Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims

If you’ve been harmed due to a healthcare provider’s failure to properly diagnose cancer, you may be entitled to make a compensation claim.

When a patient is too ill to pursue a claim, or if the claimant died because of a wrongful diagnosis, then family or legal representatives can seek compensation on the patient’s behalf.

If a patient is a minor or cannot manage their own affairs, a guardian can seek the claim on behalf of the patient.

Consult a Solicitor

It is vital to consult with a knowledgeable solicitor who specialises in the area of medical negligence and who has experience with cases where harmful results ensued. We at Michael Kelleher solicitors can guide you through the process of seeking compensation for your injuries and can give you invaluable advice about how to pursue your claim.

Gather Evidence

To build a solid case, you need to gather evidence. This includes relevant medical notes and records like test results and treatment plans; any pertinent correspondence with healthcare providers; timeline of events and victim impact statements.

Getting Expert Opinions

Your solicitor will almost certainly hire an independent medical expert to review your case and testify to whether the provider breached the standard of care and whether this breach resulted in consequences you wouldn’t have faced had the correct diagnosis been made and treatment begun as it should have been.

Proving Your Claim

The first step is to establish negligence. This involves proving the three basic elements that make up a negligence claim. First is the “duty of care.” You must show that the healthcare provider owed you a duty of care.

Next is “breach of duty.” You must show that he or she failed to do something that a competent, caring doctor with the same skill and qualifications would have done. And finally, we come back to “causation and harm.” You must prove that the breach caused the harm.

Negotiating a Settlement

More often than not, the insurers of the party at fault will make an offer that serves as a settlement. In these instances, your legal team will negotiate with them to arrive at a compensation figure that seems fair and just. The figure is based on the injuries suffered, your loss of earnings, your requirement for care both past and present and the medical reports obtained on your behalf.

Litigation

What if negotiations fail? Your solicitor will prepare your case, for trial by obtaining medical evidence, witness statements and liability and quantum reports. Settlement can happen at any stage throughout your file, even on the steps of Court. If you case runs in front of a Judge your legal team will represent you and present your case to the Court.

Compensation Collection

After your case is resolved—either by out of court or by court verdict—you receive the award or settlement. It is hoped that this payment will cover your medical expenses; lost wages; pain and suffering; and other related losses.

In Ireland, claims for cancer misdiagnosis compensation vary widely. What mostly influences the level of settlement is the seriousness of the condition, the amount and cost of the medical bills resulting from the error, and the amount and cost of any treatments still required after the misdiagnosis has been discovered. Lost salary, loss of life, loss of support etc all play a factor to establish the quantum of your loss following a cancer misdiagnosis.

In Ireland, the Statute of Limitations governs the time frames for filing claims regarding cancer misdiagnosis, as it does with other medical negligence claims.

Generally, one has two years from the date of knowledge. to make a claim for cancer misdiagnosis. This is when you first became aware—or should reasonably have become aware—that the injury or misdiagnosis occurred and resulted from the negligence of your healthcare provider. Failing to file a claim within this standard two-year time limit means you will no longer have any legal recourse.

Your date of knowledge is not necessarily the date when the mistaken diagnosis was made. Instead, it is the date when you understood—or could have reasonably understood—that the erroneous diagnosis led to harmful consequences. This is especially relevant when the effects of the wrong diagnosis don’t show up for a while.

For those younger than 18, the window for filing a claim opens on the 18th birthday and closes on the 20th. This gives the young person two years to file.

When patients lack the mental capacity to make decisions, the law does not hold them to the same deadlines as mentally competent individuals, who must act in a timely manner to preserve their legal rights. Thus, it ensures that mentally incompetent persons can still seek justice once they become competent again or have someone who can make binding legal decisions for them. It is important for families and caregivers to know about this provision of the law to protect the rights of their loved ones.

Many solicitors work on a no win, no fee basis. Should your claim be successful, the fees for solicitors are often a percentage of the amount that is awarded in compensation. The exact percentage tends to vary not only from case to case but also among individual firms. It is therefore vital to discuss this matter up front with your solicitor.

You should also have a very clear understanding of the circumstances under which you might be charged additional fees. For instance, if medical testimony or reports in support of your claim are required, your expert medical witness will charge you for his or her services.

Should your case end up in court, you will incur extra costs associated with the filing of documents and the appearance of the court itself, plus various other related expenses. How much these will add to your total bill depends on the particulars of your situation.

In certain situations, legal assistance might be there to help with the costs that come with your claim. That depends, though, on how much money you have (or don’t have) and on how likely your case is to succeed.

Ideally, you and your solicitor should have a detailed discussion about the potential costs of your claim before you decide to go ahead with it. Your solicitor should explain the “how much” and “what if” of your payment plan. You should also get a written agreement that sets out the payment terms, especially if your case is likely to take a long time to resolve and you’re thus asking your lawyer to carry you through several months or years of expenses.