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Breast Cancer and Clinical Negligence Claims

Introduction to Breast Cancer
  About Breast Cancer in the UK
Types of Negligence in Breast Cancer Treatment
  Things which can go wrong
Thompsons' specialist Clinical Negligence Team
  Solicitors specialising in Breast Cancer Negligence
News Stories we have published about Breast Cancer Medical Negligence
  Real cases involving Breast Cancer and Clinical Negligence
Making a Breast Cancer Negligence Compensation Claim
  Breast Cancer Negligence Compensation Claim Advice

Introduction to Breast Cancer

About Breast Cancer in the UK

Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in the UK with close to 50,000 people being diagnosed each year.  The vast majority of these people are women and at some point in our lives most of us will know someone affected by Breast Cancer.

Breast Cancer survival rates continue to increase year on year in the UK with a very high percentage of people surviving the disease.

Mistakes by medical staff are sometimes made however and if those mistakes cause an injury of some kind, make the disease harder to treat or create a lower chance of survival, a clinical negligence claim may be possible.  To discuss your individual circumstances in more detail and find out if we can help you with a claim for compensation, call us on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online personal injury compensation claim forms.

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Types of Negligence in Breast Cancer Treatment

Things which can go wrong

Below you will find some examples of the most common mistakes made involving breast cancer care which lead to claims for compensation. If you have suffered in one of the ways mentioned below or in other circumstances where you have suffered clinical negligence, we may be able to help you make a medical negligence compensation claim.  Call us on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online personal injury compensation claim forms.

Delayed Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis

There are many different causes of patients receiving a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer.  Some of the most common involve:

  • GP's failing to refer a patient for further tests when they present at the surgery with symptoms such as a lump in their breast or underarm.
  • Insufficient tests being carried out when a lump is found.  For example a negative mammogram should be followed up with a scan, needle aspiration or biopsy as there is a risk of a false negative result from a mammogram particularly in an older lady.
  • The results of a test being read incorrectly and a negative result given instead of a positive.

More information about delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis can be found on our Misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer page.

Surgical Errors

All surgery carries a degree of risk and to make a claim against a surgeon you have to be able to prove that the mistake they made was unreasonable and below the expected standard.

One example of surgical error would be failing to remove sufficient tissue to ensure the removal of all cancerous cells.  Thompsons Solicitors recently reported on the case of Mr Paterson who was employed as a surgeon at Heartlands Hospital, Solihull Hospital and the Spire Hospitals in Sutton Coldfield and Solihull.  He chose to opt for a controversial 'cleavage sparing' technique when performing mastectomies which created a 40-50% chance of the cancer reoccurring.  You can read more about this case on our news page entitled 'Breast Cancer Survivors warned about surgeon's failures.

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Thompsons' specialist Clinical Negligence Team

Solicitors specialising in Breast Cancer Negligence

At Thompsons Solicitors we have a number of specialist clinical negligence units based regionally throughout the country.

The members of the Clinical Negligence team are experts in their field and have a vast amount of experience dealing with clinical negligence claims.

Clinical Negligence claims often involve complicated circumstances and require expert medical opinions.  It is very important to instruct a solicitor who is experienced with clinical negligence specifically as clinical negligence claims require very different expertise to other types of personal injury claims.

Links to some articles written by our Clinical Negligence team about Breast Cancer and Clinical Negligence are below:

The Misdiagnosis of breast cancer

Breast cancer: diagnosis, treatment and common errors which lead to litigation

The Battle For Herceptin – A Patient’s Ordeal

If you would like a member of our specialist clinical negligence team to review the circumstances of your case contact us on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online personal injury compensation claim forms.

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News Stories we have published about Breast Cancer Medical Negligence

Real cases involving Breast Cancer and Clinical Negligence

We regularly publish news stories on our website about claims we have dealt with and articles covered by the press.  You will find links to a small selection of these below which relate to breast cancer in particular.

Mum given wrong diagnosis for terminal cancer compensated by hospital

Breast cancer survivors warned about surgeon’s failures

Thompsons support breast cancer survivor in case against surgeon

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust to pay substantial compensation to nurse from Huntingdon after Breast Screening Service failed to detect her cancer

Accrington cancer screening – comment by Thompsons Solicitors

Thompsons Solicitors and UNISON welcome NICE final guidance on Herceptin

Thompsons Solicitors Condemn Delay In Provision of Breast Cancer Drug Herceptin

Thompsons and trade union campaign for Herceptin

Thompsons and UNISON Welcomes Herceptin Ruling

Bristol breast cancer patient threatens court action to get Herceptin drug

If you would like to discuss the possibility of making a clinical negligence claim you can reach us on 08000 224 224 or by completing one of our online personal injury compensation claim forms.

There will be no obligation to instruct us and we will review the merits of your potential claim as quickly as possible.

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Making a Breast Cancer Negligence Compensation Claim

Breast Cancer Negligence Compensation Claim Advice

If you or someone you know has suffered from any form of clinical negligence, telephone us now for accurate claim advice.

There are strict time limits in place to make any personal injury compensation claim. For further information, contact us or visit our Questions Answered page.

Thompsons Solicitors are experts in all matters relating to clinical negligence and will be able to advise you as to whether or not you have a valid compensation claim. Our specialist clinical negligence solicitors and lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have.

Telephone us now on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.

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