Can You Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia?

This guide is for individuals whose cancer was misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia due to medical negligence. Cancer symptoms can vary depending on the kind of cancer and can be mistaken for other conditions, such as fibromyalgia. If your condition has been misdiagnosed because a medical professional breached the duty of care they owe you, it may be possible to claim compensation for the avoidable harm you experienced as a result.

cancer misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia

Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia Compensation Specialists

This guide will discuss how to determine if medical negligence played a role in your misdiagnosis and the time limits you must adhere to when claiming. We will also explain how one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you.

Read on for more information on these subjects. You can also call Accident Claims UK to get a free consultation with one of our advisers:

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What Are Claims For The Misdiagnosis Of Fibromyalgia?

According to the NHS, fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes increased pain sensitivity all over the body. You may be eligible to claim compensation if a medical professional mistakenly diagnosed your cancer as fibromyalgia because they did not provide you with the correct level of care.

All medical professionals, including doctors, owe their patients a duty of care, which means the level of care they provide can’t fall below a minimum standard. If the correct level of care is not delivered, a patient could suffer unnecessary harm. This constitutes medical negligence.

Fibromyalgia can share symptoms with several types of cancer, so it is possible for a medical professional to misdiagnose the pain in your kidneys, bladder, bowels, or head as fibromyalgia instead of cancer affecting a single body part. Likewise, they could attribute general, all-over body aches to fibromyalgia instead of bone cancer.

However, it’s important to know that you’re only eligible to claim if you can show that your misdiagnosis occurred because your doctor did not provide you with the correct level of care. Speak to one of our advisers if you have more questions about claiming after cancer was misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia.

What Causes Cancer To Be Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia?

Below, we have included some examples of how cancer could be misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia:

  • A GP diagnoses a patient’s cancer symptoms as another condition without carrying out the correct diagnostic tests, such as a blood test
  • The patient’s test results are mixed up with those of another patient
  • A doctor fails to consider a patient’s family history of cancer before deciding their symptoms are due to fibromyalgia

If a patient’s cancer is misdiagnosed, they could experience unnecessary or avoidable pain and suffering. For instance, they may experience negative side effects from being prescribed the wrong medication intended to treat fibromyalgia. Additionally, the misdiagnosis may mean their cancer progresses to a point that cannot be treated or requires more intensive treatment, such as a longer period of chemotherapy. This could eventually lead to a wrongful death claim.

Speak to our advisers to learn more about what could be classed as clinical negligence. If your case has a good chance of success, they could provide you with a No Win No Fee solicitor to work on your case.

How Can I Prove Medical Negligence Caused My Fibromyalgia Misdiagnosis?

Certain pieces of evidence will help demonstrate that the care you received fell below an adequate level and show how you were impacted. For instance, this could include:

  • A copy of your medical records
  • A symptoms diary
  • An independent medical assessment. If you work with a solicitor from our panel, they could arrange this in your local area to reduce travel time.

A medical negligence solicitor can help you gather evidence to support your claim. Additionally, they can make sure you’re within the required time limits. These are established in the Limitation Act 1980, which states you have 3 years to begin a claim after:

  • The date medical negligence occurred.
  • The date you realised the harm you experienced was caused by medical negligence. This is called the date of knowledge.

If you have questions about the process behind making medical negligence claims, contact our advisers. They can tell you about the evidence that will help prove your cancer was misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia due to medical negligence.

Settlements For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia

If doctors negligently misdiagnose your cancer as fibromyalgia, you may be eligible to claim compensation. If your claim is a success, you could receive up to two heads of claim. The first is called general damages. It is intended to compensate you for the physical and mental suffering you experienced due to receiving an inadequate level of care.

The table below reflects the compensation brackets found in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Solicitors generally refer to this document when they value how much a claim could be worth.

However, these amounts are only guidelines because the circumstances around your cancer being misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia could vary. One of our advisers can help you estimate how much compensation you could claim for a medical misdiagnosis.

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Injury or Harm Notes Compensation Brackets
(b) Paraplegia Paralysis injury. This bracket considers the risk of increasing paralysis, life, expectancy and age, presence of depression, and other factors. £219,070 to £284,260
(c) (i) Moderate Brain Damage Injury involves a personality change, effect on senses and ability to communicate, risk of epilepsy, and moderate to severe intellectual deficit. £150,110 to £219,070
(a) Kidney Permanent damage to or loss of both kidneys. £169,400 to £210,400
(b) Kidney Where there exists a future risk of total functional loss. Invariably there are substantial future medical costs attached to this type of harm. Up to £63,980
(a) Female Reproductive System Infertility and severe sexual dysfunction with severe pain, anxiety and depression. £114,900 to £170,280
(b) Female Reproductive System Likely permanent sexual dysfunction. The individual has children already or would not have had children. £43,010 to £102,100
(b) Bowels Complete loss of function and dependence on colostomy, which can depend on age. Up to £150,110
(c) Bowels Passive incontinence and faecal urgency, causing distress/embarrassment. Occurs following surgery. In the region of £79,920
(b) Bladder Total loss of natural bladder function and control. Up to £140,660
(c) Bladder Seriously impaired bladder control and incontinence, accompanied by pain. £63,980 to £79,930

Other Payouts For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia

A second head of claim, called special damages, can help you recover certain monetary losses resulting from the negligent misdiagnosis of cancer. For instance, you could recoup:

  • Past and future lost earnings
  • Parking and travel expenses incurred for attending medical appointments
  • The cost of specific rehabilitation treatments

If you are considering beginning a claim against a hospital for cancer that was misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, it is worth considering how much medical negligence compensation you could receive. Our advisers can help you assess this aspect of a claim, so contact them to learn more.

How Accident Claims UK Could Help You

You don’t need to find a lawyer to start a claim for medical negligence. However, it could be worth working with a professional so you can draw upon their many years of knowledge and experience navigating this legal area.

Furthermore, our solicitors may offer to assist you on a No Win No Fee basis. Specifically, they may offer to work under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which means you wouldn’t have to pay upfront or ongoing service fees in order to benefit from the solicitor’s help. Likewise, you typically wouldn’t have to pay for the solicitor’s services in the event that your claim fails.

Instead of taking payment for their services upfront, a solicitor working under the terms of a CFA would take a success fee at the end of the claim. This is capped by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.

Find Out More From Our Team Of Skilled Advisers

If you’d like to discuss your circumstances with a trained adviser, our team is available 24/7. They can offer you a free consultation to discuss the merits of your claim. Furthermore, if they feel your claim is valid and you wish to proceed, they can put you in touch with one of our solicitors. Learn more by contacting Accident Claims UK today:

Learn More About Medical Misdiagnosis Claims

To learn more about medical negligence claims:

How To Claim For Clinical Negligence In Health And Social Care

Medical Negligence Claims and the Bolam Test Case

How Much Could Bladder Cancer Compensation Claims Be Worth?

Related information from third-party sources:

Support For Bone Cancer – Information from Macmillan Cancer Support

About Cancer Symptoms – Guidance from Cancer Research UK regarding general and specific symptoms of cancer

Good Medical Practice – Resource about professional values and behaviours expected of doctors registered with the General Medical Council (GMC)

Contact our team if you still have questions about cancer being misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia. You can use one of the methods described above.

Guide by HC

Edited by FS