis has had on your quality of life.
Compensation can be calculated with help from resources like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which lists injuries and illnesses besides guideline brackets of compensation.
The table below showcases some of these brackets. Please note that none of the figures in this table are guaranteed, and the top entry is not from the JCG.
| Injury | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Multiple severe instances of harm combined with special damages | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Moderate Brain Damage (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Kidney Injuries (a) | £206,730 to £256,780 |
| Bowel Injuries (b) | Up to £183,190 |
| Bowel Injuries (c) | In the region of £97,530 |
| Bowel Injuries (d) | £54,420 to £85,100 |
| Lung Disease (a) | £122,850 to £165,860 |
| Severe Psychiatric Damage | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Severe PTSD | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Chest Injuries (c) | £38,210 to £66,920 |
Special Damages
In some cases, you may be eligible for special damages, which forms the second head of compensation. Under this heading, you can recoup some of the financial losses you’ve endured because of your pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis.
For example, compensation under this heading can help you cover the cost of:
- Childcare
- Medical expenses, like prescriptions
- Travel to and from hospital
- Hospice and end-of-life care
- Mobility aids
- Home adjustments
- Professional nursing care
- Cosmetic aids, like wigs
It’s important to note that you’ll need evidence of these losses in order to make a claim. To find out more about payouts when making a pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim, get in touch with our team today.
Make A Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Claim With Legal Expert
So, why make a claim with Legal Expert? Our solicitors have years of experience working on various types of medical negligence claims. When you choose to work with one of our specialist solicitors, they can help you with every aspect of the pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis claims process, including:
- Gathering evidence
- Ensuring all aspects of your claim are filed on time and in full
- Valuing your total losses
- Communicating with the defendant
- Going to court, if this becomes necessary
- Explaining legal jargon and complex terminology
You can get all of this and more from a member of our team without having to pay anything upfront. This is because our solicitors provide their services under the terms of a specific No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under this type of contract, you can get all the benefits of working with a legal expert without:
- Paying for their work upfront
- Paying for their continued services
- Paying for their work at all if the claim fails
In fact, you’ll only be asked to pay a success fee if they help you reach a successful outcome. This fee is capped by law, and taken directly from your compensation, which helps to make sure that you keep the larger share.
Contact Our Team
Are you ready to get started on your pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim? Contact a member of our helpful team today to start your free, no-strings-attached consultation by:
- Calling on 0800 073 8804
- Start your claim online
- Using the live chat feature
More Information
For more helpful medical negligence guides:
- Find out how much you could claim if a hospital missed your lumbar fracture
- Learn how to make an X-ray negligence claim
- Learn about breast cancer misdiagnosis stories
Or, for further resources:
- Make a complaint to the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- Information on pancreatic cancer from the NHS
- Learn about treatment for pancreatic cancer from Cancer Research UK
Thank you for reading our guide on making a pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim.
