By Lewis Hendrix. Last Updated 27th July 2023. This article addresses claims for effects on your physical and mental health caused by a negligent oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis. We can help you establish whether or not you could make a medical negligence claim. In addition to this, this guide also includes information pertaining to potential compensation payouts.
Oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis claims guide
So if you have questions such as, “how much compensation for a cancer misdiagnosis could I claim?” then read on. If you have any other queries as you’re reading, please feel free to get in touch with our advisors.
They are here all day and night to help you with your claim in any way we can. Someone from our team could also put you in touch with one of our No Win No Fee lawyers to help you get started with making a claim due to an oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis.
You can contact us by :
- Calling us on 0800 073 8801
- Using the pop-up chat window in the corner of this page
Select A Section
- Could You Claim For Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- Do I Need Evidence To Claim For Negligent Medical Care?
- Should I Work With A Specialist Medical Misdiagnosis Solicitor?
- Why Could Oesophageal Cancer Be Misdiagnosed?
- Estimating Payouts For Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Why Choose Our No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Team?
- Other Types Of Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
Could You Claim For Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosis?
If you are under the care of a medical professional such as a doctor or nurse, then they owe you a duty of care. This means that they must administer a certain standard of care. If the level of care they deliver falls below this standard, causing unnecessary harm, then this is an example of medical negligence.
If you can prove that your condition was caused or exacerbated by medical negligence, then you could be owed compensation for your pain and suffering. However, you cannot claim for the initial pain and suffering caused by your cancer; you can only claim for the additional harm that the negligent misdiagnosis has caused you.
You may be wondering what is classed as clinical negligence. Not all instances of misdiagnosis will be caused by negligence. For example, if you were suffering from a condition that was largely asymptomatic, then your doctor might not have the information they need to diagnose you correctly.
Get in touch today to find out if you could be eligible to claim due to oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis.
Is There A Time Limit On Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosis Cases?
As stated in The Limitation Act 1980, you generally have 3 years to begin a claim. Whilst the start of this time limit is intended to begin from the date your illness began, it can be a difficult task to determine when exactly this was. Therefore, you could use the date of knowledge as the start of your time limit.
There are two exceptions to the time limit, however. Get in touch today to see if you or a loved one could still be owed compensation for an oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis despite being outside of the typical 3-year time limit.
Do I Need Evidence To Claim For Negligent Medical Care?
Part of the process of establishing whether or not you have a legitimate medical negligence claim is gathering evidence. Here are some examples of evidence that could help support a medical negligence claim:
- Medical records – You have the right to request access to these whenever you like.
- Independent medical assessment – This needs to be carried out as part of the claims process. If you work with a lawyer from our panel, they could arrange this locally.
- Prescription slips – For instance, if you were prescribed medication for the wrong condition due to a misdiagnosis of cancer, you could provide the prescription to demonstrate this.
The Bolam Test might also be carried out as part of the claims process. This is when other medical professionals are asked to state whether or not their peer’s actions fell within an acceptable standard.
Every medical negligence claim is unique. Due to this, the evidence you require will differ in each instance. The list above is not exhaustive. To find out more about proving your health was impacted due to medical negligence, get in touch with our advisors today.
Should I Work With A Specialist Medical Misdiagnosis Solicitor?
You might consider working with a specialist medical misdiagnosis solicitor ahead of starting a claim. There are plenty of benefits of hiring a solicitor, including:
- Expert knowledge: When you work with a solicitor that specialises in medical negligence claims, they’ll know exactly what steps you’ll need to take to ensure success. They can also use their expertise to ensure all bases of your claim are covered.
- Gathering evidence: A solicitor can help you gather relevant evidence to help support your case.
- Ensuring your claim is filed within the relevant limitation period.
- Explaining any legal jargon that’s used throughout the claims process.
Contact our advisors today to see how one of our solicitors may be able to help you with your cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim.
Why Could Oesophageal Cancer Be Misdiagnosed?
There could be a number of reasons that an oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis could occur. However, not every instance of misdiagnosis will equate to medical negligence.
For example, if you are not presenting any symptoms of oesophageal cancer, then your doctor may not have a reason to test for it. Therefore, this may not be an example of negligence if the condition is missed.
However, the failure to properly investigate the possibility of cancer when there are symptoms present of the condition could lead to it becoming worse, spreading to other areas (such as the lungs or liver). It may even become terminal.
You may be able to claim on behalf of a loved one if medical negligence has caused their death. Even if the condition is correctly diagnosed, a delay in treatment could also be an example of medical negligence.
In some instances, it could be that you have another condition altogether, but it is misdiagnosed as oesophageal cancer. This could lead to you receiving unnecessary treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which causes you harm.
As well as the physical impact on your health due to this, there could be psychological damage to address as well. You could be compensated for an impact on your physical health as well as for any psychological damage.
Estimating Payouts For Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosis
If you’re wondering how much compensation you could claim, this section could help. The amount of compensation you could receive for an oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis claim will vary depending on a number of factors, including the severity of the pain and suffering you experience.
The physical and mental impact that the misdiagnosis causes will be compensated through general damages. Legal professionals will address medical evidence, amongst other resources, to help them calculate how much you should receive. One of these other resources is a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Last updated in 2022, the JCG contains guideline brackets for a range of health impacts.
We’ve included some examples from these guidelines in the table below. Get in touch today if you’d like a more accurate valuation, as your own circumstances will affect how much you could be owed.
| Injury | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Brain | Moderately Severe- Substantial dependence on others because of extent of disability. | £219,070 to £282,010 |
| Brain | Moderate (i) – Moderate to severe impact on intellect and a significant risk of epilepsy as well as an impact on senses. | £150,110 to £219,070 |
| Lung | (a) Progressive worsening leading to premature death in a young person. | £100,670 to £135,920 |
| Lung | (b) Lung cancer impairing function and causing pain. | £70,030 to £97,330 |
| Mental anguish | (e) When you expect your life to end or become shortened due to your condition, even if this ends up not being the case | £4,670 |
What Does Compensation Cover?
As a result of an oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis, you could also experience an impact on your finances. If so, you could also be owed special damages. This can reimburse you for certain costs and losses that you would not have experienced if not for the medical negligence.
Here are some examples:
- Loss of earnings
- Medical expenses
- Additional care at home
To find out how else you could be compensated via special damages, get in touch with our advisors.
Why Choose Our No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Team?
All of our medical negligence solicitors can work with their clients on a No Win No Fee basis. This means that they take a legally capped percentage from the settlement if the claim succeeds. However, if the claim fails, then they do not take this fee. There are also no upfront costs for the client to cover. The success fee is capped by the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
Our lawyers could also work with you on a No Win No Fee basis. If you’re looking for legal help to assist you with your claim, get in touch today.
Get In Touch With Our Team
Remember, we are always here to help. Contact us at any time of the day or night.
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Use the pop-up chat window in the corner of this page
Other Types Of Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
We’ve included links to some other helpful resources on oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis claims and other related subjects. You can find them just below.
- When could you claim for a head and neck cancer misdiagnosis?
- A guide on medical negligence leading to brain damage.
- Can you claim for medical negligence causing death?
- Get support from Macmillan.
- An NHS resource on how oesophageal cancer can be treated.
- Information on the symptoms and treatment of this condition.
Guide by DAB
Edited by FS