Cancer

Figures from Cancer Research UK indicate that more than 293,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK. The most common are breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers.

Clinical errors in relation to the treatment of cancers most commonly arise from delays in diagnosis and these errors are most commonly made by general practitioners.

In cancer cases, proving the error is often relatively straightforward. What makes cancer cases difficult is proving what difference an earlier diagnosis would have made to the patient's outcome.

The following factors are of particular relevance:

• the type of cancer involved as some are much more aggressive than others
• the staging of the cancer at the time the error was made
• determining when a tumour changed from benign to malignant.

Resolving these issues can be difficult for even the most experienced oncologists not least because often the medical literature is less helpful than might be expected.

Errors in the diagnosis or treatment of cancer may result in the patient's death. In other cases they may lead the patient to have an unnecessarily aggressive regime of radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy or to cause or aggravate depression.

At Thomson Snell & Passmore we have particular expertise in dealing with cancer victims as we also act for a large number of clients who have developed mesothelioma or lung cancer as a result of their exposure to asbestos fibres.

Sadly, we are often instructed by families of those who have died as a result of delays in diagnosis or treatment of cancer.

For further information please contact one of the team. Alternatively please click here to complete a short enquiry form so we can assess your claim.