In most cases, cancer misdiagnosis doesn’t cross the minds of those who have undergone medical tests. This is due to the patient having an inherent trust that their doctor will correctly diagnose their medical issue. Having said this, there are cases where a doctor may deliver a misdiagnosis of cancer, for example, incorrect diagnosis or a delay in diagnosis of cancer.
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The worry for the patient is that the failure to diagnose cancer at an early stage or at all, means that the effectiveness of the treatments can be less advantageous for the patient, which could result in:
When cancer misdiagnosis has taken place, or the diagnosis has been delayed, the patient may be entitled to pursue a claim for medical negligence or malpractice.
Misdiagnosis of cancer can occur for a number of reasons, for example:
Cancer medical negligence claims have been associated with many types of cancer, such as:
Medical negligence claims for misdiagnosis of cancer compensation can be grouped into the following categories:
False diagnosis of cancer occurs when the doctor gives a cancer diagnosis to a patient without cancer. In this case, a non-cancer patient will undergo unnecessary cancer treatment.
Another instance of cancer misdiagnosis is when a doctor misdiagnoses cancer for another illness and the cancer patient does not undergo the relevant treatment or misses their window of opportunity for cancer treatment.
In this case, a medical practitioner completely fails to notice the signs of cancer and completely fails to diagnose the patient’s cancer. This can lead to fatalities as the patient may not be diagnosed until the symptoms reach their peak when it may be too late to treat cancer.
Delayed cancer diagnosis claims of cancer occur when medical professionals fail to detect the patient’s cancer at the early stages. When a diagnosis of cancer is delayed, so is the treatment. This can lead to complications in the future or in aggressive cancer patients can lead to their untimely death. It is possible to claim compensation for delayed cancer diagnosis.
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For more information and a confidential discussion on your medical negligence claim, call Elaine Hickey, Head Medical Negligence Solicitor, on +353 1 649 9900 and tell her about your medical malpractice case or reach out via email to ask@traceysolicitors.ie and she can call you back.
Once you have gathered all the relevant information in relation to your injury it is then time to move forward with your claim. It is important to use a specialist medical negligence solicitor to help you with this.
If you feel that you were not provided with appropriate medical treatment whilst under the care of a medical professional which resulted in injury due to the actions or in-actions of a medical professional, then speaking with a medical negligence solicitor following the injury is imperative. Medical negligence is a complex topic in Irish law. Speak to a medical negligence solicitor when bringing a claim forward. This ensures that no essential steps are missed throughout the legal process. Bringing a claim forward without having spoken to a solicitor can delay your claims procedure. A solicitor can help to determine your medical negligence time limit claim.
In order to make a claim, it must be established and proven that the injury sustained was caused by the medical negligence of the doctor or medical staff tasked with your medical care. Therefore, after having spoken with you about your case, your solicitor will then request access to your medical records. At this stage, the solicitor will have your medical records assessed by an independent medical expert. This will help determine whether a surgeon or medical staff who treated you had, in fact, administered substandard medical care and if negligence was the cause of the injury and if your injuries/outcome could have been avoided if the appropriate level of medical care had been adhered to.
If the independent medical expert has concluded that medical negligence has occurred, then your solicitor will draft a Letter of Claim to the medical practitioner who treated you. A Letter of Claim will outline the nature of your case and invites the medical practitioner to settle your case. The next steps involved are heavily dependent on your case and response to your Letter of Claim and will determine whether your case will be brought to court or settled outside of court. Your solicitor will be on hand every step of the way to guide you through this process.
At Tracey Solicitors LLP, our dedicated medical negligence solicitors have years of experience in helping people deal with traumatic medical injury claims. We understand the injuries, both physically and emotionally, that you have suffered and have supported and helped many people in similar situations proceed with medical negligence claims in Ireland over the past 30 years.
For more information and a confidential discussion on your medical injury claim, phone 01 649 9900 or email ask@traceysolicitors.ie to tell us about your case, where you can speak with a member of our team straight away.
We aim to provide clear and independent legal advice and achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients.
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If you are to proceed with a medical negligence claim you may be entitled to claim compensation for the accident and added expenses, you may have incurred. These claims are called damages.
General damages are non-financial damages such as pain and suffering and/or physical and emotional injuries following a medical negligence injury.
Special damages are out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the medical negligence injury, for example, loss of earnings (if you are out of work), medical bills, added travel costs as a result of the accident (for example, travel to and from the hospital) and future care costs. Learn more about Special Damages.
There is a strict legal time limit on how long you are entitled to make a personal injury claim for medical negligence. This is called the Statute of Limitations.
In general, a person has two years, minus one day, from the date of the injury, or date of knowledge of an injury, to make a claim for compensation.
The rule is different for minors (under 18 years of age). A minor cannot bring a personal injury claim forward themselves. However, a parent or guardian can do so on their behalf at any time before the child’s 18th birthday.
Whilst technically the statutory period of two years minus a day does not apply to children until they reach the age of 18, it is advisable to pursue any claim before the child’s 18th birthday arrives, and ideally within the normal two year minus a day time period.
This will avoid the case being compromised by any delays.
We recommend contacting a solicitor as soon as possible following an injury for guidance on the individual circumstances of the case and the statute of limitations.
Learn more about Legal Time LimitsWe draw on more than 35 years of experience in personal injury law to provide you with expert advice and legal services.
We’re here to help you with your claim, and will work with you to ensure you understand every step of your legal journey.
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