Enable Law settles claim for Worcestershire woman with missed breast cancer diagnosis

Doctor appointment
Share
2 minute read

National law firm, Enable Law, has settled a case for a Worcestershire woman following the misdiagnosis of her breast cancer over a number of years. The law firm has supported the woman, whose condition is now terminal, in proving that the Trust failed to properly diagnose her despite the fact that numerous mammograms were conducted between 2010 and 2017.

In 2006 she first found a lump in her left breast which, at the time, was confirmed as a non-invasive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS, an early form of breast cancer). The lump was removed and she then underwent regular mammograms. In 2009 another intermediate grade DCIS lump was found and removed by Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

From 2010 to 2017 Enable Law’s client attended yearly mammograms. During this time, she found lumps on two separate occasions in 2014 and 2016. In 2014 it was reported by Worcestershire Royal Hospital that there were no abnormalities, and she was discharged from the oncology department. Again in 2016 she notified her GP that a lump had appeared and she was referred to a breast clinic, where it reported no abnormalities.

A mass was however found in her left breast during her annual mammogram screening in 2017. This was diagnosed as (Grade 1) invasive papillary carcinoma (an unusual type of breast cancer).

At this point that she was referred to University Hospital Coventry for a mastectomy. A CT scan was performed which found that the cancer had spread to her lungs, so she was referred to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for palliative chemotherapy.

Morgan Lister, Associate in Enable Law’s Medical Negligence team, has supported the Worcestershire woman since the Trust issued her a letter saying there would be an investigation into her care and inviting her to a meeting. In that meeting the Trust said that there were some subtle changes in the imaging in 2014 and more should have been done in response to the images taken in 2016.

The Trust has since formally admitted that they negligently failed to detect the mass in her left breast in mammograms carried out in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Morgan and the Enable Law team worked to gather evidence from experts including radiologists, oncologists, and a surgeon in breast disease. The team offered the Trust the opportunity to admit liability on multiple occasions from 2019, until they did so in September 2021.

Because of the time it took for the Trust to admit negligence, she has faced a significant delay to receive the funds she needs for care and specialist adapted accommodation.

When asked about the settlement, Morgan Lister commented: “On multiple occasions our client went to the Trust as she suspected something was wrong but her illness was missed each time, even though it should have been spotted and investigated. With the settlement our client can now move into new accommodation that will meet her needs and help her live as full a life as possible.”

Find out more about Enable Law and its services on its website: https://www.enablelaw.com/

Editors contacts

Enable Law – james.grice@footanstey.com

Expert Legal Help

Request a Call Back

If you would like us to call you back to discuss a potential claim, please complete the form below and a member of the team will call you at a time convenient to you. We are in your corner and ready to help. Alternatively, you can contact us by email.

Callback Form
Your Name
Your Name
First Name
Last name

please note we will call back to help during office hours which are Monday to Friday 9am until 6pm