Screening provides a powerful opportunity to detect signs of common cancers early.

A great deal of funding has been put into the screening and discovery of new treatments, and as a result, the survivability of cancer is ever improving. In Ireland, there are three screening programmes currently in place; breast, cervical and bowel.

• For breast screening, women between 50 and 67 are invited for mammograms every two years.

• Smear tests are available for women from the age of 25 to 60, to provide early detection of cervical cancer.

• The new bowel screening programme (BowelScreen) is available to men and women between 60 and 69; this test can be completed at home using a FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test). If signs of blood are found (which occurs in 5% of tests), the individual will be invited for a colonoscopy.

Cancer Misdiagnosis or Cancer Medical Negligence is defined as the following:

• The medical care you received was below a satisfactory standard (i.e. that another medical professional would not have made the same error), and;

• This negligence caused you damage or injury.

To prove your case, our Medical Negligence solicitors will compile evidence including medical records, and seek expert medical opinion.

Any patient presenting with symptoms of cancer to their GP, A&E or any other point of entry into the health system should be referred for follow-up assessment. If cancer is found, a treatment plan must then be urgently put in place and commenced.

There are a number of scenarios which may be deemed as medically negligent when it comes to cancer:

• Failure to spot signs and symptoms of cancer

• Not referring to a specialist if cancer is suspected

• Not being seen within a targeted timescale after referral

• Failure to commence treatment within a targeted timescale

• No diagnosis (or an incorrect diagnosis) of cancer

• Putting in place an incorrect treatment plan

• Not monitoring the status of cancer and making appropriate changes to the treatment regime

• Errors during surgery

• Not explaining the risks of cancer treatment

In such cases, a medical negligence claim may be a possibility.

The failure to diagnose or treat cancer in a timely manner can mean the disease progresses to a more acute stage before it is found. With each passing day that cancer goes undetected or untreated, it is able to cause more damage. While some cancers are slow growing, and some are more curable than others, any delay can make the difference between curative and palliative treatment.

In practical terms, this may necessitate more radical and urgent treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, than that which would otherwise have been required. For example, in the case of bowel cancer, if this can be detected in its first stage, it may be possible to remove a polyp which may become cancerous or develop further. But left another few months, cancer may spread beyond the colon to local lymph nodes and ultimately distant organs.

There are many treatment options for those with more advanced cancer, however, the opportunity to be cured may be lost if cancer diagnosis or treatment is delayed.

Anyone who has received a cancer misdiagnosis or experienced cancer medical negligence can make a claim. If you or a family member believe you have been misdiagnosed or have received negligent care, please contact us.

If you have received a delayed terminal cancer diagnosis or your loved one has passed after failing to receive a timely diagnosis, it may be possible for your family to bring a fatal injury claim.  

Claims following cancer medical negligence may cover two areas of loss:

• Pain and suffering due to cancer; and

• Specific costs relating to cancer. This may cover costs already incurred, such as transport, accommodation, medical treatment, and expected future costs such as loss of earnings and care needs.

The outcome of a cancer medical negligence claim will be based on the precise injury suffered and the circumstances of the case.

The time it takes for a cancer medical negligence claim will depend on the specific factors relating to a case. These factors include:

• If the defendant admits liability

• If the defendant offers a settlement

• If court proceedings are required

Case Overview:

The Plaintiff in this matter underwent a smear test in her GP practice which was reported as showing low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions.

Three years later, she attended for a repeat smear which revealed high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. Our client was subsequently diagnosed with cervical cancer and required a radical hysterectomy.

She was subsequently advised by a colposcopy consultant that her initial smear had revealed evidence of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and that if the initial smear test had been accurately read or reported at the time, she would have been referred for colposcopy when precancerous changes were likely to have been detected and she could have avoided the necessity of a hysterectomy. The Plaintiff subsequently developed metastatic cancer with a significant impact on her life expectancy.

The Plaintiff instructed Lavelle Partners to investigate her circumstances and we obtained expert evidence to confirm that if the Plaintiff had been diagnosed correctly in 2011, she would have undergone some form of treatment that would have prevented her developing cancer.

The case went to mediation and was successfully settled in advance of the trial date.

For more information, please contact Avril Scally, Partner and Head of Medical Negligence & Personal Injury.

Case Overview:

The Plaintiff’s husband passed away from terminal cancer. He was referred by his GP for an unusual lesion in the left lower back that had increased in size over the previous year.

He was referred to a Dublin hospital and placed on an urgent waiting list for dermatological investigation, but no action was put in place to assure that he was seen. A further referral was made by his GP seven months later and he was seen in the outpatient department of the hospital. Two biopsies were excised which demonstrated the presence of malignant melanoma. The Plaintiff’s husband had an extremely poor prognosis and by the time it was diagnosed, it was incurable.

The Plaintiff instructed Lavelle Partners to investigate the circumstances of her husband’s death and we obtained expert evidence from the UK to confirm that had there been no delay in investigating the Plaintiff’s husband’s condition when he was initially placed on the urgent waiting list, the outlook would have been for 67.8% of 15 year cancer mortality. However, by the time of the diagnosis 7 months later, the median survival time was 7-12 months.

The hospital admitted liability and the case was successfully settled in advance of the trial date.

For more information, please contact Avril Scally, Partner and Head of Medical Negligence & Persoanl Injury.

Case Overview:

We obtained a significant settlement for a client who developed colon cancer as a result of a hospital’s failure to offer him follow-up treatment.

The Plaintiff attended the defendant hospital for a colonoscopy in February 2012 and showed multiple polyps. A biopsy showed them to be pre-malignant tubulovillous adenomatous with low grade dysplasia. Three months later he had a repeat colonoscopy with recurrent polyps and three months later, in August 2012, he had a repeat colonoscopy and the removal of these polyps.

The colonoscopy in August 2012 was incomplete in that it did not reach the caecum.

The Defendant admitted that the colonoscopy in August 2012 should have led to a detection on or before September 2012 of development of cancer in his colon.

The next colonoscopy carried out by the defendant was in February 2014 whereupon the diagnosis of cancer was made.

Lavelle Partners obtained expert evidence from the UK in relation to breach of duty and causation and issued proceedings on behalf of the Plaintiff.

The case was successfully settled for a significant sum with costs in advance of the trial.