Lavelle Partners secures significant settlement for family whose mother died as a result of a delayed diagnosis of cancer

The Plaintiff in this matter was the daughter of a woman who was attending for cancer treatment in a regional hospital.

This woman was diagnosed and treated for multiple bladder tumours, with one tumour in particular being aggressive. No follow-up was made for her to be reviewed and she was not seen by the hospital again for two and a half years. Eventually her GP referred her to the hospital because of haematuria, when investigations showed that she now had an invasive bladder tumour and a significantly worse prognosis.

The woman instructed Lavelle Partners to investigate her circumstances and we obtained expert evidence from a UK-based consultant urological surgeon. The expert confirmed that if the woman had been reviewed within six months as she ought to have been, her prognosis would have been considerably better. The expert confirmed that the failure to review her and/or send for her to undergo a further check was inexcusable and constituted a breach in duty of care.

Unfortunately, the woman passed away as a result of her cancer shortly after the expert report was completed. Accordingly, proceedings were issued on behalf of her family against the hospital and the woman’s treating consultant. The case was successfully settled for a significant sum plus costs in advance of the trial date.

For more information, please contact Avril Scally, Partner and Head of the Medical Negligence or Nicholas Moore, Medical Negligence Solicitor.