Cancer

Cancer: The Big ‘C’ Word is Challenging Enough—Don’t Let Medical Negligence Make it Worse!

A diagnosis of cancer can be an extremely frightening and distressing time. However, this is particularly true where this diagnosis comes late or where you have experienced an incorrect diagnosis in the first place. Everyone knows someone who has suffered from cancer and we all know several people who are living with terminal cancer or who have died as a result of it. This knowledge and prevalence of cancer makes it all the more frightening when we are diagnosed with it ourselves.

There are many ways in which cancer is spotted, whether through actively self-checking our bodies, or as a result of different medical interventions. However, regardless of the way in which cancer is diagnosed, the subsequent way in which it is managed can have a massive impact on our long-term health.

If you have actively discovered a lump and visit your GP, it is highly likely that you will be referred to a specialist for further tests.

However, on occasion, this does not happen and it may take you to relay your concerns for a second opinion in order for further tests to be carried out. If it is subsequently discovered that you do have cancer, it may also be the case that you are the victim of a missed diagnosis or an incorrect diagnosis if the medical practitioner has advised that your symptoms are caused by something else.

O’Hare Solicitors has a team with many years of experience in providing legal advice in relation to cancer diagnoses.

Our team has varied and vast experience in handling cases of negligence in cancer diagnosis and treatment. This means that we are in a position to provide clear advice about whether or not you may have a case for medical negligence in relation to your cancer diagnosis and care.

If you or a family member have been diagnosed with cancer and are suffering long-term health problems as a result, O’Hare Solicitors can help you to investigate whether your cancer diagnosis could have been picked up earlier or if it was could have been avoided altogether.

When you are diagnosed with cancer, you want peace of mind that it has been picked up at the earliest point so that you have the best chance of recovery. Where your cancer diagnosis is late and affects your prognosis, O’Hare Solicitors can, with the help of their team of medical experts, investigate whether this diagnosis could have occurred earlier and if so, who was at fault in failing to diagnose it.

If your cancer has been found to be related to your job or chemicals that you have had to use, or a process which you have been subjected to, O’Hare Solicitors may be able to help establish a link between your cancer and certain work practices. Thus, if there was a failure in your employer’s duty of care to protect you adequately from the risk of cancer, then we may be able to prove workplace negligence.

Our team can help you get the compensation you rightly deserve.

What are the different types of negligence in relation to cancer diagnosis, care and treatment?

Cancer by its very nature is sometimes difficult to detect and diagnose. However, its symptoms can be present for some time. If you visit your GP and they fail to detect or investigate such symptoms which later are shown to result in cancer, you may be the victim of medical negligence.

Furthermore if you have been exposed to chemicalmicro-particulates such as asbestos, silicon, clay dust or other chemicals suchas weed-killer which cause you in later years to develop cancer, you maybe thevictim of workplace negligence.

Do I have a case for negligence?

To understand if there is a case for medical or workplace negligence in relation to cancer, it is useful to know what negligence looks like.

Medical negligence can be when you are given care which falls short of clear standards. Such care may exacerbate your condition or cause a further spread of cancer causing a negative impact on your health or prognosis.

Workplace negligence knowingly places you at undue risk and may have long-term negative effects on your health for which you may be entitled to compensation.

If your cancer has spread due to misdiagnosis orlate diagnosis, you may be the victim of negligence or medical malpractice. Assuch you may be entitled to compensation.