Late Cancer Treatment Claims

If you have cancer, it is important to get treated promptly to ensure the best possible outcome. Any delays to your treatment may increase the severity of your condition and may reduce your chances of making a full recovery. In some tragic cases, late treatment can result in your cancer becoming terminal.

If you or a family member has been harmed because of delays to your cancer treatment that you believe is due to medical negligence, you may be eligible to claim for compensation.

Our specialist medical negligence solicitors have helped thousands of people and their families over the years to secure maximum late cancer treatment compensation due to:

• Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
• Not getting the diagnostic tests you need
• Failure to follow up tests or scans
• Not being referred to a cancer specialist for treatment
• Lack of communications or poor record keeping
• Hospital notes or records getting lost
• Delays due to COVID-19

No matter how your cancer treatment delays occurred, we have the expertise and experience to help you get the medical negligence compensation you deserve.

Your compensation will ensure you can cope with the financial effect of your late cancer treatment and includes:

• Loss of earnings (and future loss of earnings)
• Additional medical treatment
• Rehabilitation
• Care and support
• Travel expenses to medical appointments
• House or car adaptations
• Specialist equipment

Our specialist medical negligence solicitors know the prospect of making a late cancer treatment claim can seem daunting; however, we have extensive experience supporting cancer patients with a wide range of delayed treatment claims across England and Wales.

We offer No Win No Fee funding which means there is no financial risk or any hidden or unexpected costs. In the highly unlikely event your claim is unsuccessful you will not have to pay a penny. Click here to find out more information about No Win No Fee.

Cancer treatment during coronavirus

If your cancer treatment has been delayed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19, we can help. Our expert medical negligence lawyers are assisting many cancer patients whose conditions have deteriorated because their cancer treatment was cancelled or delayed during the pandemic. Click here to find out more.

Our network of regional offices includes Bristol, Cardiff, the Isle of Wight, Plymouth, Salisbury, Southampton and Swindon.

To book a free, no obligation chat with us call 0345 357 9645, email customersupport@simpsonmillar.co.uk or complete our online enquiry form.

Our expertise with late cancer treatment claims

Our medical negligence team specialise in providing expert legal advice to patients who have had to wait for treatment for cancer. Common examples of cancers we have helped with include:

• Lung cancer
• Breast cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Bowel cancer
• Cervical cancer
• Testicular cancer
• Brain tumours
• Skin cancer
• Melanoma

How making a late cancer treatment compensation claim works

Free initial consultation to see if you may be owed late cancer treatment compensation

We offer a free initial consultation if you or a family member has been harmed due to late cancer treatment and think you may have a claim.

Call us now on Freephone 0345 357 9645, email customersupport@simpsonmillar.co.uk or complete our online enquiry form for a free, ‘no strings attached’ chat.

Investigating your delayed cancer treatment claim

If you have experienced delays to your cancer treatment and your condition has got worse as a result, contact our medical negligence solicitors today.

We will listen to what happened to you and give our expert opinion on whether you will be able to make a successful medical negligence claim.

If we take on your case, our solicitors will gather all the evidence required to prove you have been harmed due to negligence.

We will also obtain independent advice from leading medical experts in support of your case.

Working out how much compensation you are owed for delayed cancer treatment

The amount of compensation you are owed is calculated based on:

• The severity of your illness, your pain and suffering and the impact on your quality of life. This is known as general damages.
• The financial impact of your treatment delays including any loss of earnings, treatment costs, rehabilitation expenses, care costs, travel expenses, changes to your house and car, and any equipment you may need. This is known as special damages.

Click here to find out more about how compensation is calculated.

Time limits for late cancer treatment claims

There are strict time limits for making medical negligence claims.

If you are making a claim for negligent delays to your cancer treatment, you will usually have 3 years, either from the date the negligence occurred or the date you became aware of the negligence.

If you are making a claim for a child, the time limit does not start until their 18^th birthday. They would then have a further 3 years to bring their own claim.

If you are making late cancer treatment claim on behalf of a loved one who has died, you will normally have 3 years from the date of their death to bring a claim.

There is no time limit if you are bringing a claim for someone who lacks the mental capacity to do so themselves (e.g. due to a brain injury or severe learning difficulties).

To learn more about time limits, read our blog.

Settling a late cancer treatment claim out of court

Most delayed cancer treatment claims do not end up at an official court trial. This means your claim will settle faster and you will get your compensation sooner.

Taking your late cancer treatment claim to court

If there is no agreement reached (for example, the defendant does not accept negligence or fails to agree on the value of the claim) the case may have to go to court. Even if this does happen, you may not necessarily have to go to court. In many medical negligence cases, the claims settle before the official court hearing date.

However, if your claim does have to go to court, your solicitor will help you throughout every step of the process and on hand at all times to offer expert support and guidance.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about late cancer diagnosis claims

Am I owed compensation for cancer treatment delays?

Yes, if you have suffered avoidable harm due to having to wait for essential cancer treatment from an NHS healthcare professional or a private medical provider, you may be able to make a medical negligence compensation claim.

To make a successful claim, our specialist solicitors will need to prove that the delays to your cancer treatment were negligent. This means demonstrating that the treatment you received fell below medically acceptable standards.

If it can be shown that the treatment was negligent it must also be shown that:

1. Any mistakes directly caused or contributed to delays in your cancer treatment.
2. The delays to your cancer treatment caused damage to your health that would not have occurred if you had received the appropriate treatment promptly.

What evidence do you need to support my medical negligence claim?

We typically use evidence such as:

• Medical records
• Witness statements
• Evidence from independent medical experts

How long does a late cancer treatment claim take?

No two cases are the same, so it is difficult to give an accurate estimate of how long it will take to settle your late cancer treatment claim. It also depends on the complexity of the circumstances surrounding your case.

Our medical negligence team will try to settle your claim as quickly as possible while making sure you receive the maximum compensation you deserve.

Can I claim compensation if my loved one died due to delayed cancer treatment?

Yes, you may still be able to make a medical negligence compensation claim if your loved one has died due to delays to their cancer treatment. If they started the compensation process before their death, you may also be able to continue with their claim.

Click here to find out more about fatal injury claims.

My current law firm has let me down – can you take over my late cancer treatment claim?

Yes, this is a question we are often asked. People have a variety of reasons for wanting to change their law firm including the slow progress of their claim or they feel that their settlement is not as much as they were expecting. We have a high success rate taking over late cancer treatment claims from other law firms.

To find out more about changing solicitors during a compensation claim click here.

It is easy to transfer your case to Novum Law. All you need to do is contact us on Freephone 0345 357 9645 or online for a free, no obligation chat. Click here to find out more.

Do you have a question we have not answered?

If you have a question that is not listed above, please visit our FAQs page. Alternatively, please get in touch and we will be happy to answer your query.

Book your free initial consultation with our medical negligence solicitors

If you believe you or a loved one may have a claim for a late cancer treatment, our medical negligence solicitors in Bristol, Cardiff, the Isle of Wight, Plymouth, Salisbury, Southampton and Swindon are here for you.

To start the process of making your compensation claim, contact us on Freephone 0345 357 9645 or online for a free, no obligation chat.