We expect that doctors and other medical professionals will treat us with care and accurately diagnose us when we have medical issues. While this happens in the vast majority of cases, sometimes care can be lacking, and you can receive substandard advice or treatment that leads to a misdiagnosis of breast cancer.
This guide about misdiagnosed breast cancer claims will aim to answer any questions you have about medical negligence and how to claim.
Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims Key Takeaways
- Not every misdiagnosis will result in a successful claim. The care given must be substandard.
- Compensation that you are awarded could include avoidable harm (both physical and psychological) and also financial losses.
- The time frame in which to claim is usually three years from when you realise that substandard care caused you harm.
- The specialist medical negligence solicitors from our panel can help you on a No Win No Fee basis.
You can reach out to an advisor for a free, no obligation case assessment.
- Call us on 0800 408 7827.
- Contact us via our query form.
- Use the Live Chat feature below.
Select A Section
- Can You Sue For Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis In The UK?
- Common Causes Of Misdiagnosis
- What To Do If You Suspect Misdiagnosis
- What Could Your Medical Negligence Compensation Cover?
- Case Studies
- More Information
Can You Sue For Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis In The UK?
You can sue for breast cancer misdiagnosis if you can prove medical negligence occurred.
Medical negligence is when:
- A medical professional or organisation owes you a duty of care.
- They breach their duty of care.
- This breach harms you.
Medical professionals owe a duty of care to any patient they treat, which means they must provide a certain standard of minimum expected care. From doctors, you can expect the minimum standards of a competent doctor. From nurses, you can expect the minimum standards of a competent nurse. The same is true for healthcare assistants, hospital administrators, and so on.
Meeting the minimum standard of care could include:
- Taking a thorough and accurate history
- Investigating any symptoms presented by the patient
- Considering appropriate differential diagnoses
- Referring patients when appropriate
- Providing adequate treatment
- Following up where necessary and properly considering any results, tests or scans.
You can make a breast cancer compensation claim by proving that, by providing substandard care, a medical professional misdiagnosed your breast cancer and harmed you as a result. Talk to our advisors to learn how. You can contact them using the details at the top of this page.
Common Causes Of Misdiagnosis
Some common causes of misdiagnosis include:
- Practitioner-patient interactions, from history-taking and examination to ordering tests.
- Errors made while carrying out or analysing diagnostic tests.
- Failures to follow up with patients or track urgent diagnostic information.
- Delays in getting specialists involved.
There are other ways that breast cancer could be misdiagnosed, but as indicated earlier in the guide, to qualify for a claim, the treatment received must have fallen below the minimum standard. It also must have caused unavoidable harm.
What Is Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Breast cancer misdiagnosis is when errors happen during the assessment or referral for breast cancer symptoms. According to the NHS, they include:
- Pain, swelling, or lumps in the breast, chest, or armpit.
- Sudden changes in the size, shape, or colour of the breast.
- Nipple discharge in those not pregnant or breastfeeding
There are three main categories of breast cancer, each requiring slightly different and, in some cases, more urgent treatment.
- Non-invasive breast cancers stay where they begin.
- Invasive types spread to other parts of the breast.
- Secondary breast cancer travels to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or lymph nodes.
Some conditions look like breast cancer but are not, and they can lead to dangerous misdiagnoses.
Breast Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fat Necrosis
Fat necrosis is a lump that sometimes forms around damaged or dead breast tissue. It is usually painless, although some people experience discomfort. While harmless, it can look like breast cancer on some tests.
A doctor could dismiss a malignance as fat necrosis if they don’t follow up with extra tests, leaving you to develop breast cancer of a more advanced type.
Breast Cancer Misdiagnosed As A Cyst
Breast cysts are lumps commonly found in the breasts of women over 35. They are generally benign, although they can cause discomfort or become infected.
As with fat necrosis, breast cancer can be misdiagnosed as a cyst. This can prevent important treatment from starting as soon as possible.
Misdiagnosis can work both ways:
- You could undergo unnecessary treatment for cancer you did not have.
- Cancer could go untreated after being identified as something else.
Whichever is the case, you could have a claim. Contact our expert advisors via the details above to learn more.
What To Do If You Suspect Misdiagnosis
If you suspect misdiagnosis, you will need to take certain actions and make certain choices:
- Keep a record of everything related to your cancer or its misdiagnosis.
- Consider keeping a journal of your symptoms.
- Decide whether or not you will claim through professional legal services.
If you make a breast cancer claim, its legal basis and the strength of any evidence will largely decide its outcome.
Collecting Evidence
You will need to prove any medical negligence claim you make. A large part of all claims is, therefore, gathering evidence. The more evidence you produce, the more likely you are to receive the maximum compensation.
Examples of evidence that could help include:
- Medical records to separate cancer symptoms from the effects of misdiagnosis.
- An expert report confirming the standard of care you were entitled to.
- Correspondence between you and your healthcare provider.
- Witness contact details so a legal professional can take a statement.
If you hire a professional lawyer, they can gather this information for you.
How A Solicitor Can Help With Breast Cancer Claims
The expert solicitors on our panel can support your claim with their decades of experience. They have a proven track record of helping clients affected by medical negligence, and they can do the same for you by:
- Making your case in the strongest terms.
- Gathering the best evidence available.
- Carefully negotiating a settlement on your behalf.
- Making sure that all the damages you are entitled to are added to your claim.
They will do all of this under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) too. This is a No Win No Fee arrangement, which means your solicitor takes a small share of any compensation if they succeed.
If they don’t succeed, you don’t pay a penny for your solicitor’s fees.
We understand that many readers will have questions about CFAs and No Win No Fee services. Our expert advisors are available 24/7 to answer your questions. Use the details above to reach them.
What Could Your Medical Negligence Compensation Cover?
Breast cancer misdiagnosis claims usually cover two types of “damages”, the legal term for money paid to correct or compensate for harm done:
- General damages for pain and suffering.
- Special damages for financial losses.
Legal representatives work out general damages by comparing medical evidence against the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), a set of suggested compensation guidelines. They don’t guarantee an outcome, but they do help give an idea about the compensation that a case could be worth. Some examples are below.
We have added the top figure to account for cases with significant financial losses – it is not from the JCG.
| Harm | Severity (as per JCG) | Guideline Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Incidences of Harm Plus Special Damages | Very Severe | Up to £250,000 or more |
| Chest | Lung Removal Or Serious Heart Damage (a) | £122,850 to £183,190 |
| Permanent Damage Reducing Life Expectancy (b) | £80,240 to £122,850 | |
| Permanent Disability (c) | £38,210 to £66,920 | |
| Lung Disease | Serious Disability With Premature Death Possible (a) | £122,850 to £165,860 |
| Severe Pain And Impairment (b) | £85,460 to £118,790 | |
| Significant And Worsening Lung Function (c) | £66,890 to £85,460 | |
| Bodily Scarring | Several Noticeable Scars Or One Disfiguring Scar | £9,560 to £27,740 |
| No Significant Internal Damage | In the region of £10,550 | |
| Multiple Superficial Scars Or A Noticeable Scar | £2,890 to £9,560 |
If you can prove that negligent conduct also caused financial losses, you can seek those amounts as special damages. To do so, you must show that:
- You suffered the loss.
- Negligence actions (i.e. a breach of duty) caused the loss.
Suppose you take three months off work unpaid for a mastectomy and a round of chemotherapy. If you had received a competent diagnosis, your breast cancer would have been caught early and removed in a procedure needing just three weeks of recovery. In that case, you could credit ten weeks of lost earnings to the negligent misdiagnosis and sue the doctor for compensation. You could prove it with past payslips and medical evidence.
You could also claim for:
- Loss of earning potential.
- Private medical expenses.
- Wages for care or domestic help.
- The cost of any accessibility adjustments.
Compensation is usually the total of general and special damages. To discuss how that might be calculated in your case, call our advisors via the details at the top of this page.
Case Studies
The following examples show how breast cancer misdiagnosis can happen and the effect it can have on patients. They are based on real stories.
Delayed Diagnosis Of Secondary Breast Cancer
A teacher with a history of breast cancer seeks help for persistent coughing, wheezing, and breathlessness. When she underwent intensive breast cancer treatment years earlier, no one told her about the risks of secondary breast cancer.
Her GP does not discuss her previous cancer and, instead, treats her for multiple chest infections and worsening asthma. A year of symptoms passed before she was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which means that malignant cells had travelled from her breast and formed a tumour in her lung. A specialist advises that she has 1-3 years to live.
If she had the relevant information and the chance to discuss her medical history, her cancer may have been at a more treatable stage.
Source: https://breastcancernow.org/about-us/news-personal-stories/my-secondary-breast-cancer-was-misdiagnosed-chest-infection/secondary breast cancer
False Diagnosis Of Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Doctors diagnose a 22-year-old mother from Staffordshire with a benign cyst and tell her not to worry when she asks for further tests.
Several years later, the cyst becomes painful and changes in shape. Her son cries whenever he feeds from the affected breast. A biopsy confirms she has triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form that doesn’t respond to hormone therapy. She undergoes a double mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, and chemotherapy.
The hospital later advised that she never had cancer. Due to human error, they misread her biopsy. They admit liability, and she sues the NHS.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-49049988
Fatal Delayed Breast Cancer Diagnosis
A mother of two visits her GP after finding a lump. They diagnosed her with a swollen lymph node without a thorough examination or further referral.
Almost 18 months later, she is admitted to hospital. She has a second lump, is short of breath, and is coughing up blood. A CT scan shows how far the GP misdiagnosis allowed the cancer to spread. Despite several rounds of chemotherapy, she passed away that year.
On her behalf, her husband sues the GP who failed to diagnose her. He claims that they failed to provide adequate care by not performing a breast exam straight away. Although the GP denies liability, they settle the matter privately.
Source: https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/23039143.newcastle-mum-two-dies-breast-cancer-34/
Contact Us
Our expert advisors are available 24/7, and they can connect you to a panel of solicitors with decades of proven success. Get in touch:
- Call us on 0800 408 7827.
- Contact us via our query form.
- Use the Live Chat feature below.
More Information
To help you continue reading on this subject, we have gathered some articles and pages relevant to breast cancer misdiagnosis.
Here are some further relevant guides from How To Sue:
- Am I able to claim if my cancer has been misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia?
- Can you claim for cancer being misdiagnosed as adenomyosis?
- Cancer misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis – our guide.
You may also find the following resources useful:
- An online community from Macmillan Cancer Support for those diagnosed with breast cancer.
- Cancer Research UK’s discussion group for those newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
- Frontiers in Oncology – some of the latest research in the fight against breast cancer.
Thank you for reading our guide about breast cancer misdiagnosis claims.