Cervical cancer claims
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Our specialist medical negligence solicitors support cervical cancer compensation claims.
We can help when a diagnosis has been missed or delayed or when care has been inappropriate.
We support women who have suffered due to negligence in their own medical care. We also help families with fatal injury claims, where delayed diagnosis or negligent treatment has led to the loss of a loved one.
We understand that pursuing a claim when you’re facing the turmoil of cancer treatment or bereavement can be daunting. We will support you throughout, including during the process of deciding whether to pursue a claim.
Contact us for an initial free informal chat about your situation.
Cervical cancer compensation – who we help
We are one of the UK’s leading medical negligence firms with teams of highly experienced solicitors.
We support all kinds of medical negligence claims, including those relating to cervical cancer care.
We can support in cases that involve:
- missed diagnosis
- misdiagnosis
- surgical negligence
- failed or delayed smear tests
- extended or more intensive treatment due to delays or mistakes, in diagnosis or care
- women who have suffered infertility due to mistakes in cancer diagnosis or care
- inappropriate, delayed or mismanaged chemotherapy and radiotherapy
- failures relating to hysterectomy, trachelectomy and pelvic exenteration
- all kinds of gynaecology claims
- fatal injury claims when a loved one dies due to failings in cervical cancer care.
Cervical cancer misdiagnosis – should my symptoms have been spotted sooner?
If you are worried that your symptoms were missed and it has resulted in cervical cancer being overlooked or getting worse, it is a good idea to seek advice.
Every case is so different that it is impossible to know if your care was handled properly without discussing the details.
If you fear your cancer should have been spotted sooner, you can seek reassurance and explanation.
Your care providers should be happy to discuss what happened with you and to address your concerns. If you don’t feel you are getting the full story or are not happy with the response, you can take further steps.
Cervical cancer is not always easy to spot but medical professionals must be alert to the signs. If cervical cancer is suspected then women in England should be seen by a specialist within two weeks, according to NICE guidelines.
We are happy to offer further advice about raising questions about your care, making a complaint or the next steps after a complaint. Do get in touch for an initial, free, no obligation discussion.
Do I need a specialist cervical cancer solicitor?
The more specialist and experienced a solicitor is in dealing with medical negligence claims like yours, the more likely you are to get the outcome you desire. An apology, explanation and assurances the same mistakes won’t happen again are often as important to people as damages.
Specialist solicitors build up a bank of knowledge around specific areas of treatment. This means they are better at spotting where mistakes may have been made and ensuring you get the answers you need.
Specialist solicitors will often also have up-to-the-minute information on reliable new treatments, palliative care, pain management and aids that can make life easier. They will work to ensure you get access to these where appropriate and possible. Making a claim isn’t just about getting damages, it’s about accessing the best treatment after a mistake has been made and ensuring a person gets the best life and future they can despite the mistake.
Enable Law’s solicitors have extensive experience in dealing with cervical cancer claims, other types of cancer misdiagnosis claims and gynaecology negligence claims. Our solicitors represented dozens of women in the Rob Jones group action gynaecology case which included cases of delayed cervical cancer diagnosis.
Are cervical cancer claims successful?
In our experience, cervical cancer is among the types of cancer where successful claims are more common.
This may be partly because cervical cancer is screened for via smear tests. If it is missed it is perhaps more likely to demonstrate there was negligence.
To prove medical negligence it is necessary to provide evidence of two things:
- the treatment received was not up to expected standards
- harm was caused due to that negligence.
For a claim to be successful both elements have to be proven or accepted. For example, if a cervical cancer diagnosis is delayed but that delay did not lead to a worse outcome for the patient it would not amount to negligence.
To find out if you have a potential claim, it is best to seek advice. We are happy to give you initial free, informal advice about your specific situation. Do get in touch.
What is Clinical Negligence?
Clinical negligence is any kind of failure by a medical professional to provide services to an acceptable standard.
When clinical negligence happens and someone suffers harm or injury as a result, it can lead to a compensation claim.
Clinical negligence can lead to physical and emotional harm – but what this looks like depends on the precise treatments and failures involved.
Clinical negligence could be caused by a specific medical professional or a healthcare service including:
- A doctor or GP
- Surgeon
- Psychologist or counsellor
- Dentist
- Gynaecologist
- Midwife
- Paediatrician
- Mental health team
- Nurse
- Health care assistant
Clinical negligence can happen in private healthcare and in NHS services. It’s also known as medical negligence.
What is clinical negligence law?
Clinical negligence law provides a route for people who have been harmed by not getting appropriate medical treatment to claim compensation. It is what specialist solicitors use to make their case.
For clinical negligence to lead to a valid compensation claim, it must be proven or accepted that all three of the following occurred:
- A duty of care was owed to the patient
- There was a breach of the duty
- That breach led to harm or injury.
It can be open to interpretation whether a breach of duty did take place and whether that breach led to harm.
For example, a patient who suffers a delay in cancer treatment due to a misinterpreted test result may believe they are a victim of clinical negligence. They would only be entitled to compensation if it is proven, or accepted by their health provider, that the delay led to a worse outcome for them.
If the delay didn’t change the outcome of their treatment, the compensation claim would likely not be valid. A delay may cause psychological harm even if the physical outcome is unchanged, however – this could make a claim valid.
What is clinical negligence compensation for?
The aim of clinical negligence compensation is to allow the injured person to live a life as closely aligned as possible to the one they would have had without the injury. Due to the serious and life-altering nature of some injuries, that new life may still be a very different one.
If you have suffered clinical negligence that leaves you unable to walk, you might need various mobility aids and home alterations to continue with your day-to-day activities. Clinical negligence compensation might help to cover the cost of these things.
Proving negligence can be a complex process, as can agreeing on what help is necessary to allow someone the best life possible after a medical injury.
Reliable legal advice from someone who knows what support is available can help to ensure everything is built into the compensation claim. That’s where specialist solicitors come in.
Where a fatality occurs, those left behind might pursue a fatal injury claim for financial support and some sense of closure.
How do I bring a clinical negligence claim?
To bring a clinical negligence claim against a medical body or professional:
- Contact a solicitor – those with specialist knowledge are often best placed to advise on the strength of your case
- File a complaint with the relevant medical body, if you wish to
- Gather evidence. Often, this means passing over certain medical records
- Make a settlement or go to court, once the case is prepared.
Our specialist clinical negligence solicitors can support you to make a claim and be by your side throughout the entire process.
For more information see our medical negligence claims page or contact us. We’ll take the time to listen and advise you on how to move forward.
Cervical cancer support
Cancer Research UK provides extensive information about cervical cancer signs, symptoms, stages, survival rates and diagnosis.
