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A Man receives a Settlement of $300,000 for failure to diagnose a lung lesion

Case Overview
  • Our client’s lung cancer diagnosis was delayed, and he was not referred to a cardiothoracic physician for appropriate care and management.
  • It was found that if our client had been referred for appropriate care and management, he could have undergone a nodule resection.
  • Our medical negligence team procured the amount of $300,000 as settlement, which accounted for our client’s pain and suffering. 

We received instructions to investigate a claim relating to a delay in diagnosis of lung cancer and a failure to refer to a cardiothoracic physician for appropriate care and management.

Our solicitors promptly obtained evidence from our client’s treating doctor which outlined his diminished life expectancy. We used this evidence to seek an order from the Supreme Court of New South Wales that our client’s matter must be expedited and resolved in a timely manner.

Our Approach

Once these orders were granted, our team at GMP promptly obtained expert medical evidence from a cardiologist who opined that a referral to a respiratory physician or thoracic surgeon was indicated in 2018 and he should have been referred to an appropriate specialist in order to ensure that he was managed appropriately.

Further expert evidence was obtained from a cardiothoracic surgeon and an oncologist which supported the position that the presence of a 7mm lung nodule on a radiology scan performed in 2018 was a likely stage one disease. If our client had been referred for appropriate care and management, he could have undergone a resection of the nodule.

Unfortunately, this delay in diagnosis has led to our client being placed in palliative care as the cancer has since metastasised to his brain, bones and spread throughout his entire body. His chemotherapy and radiation treatment has since been discontinued and he has been advised by his treating oncologists that he only has a matter of weeks to live. Due to this rapid deterioration, his claimable damages under the legislation had been markedly decreased at the time of settlement.

The Result

On the basis of this expert evidence, our medical negligence team procured an amount of $300,000 as settlement for our client's client's pain and suffering.

Susan Newman

Senior Associate
Gerard Malouf & Partners were amazing with my claim. Susan … listened to me and explained each step, they were extremely patient with all my questions. The end result was more than expected. …… Would definitely recommend GMP for your claim
Frequently Asked Questions

More Information

Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that another in the same position would prudently exercise. The harm caused by negligence is considered to be due to carelessness, rather than a specific intent or determination to cause harm.

While negligence can include misconduct in a variety of circumstances, malpractice is reserved for professionals who fall grossly short of their obligations — and harm others in the process. As a result, malpractice is often called “professional negligence”. If a licensed professional (such as a doctor, lawyer, or accountant) fails to provide the accepted standard of care and subsequently causes harm to the plaintiff, this form of negligence may be known as malpractice.

Medical malpractice is specifically used in reference to medical workers who have committed acts of negligence.

Demonstrating that a doctor fell short of their duty of care can be a challenging process. While most doctors try their best to correctly diagnose conditions and provide timely medical treatment, they can’t always be right. In every state, protections are in place to shield practitioners from some litigation. These give practitioners peace of mind on the job and protect hospitals that are doing their best with limited resources. However, these laws also set the bar for receiving compensation incredibly high.

Overall, to win a favorable judgment, you must be able to prove Duty, Breach, and Damages.

 

If you have been injured or an existing condition has got worse following a medical procedure, or even just a visit to the doctor, then you may have been the victim of medical negligence and you may be eligible to make medical negligence claims against the professional who caused your injury.

If you can first show that you have suffered harm, and secondly, that a medical professional failed in their duty of care towards you then you may be entitled to compensation.

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Gerard Malouf & Partners have provided friendly, experienced legal advice to communities across Australia for over 35 years. Our Personal Injury Lawyers have taken on ten’s of thousands of cases and we are proud to have won billions of dollars for our clients.
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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

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