What to do about Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis

Can I claim lung cancer misdiagnosis compensation for lung cancer that was misdiagnosed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder? I have been told it is at stage 3, but I first visited a doctor over 8 months ago and lung cancer has only just been diagnosed.

A claim for lung cancer misdiagnosis compensation is often a complicated process in difficult circumstances. It can be particularly complex to diagnose lung cancer in the early stages as it rarely produces any symptoms. Lung cancer is often misdiagnosed as a lung condition with similar symptoms, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, causing a delay in receiving chemotherapy. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer suffered by people in the UK, but it is the most serious with a poor outlook for sufferers, especially when it has been allowed to progress to stage 3 or 4.

Although fewer than 10% of sufferers of lung cancer manage to survive the disease long term, the chances of recovering from lung cancer can be significantly improved when cancer is treated early in its development. A delay in receiving treatment at stage 1 or 2 may have allowed the lung cancer to spread to stage 3 which has affected the chances of treatment being effective.

When symptoms of lung cancer are present and a doctor makes a misdiagnosis, this could be medical negligence and compensation for lung cancer misdiagnosis should be possible. In your case you must be able to determine – with the help of medical experts – that the misdiagnosis and the delay in treatment resulted in the cancer progressing to stage 3, or that it significantly deteriorated due to the delay in diagnosis.

In order for your lung cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim to be successful, you must be able to determine ‘on the balance of probability’ that had a correct diagnosis been made in a more timely fashion, you would have stood a better chance of responding to treatment and that the misdiagnosis has caused you to come to harm. It must also be determined ‘on the balance of probability’ that a competent doctor would have recognised the symptoms of lung cancer, or the possibility that lung cancer was  present, and would have either made a correct diagnosis or requested the necessary tests to ensure that treatment could have been started. However the chances of success of lung cancer misdiagnosis compensation claims often depend on whether earlier treatment would have improved the chances of recovery.

In order to check your eligibility to claim, and to prepare the strongest possible case for lung cancer misdiagnosis compensation, we suggest that you consult a medical malpractice solicitor for advice as soon as possible.