Cervical Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Claims

If you have suffered from a cervical cancer misdiagnosis, you may be eligible to make a medical negligence claim to be compensated for the harm and losses this caused. This guide will explain how this may be possible with the help of our experienced panel of solicitors.

Key Takeaways

  • A cervical cancer misdiagnosis may have a detrimental impact on both your physical and mental health.
  • You may be eligible to make a medical negligence claim if a medical professional breached their duty of care, causing you avoidable and unnecessary harm.
  • Compensation awards depend on the extent of your injuries and financial losses.
  • You have three years to start a medical negligence claim. However, there are some exceptions to this.
  • Our panel of experienced medical negligence solicitors may help you claim compensation on a No Win No Fee basis.

To start your misdiagnosis claim today, get in touch with our advisors by:

Woman lying in hospital bed after cervical cancer misdiagnosis

Jump To A Section

Am I Eligible To Claim Following A Misdiagnosis Of Cervical Cancer?

If you have suffered harm from a cervical cancer misdiagnosis, you may ask, ‘Can I make a medical negligence claim to be compensated for my suffering?’

You may be able to make a medical negligence claim if you meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • A medical professional must have owed you a duty of care
  • The medical professional must have breached this duty acter acting negligently
  • This must have caused your avoidable and unnecessary harm

All medical professionals owe their patients a specific duty of care and must follow good medical practice. Failure to do so would breach this duty and potentially cause patients to suffer from avoidable and unnecessary harm.

Contact our advisors today to find out if you can claim compensation for your cancer misdiagnosis.

How Could A Misdiagnosis Of Cervical Cancer Happen?

If medical professionals fail to follow the correct standard of care while treating you for cervical cancer symptoms, it may result in a misdiagnosis. However, not all misdiagnoses or delayed diagnoses are a result of a doctor being negligent.

Your cervical cancer may be misdiagnosed if a medical professional:

  • Failed to record or observe all of your symptoms such as unusual vaginal discharge, pain or blood
  • Failed to read scans or test results correctly
  • Failed to complete a smear test correctly
  • Failed to send you for further tests or refer you to a specialist
  • Failed to provide the correct treatment or any treatment at all
  • Failed to give an early diagnosis

If you have suffered avoidable harm from a misdiagnosis, get in touch with our advisors to find out if you can claim compensation.

How Cervical Cancer Misdiagnosis Can Affect Patients

Everyone who suffers from a cervical cancer misdiagnosis may suffer differently from it. This is because cancer can be present at different stages, and living with it can affect the lives of all women differently.

Here are some examples of how a cervical cancer misdiagnosis may affect patients:

  • Psychological harm, such as stress, anxiety and depression
  • It may require further or more aggressive treatment or surgery
  • Some patients may require a hysterectomy and be unable to have children in the future

Get in touch with our advisors if you have suffered from avoidable harm caused by a cancer misdiagnosis.

Cervical cancer misdiagnosis patient having MIR scan

Average Compensation In Cervical Cancer Claims  

If you have suffered from a cervical cancer misdiagnosis, you may ask, ‘How much compensation am I entitled to?’

Unfortunately, we cannot state how much you may be awarded as compensation differs in each claim. However, we can explain how it is calculated and discuss compensation brackets.

In medical negligence claims, compensation is split into two heads of claim, known as general damages and special damages.

Under general damages, you are compensated for the physical and psychological harm you suffered as a result of your misdiagnosis. This award is calculated by a team that refers to documents provided by an independent medical assessor and guidelines of suggestive compensation figures presented by the Judicial College (JCG). This is to ensure you are fairly and accurately compensated for your suffering.

The table below provides examples from the JCG (except from the top figure) of how much you may be compensated for harm caused by a cervical cancer misdiagnosis. However, please remember that they are suggestive figures only.

Injury CompensationExplanation
Multiple Serious Injuries and Significant Financial LossesUp to £500,000 plusMultiple injuries of a serious nature that result in significant financial losses.
Female Reproductive Injuries (a)£140,210 to £207,260Infertility caused by injury or disease accompanied by sexual dysfunction, severe depression, pain and scarring. The higher awards will be given to those with medical complications.
Female Reproductive Injuries (b)£52,490 to £124,620Permanent sexual dysfunction for those with children or those who would not have the opportunity to have children. The higher awards are given to those with medical complications.
Female Reproductive Injuries (c)£68,440 to £87,070Infertility with no associated aggravating symptoms or sexual dysfunction for younger women with no children.
Kidney Injuries (b)Up to £78,080Significant risk of infections or loss of function.
Severe Psychiatric Damage£66,920 to £141,240Affects the injured person's life, education, work and relationships. Even with medical support, the prognosis is poor.
Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage£23,270 to £66,920Affects the injured person's life, education, work and relationships. However, the prognosis is more optimistic than described in the higher brackets.
Noticeable Laceration Scars or One Disfiguring Scar£9,560 to £27,740Noticeable laceration scars or a disfiguring scar to the arm(s), leg(s), hand(s), back or chest.
Scarring with no Severe Internal InjuryIn the region of £10,550An exploratory laparotomy has been performed and left a scar.

Special Damages In Medical Negligence Cases 

Under the head of claim special damages, you may be compensated for any financial losses you incurred as a result of your harm and suffering. Some examples of financial losses you may claim compensation for include:

  • Missed wages
  • Missed work benefits, including bonuses, holiday entitlement and pension contributions
  • Costs towards medical care, childcare and travel
  • Payments for home adjustments and special equipment

When claiming special damages, you must show evidence of your financial losses, such as payslips, bank statements, bills and receipts. Our panel of solicitors may help you obtain evidence if you need support with this.

Get in touch with our advisors to start your claim today.

How To Make A Cervical Cancer Misdiagnosis Claim

If you want to claim compensation for cervical cancer misdiagnosis, the following sections will discuss some useful information that will explain how you can make a claim.

Gather Supporting Evidence

If you are claiming compensation for cervical cancer misdiagnosis, you must be able to prove that the medical professional was negligent in misdiagnosing your condition, causing your additional suffering.

In doing so, you must provide evidence that the medical professional breached their duty of care, causing your harm, such as:

  • Medical reports stating your injuries or diagnosis
  • Copies of scans and X-rays
  • Copies of documents that state what medication and treatment you received
  • Contact details of any medical professionals who treated you
  • Copies of any medical letters that show your appointments

Time Limits For Medical Negligence Claims

If you want to start a medical negligence claim, you must do so within a specific time frame.

Under the Limitation Act 1980, medical negligence claims must be made within three years from the date the medical negligence occurred or the date you received knowledge of the medical negligence. However, some exceptions to this rule are:

  • If a minor suffers from medical negligence, the three-year time limit is frozen until they reach eighteen and will end when they reach twenty-one.
  • If the claimant lacks mental capacity, the time limit will be indefinitely frozen under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. However, if the claimant’s mental capacity returns, the three-year time limit will commence.

If the time limit on a mental negligence claim is frozen, a litigation friend may be appointed to claim on behalf of the claimant and in their best interests.

Claiming On A No Win No Fee Basis

We understand that you may want legal representation when making a cancer misdiagnosis claim, but you may be worried about the cost of this.

However, our panel of solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis through a  Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

This may benefit you as if your claim is successful, a small and legally capped percentage of your compensation will be taken for their success fee. This means you will pay no out-of-pocket expenses for this cost. Further, if your claim is unsuccessful, you do not need to pay our panel of solicitors a success fee.

Get in touch with our advisors to ask any questions regarding how to make a medical misdiagnosis compensation claim.

Woman holding her stomach because of cervical cancer pain

How A Solicitor From Our Panel Could Help You Claim

Understandably, you are going through a worrying time at the moment, having suffered from a cervical cancer misdiagnosis. However, if you want to make a medical negligence compensation claim, our panel of experienced solicitors are here to support you.

Our panel of solicitors are specialists in misdiagnosis claims and may support you by:

  • Walking you through the claims process
  • Explaining any key terminology or documents
  • Helping you obtain evidence such as medical documents and using this to build your case
  • Explaining compensation amounts
  • Getting in contact with third parties and negotiating compensation settlements on your behalf

To start your medical misdiagnosis claim today, get in touch with our advisors by:

Solicitor and client discussing cervical cancer misdiagnosis compensation

More Information

You can access more information on medical negligence claims by accessing the useful links below:

References:

We appreciate you taking the time to read this guide, explaining how you may claim compensation for suffering caused by a cervical cancer misdiagnosis. We hope this was helpful.