The negligent diagnosis or treatment of oesophageal cancer can be extremely serious. If cancer is not diagnosed and treated in time it may result in serious harm. In some instances it may even be fatal. You may be eligible to make an oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis claim if you were harmed by negligent diagnosis or treatment.
Our guide begins by looking at what oesophageal cancer is and how it is diagnosed. Following this, we look at when you could make a medical negligence claim. Our guide covers how to prove your claim and how misdiagnosis could occur. We also set out how compensation may be calculated. At the end of this guide you can find out how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you, as well as additional references.
If you want to know more about how specialist medical negligence solicitors could help you, please contact an advisor. To do so, please:
- Call now on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us and complete our form.
- Use our live support chat below.
Browse Our Guide
- What Is Oesophageal Cancer?
- How Is Oesophageal Cancer Diagnosed?
- Can I Claim For Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- How Is Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosed?
- What Do I Need To Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- How Much Compensation For Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosis?
- Can I Make A No Win No Fee Cancer Misdiagnosis Claim?
- More Resources About Medical Negligence Claims
What Is Oesophageal Cancer?
We begin by looking at what oesophageal cancer is. The oesophagus (also known as the food pipe or gullet) connects the mouth and stomach. Oesophageal cancer occurs when abnormal cells (such as squamous cell carcinoma) grow in an uncontrolled way in the food pipe. According to Cancer Research UK, most people will be over 60 when they are diagnosed.
Oesophageal cancer statistics from Cancer Research UK show that there are 9,354 cases per year between 2017 and 2019. This leads to 8,043 annual deaths with a ten year survival rate of 12%.
The symptoms of oesophageal cancer include:
- Dysphagia (problems swallowing).
- Sickness.
- Acid reflux, heartburn or indigestion.
- A pain in your chest or throat when swallowing.
- Weight loss and loss of appetite.
- Feeling tired or not having any energy.
- A cough which does not get better, or coughing up blood.
- Black stool.
Advanced oesophageal cancer may spread to the liver, lymph nodes and lungs. Factors which contribute to the risk of developing cancer include your genetics and age. Additionally, lifestyle factors can also contribute towards the risk of developing this cancer.
In the next section, we look at how this cancer should be diagnosed. Get in touch with out team to start a claim for oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis.
How Is Oesophageal Cancer Diagnosed?
Your first point of contact with the healthcare system may typically be your GP. They should assess your symptoms and carry out any necessary examination of you. If they suspect that you may have oesophageal cancer, you should be referred for specialist tests. There are guidelines in place for when doctors should make a referral to a specialist.
A specialist may use a combination of tests when diagnosing you. These could include:
- Taking a blood test. This may be carried out in a community setting, such as your GP surgery. The test will look at whether your kidneys and liver are functioning normally.
- Taking a biopsy. A small sample of cells may be taken. These will be tested to see if there is cancer present and if so, what type. This may be carried out at the same time as the procedure below.
- A gastroscopy. This is a type of endoscopy. A camera will be inserted into your food pipe and used to check the oesophagus for any problems.
Your GP should refer you for tests and/ or screening if they suspect you have the symptoms outlined above. The failure to do so may constitute oesophageal cancer negligence.
If you were prescribed the wrong medication or treatment, you could claim compensation. Please contact our team for information on how to sue your doctor for negligence.
Can I Claim For Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosis?
You could claim compensation if you have been harmed by the negligent misdiagnosis or treatment of oesophageal cancer. Any medical professional who’s care you are under, such as a doctor or nurse, or services providers, such as GP surgeries and hospitals, owe you a duty of care. This means that they must meet the minimum professional standards expected.
You must meet these criteria in order to have a valid oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis claim,
- A medical professional or service provider had a duty of care to you.
- They have breached this duty of care. In this instance, they failed to diagnose oesophageal cancer where a similar professional would be expected to do so. It may also include making a medication error.
- That this caused you to experience unnecessary or avoidable harm, such as due to the delayed diagnosis of your condition. You may have required additional, more invasive or more harmful treatment due to this delay.
We must note that just because you were misdiagnosed does not mean that medical negligence has occurred. There may be instances in which a doctor did not diagnose your illness but did act within professional standards.
Get in touch with our team today to find out if you could make an oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis claim.
How Is Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosed?
Oesophageal cancer may be misdiagnosed or mistreated in several different ways. These could include:
- Your GP failed to recognise the (obvious) symptoms of oesophageal cancer. These may include symptoms which another GP would be expected to recognise and diagnose. This could lead to your diagnosis being delayed until more symptoms present and your treatment having to be more invasive.
- A specialist failed to carry out the diagnostic tests and next steps in line with NHS or other good practice. This again could delay the diagnosis of your condition and leave you requiring more invasive care.
- Mixing up your test results with those of another patient. This may mean that you were told you did not have cancer when you did, or that you were told you did have cancer and underwent chemotherapy when you were cancer free. In either instance, you could suffer long-term and serious harm.
This is not an exhaustive list of the different ways in which medical negligence could occur. Please contact our team if you think you have been harmed by delayed diagnosis or other negligent care.
What Do I Need To Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosis?
As outlined earlier in this guide, not all instances of misdiagnosis will be considered negligent. To make a successful claim, you will need to clearly show that a medical professional (such as a doctor) breached their duty of care to you.
The following could help you to prove your claim for oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis:
- A copy of your medical records and history. This will show what symptoms were recorded and what examination or tests were conducted. They will also show your initial and subsequent diagnosis and treatment.
- Copies of test or scan results (if not otherwise contained in your medical records).
- Letters and other correspondence. This may include letters from your GP, oncologist or hospital.
- Witness details. If anyone witnessed the harmful negligence or harm it caused, they may be able to make a statement in support of your claim.
Additionally, if you have a valid medical negligence claim you may be able to claim compensation for the financial impact it has had on you. To do so, you must supply evidence of this impact. This may include invoices or financial statements. We discuss this impact later in the guide.
Please note that your claim must be made within the relevant limitation period. You can read more in our guide to the claims time limit.
One of our panel of medical negligence solicitors could help gather evidence in support of your claim. Please get in touch with our team for more information.
How Much Compensation For Oesophageal Cancer Misdiagnosis?
We should start by stating that each claim is assessed on its unique merits. As such, without being able to assess your case, we can not say how much compensation you may be owed for oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis.
If your claim is successful, you may wonder how much compensation you will get. A successful claim may be awarded compensation comprising general damages and special damages. The first of these compensates for pain and suffering. The second for financial losses.
In order to calculate what you could be awarded for general damages, your solicitor as well as others involved in your case, may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a list of different forms of illness or harm with guidelines on how much compensation could be awarded.
Rows 2-10 of the table below include figures from the JCG. The figure in the first row, also includes special damages.
| Harm | Severity | Damages |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple and serious forms of harm. Award includes special damages. | Serious up to and including severe. | Up to £1, 000,000+ inclusive of special damages. |
| Brain damage | Very severe - A | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Brain damage | Moderately severe - B | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Brain damage | Moderate - C - i | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Brain damage | Moderate - C - ii | £110,720 to £183,190 |
| Brain damage | Moderate - C - iii | £52,550 to £110,720 |
| Brain damage | Less severe - D | £18,700 to £52,550 |
| Brain damage | Minor injury - E | £2,690 to £15,580 |
| Lung disease | A young person wth serious disability - A | £122,850 to £165,860 |
| Lung disease | Lung cancer (may be in an older patient) - B | £85,460 to £118,790 |
Can I Claim For Financial Losses Caused By Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Special damages are awarded to account for financial impacts that are caused by medical negligence. They may take account of:
- Medical expenses. This could include medical treatment and prescription medications.
- Care costs. This may include the cost of care in a specialist facility or in the home.
- Travel to and from medical appointments.
- Earnings and income lost due to time of work during your recovery or for medical care.
Please contact our team to find out how private healthcare or NHS negligence payouts are calculated.
Can I Make A No Win No Fee Cancer Misdiagnosis Claim?
If you are eligible to make an oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis claim, we could connect you to one of our panel of No Win No Fee oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis solicitors. They could provide their services to you under what is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When working with a specialist medical negligence solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis, you will:
- Not need to make any advance payments for your solicitors services.
- Not be asked to make any payments whilst your compensation claim is in progress.
Instead, successful oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis claims will be charged a success fee. This success fee is calculated as a percentage of your award. The maximum percentage which may be charged is limited by law. If your claim isn’t successful, there is nothing to pay for the solicitors’ work.
Our team could connect you to a specialist soliciotr who help you to make a successful claim for oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis. Please contact us today by:
- Calling on 0800 408 7825
- Clicking ‘contact us’ to fill on our form.
- Using the live support chat.
More Resources About Medical Negligence Claims
Below you can find additional medical negligence claims references and resources.
- In our guide to leukaemia misdiagnosis, you can find out how to make a claim.
- Check what you could claim for testicular cancer misdiagnosis in our guide.
- Our guide to sepsis misdiagnosis covers when and how you could make a claim.
References which help to provide further information.
- You can read about early oesophageal cancer and stage one in this Cancer Research UK guide.
- Learn more about medical professionals, such as nurses, duty of care in this guide.
- Read about causes and risk factors in this guide from Macmillan Cancer Support.
We hope our guide on oesophageal cancer misdiagnosis claims has helped you to learn more about when and how to claim compensation. Please contact our team for further information.
