If you’ve received substandard medical care that has meant your cancer was misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, you may be eligible to begin a medical negligence claim. This article will provide guidance on topics such as the evidence that could help support your claim.
Cancer misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis claims guide
We will also discuss how much medical misdiagnosis compensation could be awarded and how these amounts are calculated. Additionally, the later sections of this article explain how claiming for medical negligence with a No Win No Fee lawyer could provide you with legal representation without having to pay upfront fees.
Keep reading to learn more. You can also contact our advisers to discuss your eligibility to claim for a medical misdiagnosis of cancer. They can offer professional insight into the merits of your potential claim. Furthermore, they may be able to pass you to one of the solicitors on our panel. For more information:
- Call 0113 460 1216
- Complete our contact form
- Speak to an adviser using the onscreen chatbox
Choose A Section
- When Are You Eligible To Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Rheumatoid Arthritis?
- How Can Cancer Be Misdiagnosed As Rheumatoid Arthritis?
- Potential Evidence That Could Help You Claim For Misdiagnosis Of Cancer
- What Compensation Could Be Received From Medical Negligence Claims?
- Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help You Claim For Medical Negligence On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Learn More About Claiming Misdiagnosis Compensation
When Are You Eligible To Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Rheumatoid Arthritis?
All medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. This means that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals must provide their patients with the correct standard of care. If they don’t, a patient could experience mental or physical harm that may have been otherwise avoided.
You may be eligible to claim if your cancer was misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis because your doctor did not provide you with the correct level of care. A failure to provide the right level of care that causes avoidable harm is known as medical negligence.
If your doctor misdiagnoses you with rheumatoid arthritis, they may prescribe the incorrect prescription to treat your condition, which could cause harm. For instance, they could prescribe hydroxychloroquine, a medication with potential side effects including:
- Eye pain
- Damage to your retinas
- Blurred vision
- Cataracts
If you are prescribed medication to treat a condition you do not have, this could be considered unnecessary medical treatment.
Furthermore, if you are mistakenly diagnosed with another condition when you have cancer, this could allow the disease to progress to a point where it is a lot more difficult (or even impossible) to treat.
It’s important to note that not every misdiagnosis of cancer represents medical negligence. For example, your condition may present with different symptoms than it usually would, meaning your doctor cannot send you for further diagnostic tests based on the information they have.
Contact our advisers if you have questions, as they may be able to provide further insight about whether medical negligence played a role in your misdiagnosis.
How Can Cancer Be Misdiagnosed As Rheumatoid Arthritis?
According to the NHS, rheumatoid arthritis shares several symptoms in common with certain forms of bone cancer, particularly osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma. The first typically affects individuals under 20 years of age while the second is more commonly seen in those over 40.
Below, we have included some examples of how cancer could be misdiagnosed:
- Your doctor disregards your persistent pain and continues to prescribe you painkillers rather than send you for a diagnostic test.
- After an X-ray is done, your files are labelled with the name of another patient. This means they receive your diagnosis, and vice versa.
- While a biopsy is being done, the professional performing it takes a sample from the wrong site of your body. This means that the biopsy doesn’t reveal that you have cancer when you do.
To make a claim for misdiagnosed cancer, you must demonstrate that you received an inadequate level of care that caused you harm that the right level of care would have avoided. In the next section, we’ll discuss some ways you may be able to show this occurred.
However, if you have any questions about claiming, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today. You could be put in contact with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel.
Potential Evidence That Could Help You Claim For Misdiagnosis Of Cancer
Certain pieces of evidence may help demonstrate how and to what extent medical negligence played a role in the harm you experienced. For instance, it may benefit your case to provide:
- A copy of your medical records
- Names of healthcare professionals involved, as well as the dates and places of appointments
- A diary of the symptoms you experience, including any psychological distress
One of the services offered by solicitors is to help individuals gather evidence that will help their case. If you are having trouble identifying evidence that may help support your claim, contact our advisers.
What Compensation Could Be Received From Medical Negligence Claims?
The amount you receive in a payout for a medical negligence claim will depend on the severity of the harm you experience. This award can help compensate you for two aspects of your suffering; your mental or physical pain and the financial losses you experience. These heads of claim are known as general damages and special damages, respectively.
Medical negligence solicitors turn to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them assign a value to the harm you’ve experienced. This document details compensation brackets for different severities of harm that a person could experience. The table below contains some of the brackets that could be relevant if your cancer was misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. You can use these figures as an alternative to using a medical negligence compensation calculator.
Examples Of Judicial College Guidelines Figures
| Type of Harm | Compensation Brackets | Further Information |
|---|---|---|
| (b) Paraplegia | £219,070 to £284,260 | Award considers the presence or risk of increasing paralysis. It also considers age and life expectancy, depression, and degree of independence. |
| (b) Injuries Affecting Sight | In the region of £268,720 | Complete blindness. |
| (c) Injuries Affecting Sight (i) | £95,990 to £179,770 | Sight lost in one eye and serious risk of further deterioration in remaining vision. |
| (c) Injuries Affecting Sight (ii) | £63,950 to £105,990 | Sight lost in one eye and reduced vision or other problems in remaining eye. |
| (e) Injuries Affecting Sight | £49,270 to £54,830 | Sight lost in one eye. |
| (c) Brain Damage (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 | Moderate severity in which there is moderate to severe intellecutal deficit, affect on speech and senses, with a significant risk of epilepsy. |
| (c) Brain Damage (iii) | £43,060 to £90,720 | Moderate severity that reduces ability to work, affects concentration/memory, and presents small risk of epilepsy. |
| (b) Bowels | Up to £150,110 | Complete loss of natural function and dependence upon colostomy. |
| (a) Lung Disease | £100,670 to £135,920 | Serious disability in a young person with probability of worsening condition and premature death. |
| (b) Lung Disease | £70,030 to £97,330 | Lung cancer, typically in an older person, with severe pain and impairment of quality of life. |
Keep in mind these compensation brackets are only guidelines. The compensation you receive will be based on your personal circumstances.
When Can You Claim Special Damages Compensation?
Additionally, you may be able to claim special damages. This is a second head of claim that could be awarded to help reimburse you for your financial losses. However, you need to provide financial evidence to show these losses took place, so keeping receipts and bank statements can be a key factor in receiving special damages.
This head of claim could help you reimburse the cost of certain medical expenses, such as prescription medications, as well as lost earnings. It could also help you recoup the cost of alternative travel expenses if you can no longer drive a car. This is not a comprehensive list of expenses you could claim for, so speak to our team to learn more.
If you have questions about compensation amounts, contact our team today.
Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help You Claim For Medical Negligence On A No Win No Fee Basis
Though you don’t need to hire a lawyer to make a medical negligence claim, it could be useful to draw upon the experience and knowledge of a professional. Furthermore, the medical negligence solicitors on our panel could offer you a No Win No Fee agreement.
Specifically, one of the solicitors on our panel could offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This type of No Win No Fee agreement means you typically don’t have to pay for their services if your claim fails.
Instead, your solicitor would take a success fee at the end of the process, but only if your claim succeeds. This fee is subject to a legal cap, as determined in the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
See If You Could Receive A Cancer Misdiagnosis Payout – Contact Us For Free Today
Speak to our advisers to learn more about whether you could claim for the harm you experienced after your cancer was misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. Our team can answer any questions about the claiming process during a free consultation. For more information:
- Call 0113 460 1216
- Complete our contact form
- Speak to an adviser using the onscreen chatbox
Learn More About Claiming Misdiagnosis Compensation
More guides we’ve written about medical negligence claims:
Can I Claim For A Misdiagnosis Of Lung Cancer?
When Are You Able To Claim For Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis?
When Are You Able To Claim For Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Third-party resources with related information:
Ethical Guidance For Doctors – General Medical Council (GMC) on good medical practice for doctors
Procedure And Rules – UK Department of Justice resource about pre-action protocols for clinical disputes
Nursing And Midwifery Council (NMC) Code – Standards for nurses, midwives, and nursing associates
Thank you for reading this article about claiming compensation after your cancer was misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. To learn more, contact us using the details mentioned above.
Publisher Fern Smith
Writer Morgan Filly
