Cancer Negligence

Cancer negligence arises where a breach of medical care or an error by a medical professional leads to increased pain and suffering and financial loss to a patient, specifically as it relates to cancer diagnosis and treatment. 

Medical professionals have a duty of care to their patients, and where there has been a delay in cancer diagnosis, a misdiagnosis, or the treatment is inappropriate or mismanaged then you may experience a deterioration of your existing condition, or additional costs as a result of your illness.

Medical negligence, and more specifically cancer negligence claims may arise due to the following breaches of care by medical professionals.

Cancer misdiagnosis occurs where symptoms are missed or mistaken for another condition by a medical professional. This can lead to a worsening of your condition and can, at worst, lead to premature death. 

If a doctor does not carry out sufficient tests, recommend screening,or test results are incorrectly interpreted, this can lead to misdiagnosis. 

Failure of a medical professional to take a comprehensive medical history can also be a factor in misdiagnosis.

The time factor can be crucial to successful treatment of cancer, especially in more aggressive forms of cancer. Misdiagnosis can mean that the outcome of your treatment is not as successful as it might have been had it been more timely.

Cancer late diagnosis can happen in several ways. Initially, a failure on the part of your GP or primary care professional to identify and recognise symptoms of cancer can lead to a delay in being diagnosed.

If your symptoms were initially incorrectly diagnosed or completely missed this could lead to late diagnosis.

Inappropriate or incorrect early treatments may also hamper the timely diagnosis of cancer. For example, being treated for indigestion or IBS, rather than stomach cancer being suspected. 

Failure to refer a patient to a specialist or consultant in a timely manner may also lead to delayed diagnosis of cancer.

The potential effects of late diagnosis mean that you face unnecessary, additional, or more intensive treatment.

Ignoring the ineffectiveness of treatments to which the condition is not responding may also lead to the incorrect diagnosis. 

Cancer misdiagnosis can also lead to incorrect treatments, or cancer may be more advanced or even terminal by the time treatment is commenced, meaning that your pain and suffering is increased and your prognosis may be worse than if a more timely or accurate diagnosis was made.

Errors in prescribing the most effective medicine or prescribing incorrect doses of medication can mean that a condition worsens due to the error or negligence.

Medicines can also be improperly administered, sometimes with fatal results.

Any surgery is a serious matter and medical professionals have a duty of care. A failure to follow the appropriate standard of care could alter the course of cancer and lead to a worse outcome for the patient or their death.

Inadequate or incorrect follow up care following surgery can also cause increased pain and suffering as well as affect the outcome of the initial surgery.

A substandard level of care may mean that the outcomes for your cancer treatment may be worse and your condition may be more advanced by the time you come to access more appropriate treatment. 

Any surgery is a serious matter and medical professionals have a duty of care. A failure to follow the appropriate standard of care could alter the course of cancer and lead to a worse outcome for the patient or their death.

Inadequate or incorrect follow up care following surgery can also cause increased pain and suffering as well as affect the outcome of the initial surgery.

A substandard level of care may mean that the outcomes for your cancer treatment may be worse and your condition may be more advanced by the time you come to access more appropriate treatment. 

In short, if medical negligence, error, or omission during your diagnosis or treatment for cancer contributed to your injury or illness or caused a financial loss such as increased out of pocket expenses or loss of earnings, then you may be able to claim for compensation. 

Compensation varies from case to case but the factors taken into consideration include.

Your solicitor will advise and support you in making a claim. You will need to bring some records such as hospital or consultant bills or prescriptions with you as we will need to establish that a relationship existed between the medical practitioner and patient.

We may also request further medical records in order for your case to be assessed by an independent, third party medical expert who may advise as to how best to proceed.

If you feel that you have a case for medical negligence, you may be able to seek compensation from the HSE (Health Service Executive), from your public or private hospital, or your medical practitioner., be that your general practitioner or a consultant.

There is a statute of limitations or time limit involved, however. Typically, you would need to bring a claim for medical negligence for yourself before two years have elapsed. However, it may be the case that it only became apparent at a later date that your injury or loss was due to a medical error or negligence, so the time limit would apply from that point.

If you are bringing a case on behalf of a child, you may do so. When the child reaches the age of 18, they then will have a two year time limit to pursue the case on their own behalf.

It is best to be guided by your solicitor in assessing whether you can pursue a claim for medical negligence, either on your own or your child’s behalf.

Fatal medical negligence occurs when an error, omission, or breach of care causes a premature death due to cancer. 

Although all deaths due to cancer are very sad and may be untimely, for fatal medical negligence to occur, medical error or negligence would have to contribute to the untimely death.

Medical negligence claims can be delicate and complex, which is why victims of malpractice often choose to contact a specialist solicitor for help with their case. 

It is worth remembering that only 3% of medical negligence cases are settled in court, so having someone on your side with knowledge and experience of legal negotiations around substandard healthcare can be useful. 

To give yourself the best chance of a successful claim for compensation, try following these steps:

If you feel that medical error, omission, or substandard health care has caused you additional pain and suffering, or left you out of pocket or unable to earn, or caused you to have increased care needs. We can help.

If the death of your loved one was caused or precipitated by mistakes or negligence in their care, we can also assist you to get compensation for your loss.

Contact us today to see how we can advise, support, or assist you.