Has your cancer been misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia due to a medical professional providing substandard care? If so, and you experienced avoidable harm because of this, you might be eligible to seek medical negligence compensation. This guide will look at how compensation for a claim for cancer misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia is calculated and what a payout could consist of.
Later, we examine a medical professional’s duty of care in more detail and give examples of how a cancer misdiagnosis could occur if this duty is not upheld.
Furthermore, we provide further guidance on the eligibility criteria for medical negligence claims and the evidence you could provide to support your case. Additionally, we discuss how a No Win No Fee solicitor could assist you in seeking compensation and the terms under which they offer their helpful services.
For more information about medical negligence claims please contact an advisor. They can answer your questions and provide free advice. To get in touch, you can:
- Call 0800 408 7826 to speak to a specialist.
- Use our free online chat service.
- Contact us online to tell us about your claim.
Browse Our Guide
- Compensation Calculator For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia
- When Can You Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia?
- How Could A Fibromyalgia Misdiagnosis Happen?
- Evidence That Could Help You Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia
- Claim For A Cancer Misdiagnosis Payout With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Learn More About Medical Negligence Claims For Misdiagnosis Compensation
Compensation Calculator For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia
If your claim for cancer misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia is successful, you could be awarded up to two heads of loss. Each of these addresses the different impacts of medical negligence. They are:
- General damages – Compensating for the pain and suffering caused by medical negligence.
- Special damages – Compensating for any costs incurred due to the medical negligence.
When valuing general damages, reference can be made to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document contains guideline award brackets for different injuries and illnesses. It can be compared to a medical report generated from an independent medical assessment that you might need to attend as part of the claims process. The report can give a more in-depth insight into how you have suffered and your future prognosis.
Compensation Table
Our compensation table uses figures from the JCG but please bear in mind that they are not guaranteed settlements as medical negligence payouts vary from case to case. Please also note that the first line was not taken from the JCG.
Alternatively, you could use a compensation calculator for misdiagnosed cancer claims which can give you an estimate of what you could potentially be owed.
| Harm Type | Compensation Bracket (Guidelines) | Further Information |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries or illnesses with special damages | Up to £500,000 + | Compensation for the pain and suffering of multiple serious injuries or illnesses and financial losses caused, such as lost income, care costs, and medical costs. |
| Kidney | £169,400 to £210,400 | Where both kidneys are lost or suffer permanent and serious damage. |
| Bladder | Up to £184,200 | Total loss of natural bowel function and complete loss of urinary function and control alongside other medical complications. |
| Up to £140,660 | Complete loss of control and function. | |
| Bowels | Up to £184,200 | Double incontinence involving complete loss of natrual bowel function as well as urinary function and control being totally lost. There are other medical complications. |
| Up to £150,110 | Depedence on a colostomy and natural function is lost. | |
| Female Reproductive System | £114,900 to £170,280 | Infertility caused by injury or disease. There is severe depression, anxiety, pain and scaring. |
| £17,960 to £36,740 | Infertility with no medical complications or sexual dysfunction and the person already has children. However, there may still be a significant psychological reaction. | |
| Lung | £70,030 to £97,330 | Lung cancer resulting in severe pain and function impairment. |
Financial Losses In A Medical Negligence Claim
Special damages could also form part of a cancer misdiagnosis payout. As mentioned, this head of loss compensates for financial costs caused by medical negligence. For example, you could claim back:
- The cost of a nurse or carer at home.
- Medical expenses.
- Lost income (including future loss of earnings).
- Travel expenses.
- Home adaptation costs.
If you’d like help with calculating compensation for medical negligence after your cancer was misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, please get in touch.
An advisor can provide a free valuation of what you could potentially be owed after a successful medical negligence claim.
When Can You Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia?
While you are being treated by a medical professional, they owe you a duty of care. This means that they must provide you with the correct standard of care. If they fail to do so, and you suffer avoidable harm, this could constitute medical negligence.
If you wish to make a medical negligence claim for misdiagnosis compensation, your case will need to meet the eligibility criteria. That means you’ll need to prove that:
- You were owed a duty of care by the medical professional that treated you.
- One of the medical professionals providing you care breached that duty by providing substandard care.
- As a consequence of the breach, you experienced unnecessary or avoidable harm.
If your claim meets all of the criteria listed above, and you wish to instruct legal representation, you could be connected with a medical negligence solicitor from our panel.
They can offer several services including building a strong case, calculating what your medical malpractice settlement is worth, and ensuring your claim is brought forward within the relevant time limits.
Is There A Time Limit To Receiving Misdiagnosis Compensation?
The time limit for medical negligence claims in the UK is typically 3 years as per the Limitation Act 1980. This means that when you claim for cancer misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, you’ll have 3 years to begin legal proceedings from the date medical negligence occurred, or the date you became aware it had occurred.
Exceptions can be made to this limitation period if the claimant is a child under 18 years old or if the person lacks the mental capacity to handle the medical negligence claims process themselves.
For further guidance on the eligibility criteria and time limits for cancer misdiagnosis claims, and how one of the expert medical negligence solicitors from our panel could assist you, call an advisor on the number above.
How Could A Fibromyalgia Misdiagnosis Happen?
According to the NHS, symptoms of fibromyalgia include fatigue, heavy or painful periods in women, and widespread chronic pain that can be worse in particular areas of the body, including the back and neck. Some of these symptoms may also be experienced with different types of cancer. For example, womb cancer symptoms and cervical cancer include pain in the lower back, whilst thyroid cancer symptoms can include pain in the neck.
In this section, we’ve provided information about a real-world example of how a misdiagnosis can occur.
A 46-year-old woman was diagnosed with fibromyalgia after she started experiencing constant pain all over her body. However, she was later diagnosed with endometrial cancer that had spread to other parts of the body due to the delayed diagnosis. She had first sought medical help in 2019 and wasn’t correctly diagnosed until 2021.
There are different ways in which a misdiagnosis of cancer as fibromyalgia could occur. However, not all instances of misdiagnosis will entitle you to claim compensation.
Source: https://www.newsweek.com/woman-back-pain-cancer-uterus-after-misdiagnosis-fibromyalgia-fiona-williams-scotland-1676206
Evidence That Could Help You Claim For Cancer Misdiagnosed As Fibromyalgia
To prove a claim for cancer misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, you’ll need to provide as much supporting evidence as possible. This could include:
- A diary of any treatment you’ve received. This should also detail how your symptoms have affected you physically and emotionally.
- A copy of your medical records, such as test results and copies of scans.
- The contact details of anyone who attended your appointments with you. They could provide a witness statement at a later date.
If you instruct a knowledgeable solicitor from our panel, part of the services they offer includes helping you to gather evidence needed to support your claim for the incorrect cancer diagnosis.
Get in touch with an advisor on the number above and find out whether you’re eligible to have a solicitor from our panel help you make a cancer misdiagnosis claim.
Claim For A Cancer Misdiagnosis Payout With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you instruct an expert solicitor from our panel with experience handling cancer misdiagnosis claims, they’ll offer a No Win No Fee service under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means you don’t need to pay any fees for your solicitor’s work upfront or as the claim proceeds, and you don’t pay them for their services if the claim fails either.
If you are compensated, you’ll pay a success fee which is deducted from your settlement as a legally capped percentage. However, due to the legal cap, you receive the majority of the awarded settlement.
To see if you can make a cancer misdiagnosis claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel or to discuss further how compensation for medical negligence claims is calculated, you can:
- Call our team on 0800 408 7826 to discuss your case.
- Use our 24/7 live chat service.
- Contact us online to tell us about your claim.
Learn More About Medical Negligence Claims For Misdiagnosis Compensation
Here are a few more of our medical negligence claims guides:
- Advice on how much compensation could be paid after the misdiagnosis of lung cancer caused by medical negligence.
- Details on when breast cancer misdiagnosis could result in a compensation payout.
- Details of when cancer being misdiagnosed as adenomyosis could allow you to make a medical negligence claim.
Also, here are some external resources that might be useful:
- Information on the professional standards for doctors from the General Medical Council.
- Advice on coping with cancer from Cancer Research UK.
- Guidance on the NHS Constitution for England from GOV.UK.
For more information on calculating compensation for a claim for cancer misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, please call today.