In this guide, we’ll be discussing when you may be eligible to make a medical negligence claim after your cancer is misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis.
Medical professionals have a duty of care to their patients. This means that they have a responsibility to provide the correct level of care. We will explore how a medical misdiagnosis could occur if a substandard care is provided and the unnecessary harm a patient could experience as a result.
Furthermore, we will discuss the steps you can take after sustaining avoidable harm in a medical setting, including collecting evidence to support your claim and seeking free legal advice to understand your rights.
Additionally, we will explore the compensation that could be awarded upon the completion of a successful claim and how your settlement could be calculated.
For more information, please get in touch with an advisor. They can provide free legal advice 24/7. Also, they can assess whether you’re eligible to seek compensation. If it’s found you have a valid claim, they could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. To find out more about the services a solicitor could offer you, get in touch by:
- Filling out your details on our ‘contact us‘ form
- Calling on 0800 408 7827
- Chatting with one of our advisors by using the live chat function below.
Choose A Section
- What Is The Eligibility Criteria For Claiming When Your Cancer Has Been Misdiagnosed As Rheumatoid Arthritis?
- Potential Evidence That Could Help You Receive A Cancer Misdiagnosis Payout
- What Compensation Could You Receive From A Medical Negligence Claim?
- Is There A Time Limit When Making Medical Negligence Claims?
- Our Panel Of Medical Negligence Solicitors Could Help You Make A No Win No Fee Claim
- Learn More About Claiming Compensation If Your Cancer Has Been Misdiagnosed As Rheumatoid Arthritis
What Is The Eligibility Criteria For Claiming When Your Cancer Has Been Misdiagnosed As Rheumatoid Arthritis?
When making a medical negligence claim, you’ll have to prove the following:
- You were owed a duty of care by a medical professional,
- They breached this duty of care by providing care that fell below the correct standard,
- You were caused unnecessary harm as a result of the breach.
These three criteria amount to medical negligence, for which you could be eligible to seek compensation.
How Could Your Cancer Be Misdiagnosed As Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis can cause pain, stiffness in the joints and swelling. It’s a long-term condition that typically affects the feet, wrists and hands. If instead your cancer has been misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia then this guide can help you out.
Primary bone cancer is a rare form of cancer that begins in the bones. It can cause symptoms such as tenderness and pain in the affected bone, swelling and redness. In some cases, the pain can be wrongly mistaken for arthritis in adults.
There are several ways in which cancer could be misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. We have provided some examples below:
- GP Misdiagnosis: You attend an appointment with your GP after experiencing bone pain and other symptoms. They wrongly diagnose you with arthritis without sending you for any tests, despite having other symptoms that require further exploration.
- You receive someone else’s test results due to an admin error at the hospital. As a result, you are incorrectly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and undergo unnecessary treatment.
The impact of having misdiagnosed cancer can mean you are given delayed treatment and the disease spreads to other areas of the body, such as the brain and lungs. Also, it could mean you require more invasive treatment due to your condition worsening.
Please get in touch with an advisor to determine whether you could make a medical negligence claim and seek compensation for the way in which the misdiagnosis has affected you.
Potential Evidence That Could Help You Receive A Cancer Misdiagnosis Payout
In order to seek compensation for a medical misdiagnosis, you should provide evidence of a medical professional providing care that fell below the correct standard causing you to suffer avoidable harm. Evidence you could gather includes:
- Doctor reports
- Hospital reports
- Prescriptions
- Documents showing your diagnosis
- Treatment plans
Furthermore, you might be asked to attend an appointment with an independent medical professional. They can assess the full extent of the harm you experienced, including the future impact it could have. This information can be used to support your claim.
In addition to collecting evidence, you might benefit from seeking legal advice as well. An advisor from our team could provide free legal advice relating to eligibility, evidence you can gather to support your claim and whether a solicitor from our panel could represent your case. For more information, get in touch using the number above.
What Compensation Could You Receive From A Medical Negligence Claim?
General damages is one of the heads of claim that could form your medical negligence payout following a successful claim. It compensates for the emotional and physical pain and suffering caused by medical negligence.
Solicitors can calculate the value of this head of claim with help from the Judicial College Guidelines. This publication contains a list of compensation brackets corresponding to different types of harm. We have used these guideline figures in the table below.
Please note, though, they are not necessarily reflective of what you will receive following a successful claim. This is because several factors are considered when valuing general damages.
| Type Of Harm | Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Lung Disease (a) | This bracket includes cases of a young person who has a serious disability and there is a chance that their condition could lead to an early death due to progressively getting worse. | £100,670 to £135,920 |
| Lung Disease (b) | This bracket includes cases of lung cancer, typically in someone older, causing pain that is severe. Also, function and quality of life are impaired. | £70,030 to £97,330 |
| Very Severe Brain Damage (a) | The person requires full-time nursing care. | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Moderately Severe Brain Damage (b) | The person has a very serious disability. | £219,070 to £282,010 |
| Moderate Brain Damage (c) (i) | A moderate to severe intellectual deficit with a personality change and an effect on senses. There are also no employment prospects. | £150,110 to £219,070 |
Could I Receive Special Damages In A Medical Negligence Payout?
Your payout could also consist of special damages. This aims to reimburse you for any financial losses caused by medical negligence. This can include:
- Loss of income
- Cost of medication
- Cost of care
- The cost of renovations to your home to aid recovery
It’s important to provide evidence of these losses. This can come in the form of invoices, bank statements, or receipts.
For more information on the payout you could receive after successfully claiming for cancer misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, get in touch with an advisor. They can provide an estimate of how much you could be owed.
Is There A Time Limit When Making Medical Negligence Claims?
As per The Limitation Act 1980, a claim needs to be started either from the date medical negligence occurred, or the date that you became aware that a medical professional’s breach of duty caused you avoidable harm.
There are exceptions to these time limits though. Firstly, if the person is a child, the time limit is suspended. During this time, a suitable adult could apply to act as a litigation friend. This means they could put forward the claim on the child’s behalf. However, if this is not done by the time the child turns 18, they will have three years to start their own claim up until their 21st birthday.
Secondly, if the person does not have the mental capacity to claim, the time limit is paused. Similarly, a court appointed litigation friend can put forward the claim on their behalf. However, if this is not done and the person recovers their mental capacity, they will have three years from the date they recover to start their own claim.
To learn more about the exceptions to the time limits and whether you have enough time to start a claim, get in touch on the number above.
Our Panel Of Medical Negligence Solicitors Can Work Your Case On A No Win No Fee Basis
A solicitor from our panel could offer you a No Win No Fee agreement. There are different types, one in particular is known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under a CFA, typically, you won’t have to pay:
- Upfront or ongoing fees for your solicitor’s services.
- Fees for the work your solicitor has completed on your claim if it fails.
However, if you claim succeeds, you will need to make a payment from your compensation. This is known as a success fee. The fee is deducted as a percentage which is capped by the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
Contact Us About Claiming For A Cancer Misdiagnosis
We hope this guide has provided you the information you need on claiming after your cancer was misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. However, if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with an advisor. They can assess your eligibility to claim and if they find your claim is valid, they could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
You can reach an advisor by:
- Filling out your details on our ‘contact us‘ form
- Calling on 0800 408 7827
- Chatting with one of our advisors by using the live chat function below.
Learn More About Claiming Compensation If Your Cancer Has Been Misdiagnosed As Rheumatoid Arthritis
Learn more about medical negligence claims below:
- How To Sue A Doctor
- Am I Able To Claim If Cancer Has Been Misdiagnosed As Kidney Stones?
- How To Sue For A Prescription Error
- Find out if you could claim if your cancer was misdiagnosed as adenomyosis with our article.
For any external resources, see the links below:
- General Medical Council – What You Should Expect From Your Doctor
- GOV – NHS Constitution for England
- Cancer Research UK – Bone Cancer
If you’d like to find out more about claiming compensation after your cancer is misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, get in touch using the details provided above.