Medical malpractice is something no one expects but that is unfortunately common. It is estimated that 140,000 people get misdiagnosed every year. These misdiagnoses can result in serious injury and damage for the affected patients and their families. A cancer misdiagnosis can put the patient under extreme stress and perhaps looking down a long road of treatment they don’t need.
We’ll take a look at the dangers of cancer misdiagnosis, how to file a claim and the average payout for this type of medical malpractice claim.
The dangers of cancer misdiagnosis
A cancer misdiagnosis can put a patient in a lot of danger. They may undergo treatment that they don’t need which can cause irreversible damage to their immune system and other healthy cells in their body.
Misdiagnosis may be malpractice if a medical professional failed to detect cancer, diagnoses you with the wrong type of cancer, provides a delayed diagnosis, or misdiagnoses the extent or location of the cancer. This could arise from a physician misreading the test results, ignoring the results or disregarding symptoms.
Unfortunately, there are types of cancer that could go unnoticed or be diagnosed as something else. Such as:
- Breast cancer.
- Lung cancer.
- Colon cancer.
- Pancreatic cancer.
- Skin cancer.
Not only will a medical misdiagnosis force a patient into unnecessary, and often painful, treatment, but medical bills skyrocket as a result. Meanwhile, the patient and their family are riddled with stress and anxiety wondering how to move forward. To make matters worse, once the misdiagnosis is realised, the patient may be less likely to take a real cancer diagnosis seriously in the future.
Let’s take a look at what to do if you’ve been misdiagnosed and must file a medical malpractice claim.
How to file a medical malpractice claim
The first step to filing a cancer misdiagnosis claim is to find a medical professional that can confirm the error and properly treat the health issue that led to it. Next is to collect the medical record relevant to your case from your initial doctor’s visit through to the most current one.
For a successful cancer misdiagnosis case, you must show evidence of medical malpractice by the healthcare provider. Collecting all of your records will help support your case toward a successful claim and convey your need for compensation.
Making a medical malpractice claim is incredibly complex, but the lawyers at GMP Law are here to help. We will establish the doctor’s duty of care, the level of reasonable treatment and if there was a breach of their duty of care that resulted in your harm or further injury.
Compensation payouts for a misdiagnosis claim
If you suffered due to a cancer misdiagnosis, your medical negligence compensation is based on the extent to which your harm compares to ‘’ most extreme case ‘’ along with any past and future out of pocket expenses , any past and future economic loss ( including superannuation ) and any past or future care and assistance or lost capacity to provide care and assistance to others.
Typically, medical negligence claims that GMP Law helps to manage result in compensation of $170,000 to $700,000. In big cases involving significant brain damage or physical immobility, a cancer claim payout could amount to $6 million or more. Since the court is compensating actual losses, an individual will be compensated for their individual circumstances as opposed to their diagnosis. Here is a story of a woman from NSW who we helped win $3.35 million for her cancer misdiagnosis.
Northern NSW woman awarded $3.35 million in compensation following cancer misdiagnosis
This case concerned a 61-year-old woman who attended the defendant’s hospital in late 2015. She was diagnosed with small cell cancer following a biopsy and chemotherapy. Approximately four months later, she visited another hospital where she discovered that she did not have small cell cancer at all. She was then correctly diagnosed with carcinoid lung cancer.
The chemotherapy was unnecessary and caused significant brain damage. Our client was a gifted individual and had a successful career. Yet, her career was brought to a halt as a result of the cancer treatment. She was no longer capable of communicating normally and could not perform any usual self-care tasks. Her partner cared for her on a 24-hour basis.
Our client’s family members contacted GMP Law seeking help for this awful situation. Recognising the complexity and the magnitude of the malpractice case, an expert solicitor specialising in medical negligence with over 30 years of experience took on the case.
They team reached out to several medical experts for their opinions and reports to build our client’s case. We were able to synthesise and isolate the relevant issues to best advance the case. An Occupational Therapist believed that our client would need a very high level and frequency of care due to her injuries and disabilities caused by the malpractice.
Armed with this evidence, the matter progressed to mediation where, with the help of expert barristers, we were able to secure a settlement of $3.35 million for our client. While no sum of money would be able to reverse the tragedy that our client experienced, this can be used to pay for everything she needs to live the best life she can.
The family of our client was happy with the result and grateful to GMP Law for our professionalism and dedication to assisting a wife and mother affected by medical negligence.
Have you or a loved one suffered as a result of medical negligence? Please give us a call or submit an enquiry online today to speak to one of our solicitors and take advantage of our unique “no-win, no-fee ” policy.
