Cancer Misdiagnosis
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Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
Cancer misdiagnosis claims for compensation in Ireland are on the increase even though each year, more cases of cancer are diagnosed. Detecting cancer when it is in the early stages of development usually means that treatment methods are far more effective. However, despite advances in modern technology and medical imaging tests, the misdiagnosis of cancer is also more common.
Failure to diagnose cancer early on or even at all can result in reduced effectiveness of the usually prescribed treatments. This misdiagnosis can mean:
- Unnecessary pain, suffering and injuries
- Prolonging of the illness.
- Reduced chances of recovery
If this is the case, you might be entitled to pursue a claim for medical negligence or malpractice. Cancer medical negligence claims have been associated with several different types of cancer, such as:
- Bladder
- Breast
- Colon and Rectal
- Endometrial
- Kidney
- Leukaemia
- Liver
- Lung
- Lymphoma
- Pancreatic
- Skin
- Stomach
- Thyroid
- Uterine
What causes a cancer misdiagnosis
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A cancer misdiagnosis can happen from several different reasons, including:
- The incompetence of a medical practitioner who fails to recognise the signs of cancer or misinterprets cancer as a different illness.
- False-positive or false-negative results from a faulty cancer screening.
- MRI or CT scans fail to identify cancerous lesions if the lesions are too small to detect.
- Laboratory errors
Compensation for cancer misdiagnosis claims
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Medical negligence claims for misdiagnosis of cancer compensation can be grouped into the following categories:
False cancer diagnosis
An incorrect diagnosis of cancer can cause severe distress. The medical practitioner can prescribe a non-cancer patient with unnecessary cancer treatment. Alternatively, a doctor can misdiagnose cancer for a different illness. As a result, the patient does not receive the necessary, or they miss their window of opportunity for cancer treatment.
Failure to diagnose cancer
In this case, a medical practitioner fails to recognise the signs of cancer and completely fails to diagnose the patient’s cancer. This failure 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 diagnosis of cancer
Late 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 delay can lead to future complications or an untimely death.
Making a Claim
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Making a claim for cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim must be brought through the courts. However, your claim can be settled outside of court. This happens if the medical practice accepts responsibility for the misdiagnosis and they offer an adequate cancer misdiagnosis settlement.
Cancer misdiagnosis compensation amounts will vary depending on the cancer misdiagnosis case.
The first step in assessing whether you have a cancer medical negligence claim is to contact a medical negligence solicitor. To establish whether there is a case, they will need:
- All your medical records, including those from before the misdiagnosis, will need to be obtained before making a cancer compensation claim.
- A medical examination and subsequent report with an expert in the field is required to prove your misdiagnosis and that the medical practice you were treated by fell short of acceptable standards.