CANCER DELAYED AND MISDIAGNOSIS

MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims

It is certainly a sobering experience to be told by your GP or consultant that you have cancer. It is something of a double blow if that information is not correct at all or perhaps underestimates how quickly the cancer is advancing.

With the advent of MRI and PET scans and other screening tools, the onset of most types of cancer can be detected more readily than before. There is increased incidence of all types of cancer in Ireland, and the number of cancer diagnoses has reached record numbers in recent years.

On a more upbeat note, the earlier the cancer diagnosis, the more effective the treatment will be, and this will usually lead to much more positive outcomes for the patient. Early intervention is critical.

However, where the cancer diagnosis is delayed or perhaps not even accurate in the first place, then a patient’s recovery could be seriously jeopardised or indeed his life put at risk.

If a patient has in fact no cancer but is diagnosed with cancer, his health may not be under threat, but his psychological well-being will be shaken. However, if a patient does in fact have cancer but his doctor gives him a clean sheet, then the misdiagnosis he received could be tantamount to a death sentence.

If a person has been misdiagnosed for cancer, he/she will in all likelihood be entitled to bring proceedings for a cancer diagnosis claim.

What exactly is this type of Claim?

It is a claim essentially for medical negligence where:

1.      Cancer is not diagnosed or treated appropriately even where the patient has indeed got symptoms.

2.     Benign growths or symptoms are misdiagnosed as cancer and managed as cancer, in error.

3.     The cancer diagnosis is delayed for no good reason.

4.     laboratory or other tests for cancer are misdiagnosed.

To succeed in such a claim, the delay or misdiagnosis must result from a negligent act on the part of your doctor or hospital.

A misdiagnosis could mean a patient gets delayed treatment or even the wrong treatment, resulting in the patient undergoing intense treatment with side-effects that could have been avoided. In some cases, it also means interventions are too late and the patient could lose his life. We saw evidence of this in the recent cervical screening scandal where such failures cost several women their lives.

Instances of misdiagnosis can occur within the general range of cancer cases but particularly in cervical, leukaemia, pancreas and skin cancer.

The main types of misdiagnoses:

1.     Delayed diagnosis.

 This can undermine the patient’s chances of survival. A doctor could fail to send his patient for cancer screening or where laboratory results are misread as in the Vicky Phelan case. All these examples show how the Doctor or clinic failed in their duty of care to the patient.

2.     Failure to diagnose.  

    If for example, your doctor interprets your symptoms not as cancer, but as some other disorder of no great importance. This may be due to lack of knowledge on his part or experience in the particular cancer you have.

3.     Incorrect diagnosis.

 A patient could be given chemotherapy treatment when they did not even have cancer. The side effects here are well known and quite severe.

Any person who has a cancer misdiagnosis is within his rights to claim compensation. The essential steps are as follow:

1.     Contact your solicitor promptly.

2.     Collect your medical records again with your Solicitors help

3.      Assess damages with your solicitor and counsel.

4.      Commence your claim.

What are the relevant time limits?

 You have two years to institute court action starting on the day of your diagnosis. This is a strict time limit except where you only discovered at a later date the wrong (misdiagnosis) committed. In that particular case, the two-year rule will then start running from the date you discovered the wrong, otherwise known as the date of knowledge and not the date of the misdiagnosis.

Time limits can be a trap for the unwary. These claims are often lengthy and complex and involve leading medical professionals giving evidence against a fellow Medic indicating that in the expert’s opinion, the other medic’s work or treatment was poor or well below standard.

You will need to work in tandem with your solicitor for most of the claims process including, where relevant, court appearances.  It is really important not to delay if you think you have a claim; see your solicitor as soon as you possibly can.