Suing the hospital for telling me I had cancer?

[MoralityPondering]

Can I? Should I? Family and friends are telling me to. I was diagnosed 2 months ago at a private hospital after MRI & biopsy. 3 surgeries later and now last week I've been told it isn't cancer at all. They had it looked at 3 times to decide it wasn't cancer so it doesn't seem to be a straight forward decision. I'm not sure it's the right thing to do anyway. I just feel how I did when I was diagnosed - like my life has been ripped apart again.

Was this still life saving surgery, perhaps just as life threatening as Cancer? Surely the operations were still necessary? They wouldn't have performed these surgeries for no reason.

Request a call from the Surgeon to explain things in more detail, they'll explain whether or not the surgeries were necessary, but it sounds like they were when they had to operate 3 times.

Op I am so sorry you had to go through this. I can't even begin to imagine all the residual feelings you have from something so unjust happen to you. I feel that you should do whatever it takes to bring you some peace and resolution to what happened. So sorry again op

I wonder if surgeon has been advised by his lawyers/insurers not to speak to you?

My guess - they won't want him inadvertently admitting any fault?

Dunno-lawyers here will be able to advise I hope?

Sorry this happened to you

OP, unfortunately now this is a long running thread you have the worst of AIBU.

Posters who haven’t RTFT, are keyboard warriors who thrive off sneering at people / have no idea what they are talking about.

AIBU not the best arena for such a sensitive subject involving emotional, medical and legal complexity.

You have had some informed posts by health care professionals so hopefully these will give you the right signposts.

I wouldn't doubt for a minute the OP's medical team are on legal alert and have had advice.

They will absolutely be hoping this doesn't become a legal matter and will be very reticent about releasing any information that would indicate that mistakes were made, even innocent one's.

Unfortunately legal representation is often necessary to get to the truth.

Sounds like a horrific experience for you. I would see a lawyer, especially given that this is private

Assuming the surgeries have cost you a lot of money too?

YANBU at all OP

A terrible terrible mistake was made somewhere, it has led to your body being permanently changed, to long lasting side effects, to your perception on life being altered. I can't imagine how many sleepless nights, cries in the bathroom, moments of sheer worry and panic you and your family have had dealing with this diagnosis. I can't imagine how it felt to stoicly lose a breast to save your life and how you came to terms with that.

Then to find out the diagnosis was wrong, and according to some here you should just skip merrily happy you haven't got cancer, despite being told you had and going through the journey of a cancer patient and having your body permanently altered, now you should apparently be grateful. What a load of unempathetic shit.

You have been done a huge disservice by your consultant. Mistakes happen, terrible ones like this. Your consultant should have made themselves available to you, to answer any and all questions, they should have investigated where the wrong diagnosis came from, explained that to you in full. Unreservedly apologised, explained how their guidance and protocols will change to prevent it happening to anyone else, they should have spoken to you about counciling, about who is now responsible for replacing your implant, about how they will continue to support you for as long as you need them to.
Mistakes do happen, their behaviour after is shameful and unlike and doctor I've worked with. I'd recommend getting your medical notes, contacting for an in depth discussion or debrief and then consulting a medical negligence lawyer to press a case.

@YummyButter

Was this still life saving surgery, perhaps just as life threatening as Cancer? Surely the operations were still necessary? They wouldn't have performed these surgeries for no reason.

Request a call from the Surgeon to explain things in more detail, they'll explain whether or not the surgeries were necessary, but it sounds like they were when they had to operate 3 times.

Have you RTFT?!

What would you want to get out suing?

If its closure/an apology, suing probably isnt the best way to get either.

If it's a change in practices etc to prevent future errors, again, suing (expensive for all parties involved probably isnt the best approach).

A successful medical negligence case has to prove beyond doubt that they really got it pretty wrong. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm guessing given the uncertainty and possibility of cancer, they could have faced negligence claims if they hadn't done this.

Any reason you were in the private sector rather than NHS? I didn't think private had the resource or reputation for cancer treatment in the UK, a lot of insurance excludes cancer treatment.

Oh my God. What happened to you should never have happened, and by speaking up, formally, you will be part of ensuring no other woman has to needlessly experience such things as you have had to and will continue to have to endure. Ignore the ninnies on this thread.

FYI @Pixxie7

My dad has surgery privately. I think nowdays, it’s becoming pretty standard. Think waiting list to be treated, yes even for cancer.

It went wrong because they didn’t do a check that is actually pretty standard. Cue for a transfer back on a NHS ward for a few weeks (surgeon decision).

Things go wrong. People make mistakes . Sometimes the consequences are small (basically a big scar for my dad instead of key hole). Sometimes they are big, like the OP.

If you really think it’s far fetched rather than you being goady, then you are naive about the realities of medicine and the NHS.

I have Private Healthcare Insurance. Why would I not use it? confused

Because the private healthcare sector in some areas has a poorer reputation for cancer treatment than the NHS?

Generally private healthcare is most valuable where it can provide non emergency treatment quicker than the NHS. The NHS cancer pathway usually gets things moving very fast where someone is at risk of cancer. I went in with a dodgy mole and was seen very very fast and it was removed very quickly too.

You do have my sympathies. An unnecessary mastectomy is pretty serious. But I think I would start with complaints, debriefs and a proper second opinion about it all before starting a medical negligence case.

@YummyButter Read the thread. The first surgery was totally unnecessary and led to the subsequent surgeries - one of which was a life threatening complication of the first. So no, none of it was necessary.

I also think that we should be taking a lesson from the OP’s tragic experience. In my experience the NHS provides the best healthcare in the world. It’s not perfect, but it’s still the best. I have experienced both NHS and private treatment and frankly I feel safer in the hands of the NHS. There are shortcomings in private medicine which, sadly, have been highlighted here in a number of posts. With NHS waiting lists at breaking point because of the pandemic I think many people who can afford it will be thinking about going private. I would be thinking twice.

I have not read the whole thread but I am a doctor who is a medical negligence expert in my field. My advice: There is no way to know if you have a case until your solicitor gets expert reports and you see what they say. Even when it seems totally cut and dried (to the patinet) that there has been negligence (ie breach of duty) which has caused actual damage (you need both of those to have a case) there can be both medical and legal reasons why that is not so. You need to instruct a solicitor who then instructs experts to report. My advice would be to go to on of the big claimant medical negligence firms and get excellent experts from the outset. There are some very subpar firms (and experts), who may ruin your chances of taking forward a viable claim.

PS I have been involved in cases where an erroneous diagnosis of a serious disease, even without surgery having been carried out, has resulted in a successful claim for psychiatric damage. So it is not just about the surgery. Please understand that I am not saying at all that you would have such a claim, just that it is possible in some cases.

3 years ago, my friend (who was 30 at the time), had to have biopsies for suspected vulvar cancer.
They told her whilst taking the biopsies that due to her age, vulvar cancer was very unlikely because it usually affects much older women.
They told her that this was just a precaution.
2 weeks later, she was sent a letter from the hospital telling her that the biopsies were clear.
She was elated which was to be expected.
She received another letter telling her that she needed to go back to the hospital for a follow up.
My friend assumed it was just to discuss what the problem actually was, so she attended alone.
When she got there, she was sent to a room that had several doctors all sat at a table.
They then proceeded to tell her that she had vin2 and vin3 vulvar cancer cells.
She told them about the letter she received and they simply said "admin error".
My friend was distraught and rang me in absolute tears and I had to rush to the hospital to console her.
Yes, doctors make mistakes, but imagine being told you dont have cancer and then find out you do?
She is still fighting it now after 3 operations, but it keeps coming back.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland. Read the post by oh by golly - it’s bang on and ends accurately and succinctly by saying ‘Life is infinitely more precious than money. But suing is not always about the money. In the absence of honesty, integrity, transparency, suing buys access to facts, and most valuable of all, recognition of the harm done.’

No medic is going to come forward and admit mistakes or negligence. That’s why we have medical malpractice lawyers because legal action is the only way to get at the truth - it’s not just about the money, although all you sneering keyboard warriors out there seem to think greed plays a part. It doesn’t. Living with a disability or health condition is expensive and medical negligence can and does put you into that lifestyle - proper compensation awards take all of this into account.

I cannot belueive the naivety of some posters on this thread who think a private hospital will hold their hands up and say sorry, and here's all the information you want, without being forced to!!

OP, you have gone through something awful and the only way you will get answers is via solicitors. The hospital will have legaled up, now it's your turn!

@FlumpyLump

3 years ago, my friend (who was 30 at the time), had to have biopsies for suspected vulvar cancer. They told her whilst taking the biopsies that due to her age, vulvar cancer was very unlikely because it usually affects much older women. They told her that this was just a precaution. 2 weeks later, she was sent a letter from the hospital telling her that the biopsies were clear. She was elated which was to be expected. She received another letter telling her that she needed to go back to the hospital for a follow up. My friend assumed it was just to discuss what the problem actually was, so she attended alone. When she got there, she was sent to a room that had several doctors all sat at a table. They then proceeded to tell her that she had vin2 and vin3 vulvar cancer cells. She told them about the letter she received and they simply said "admin error". My friend was distraught and rang me in absolute tears and I had to rush to the hospital to console her. Yes, doctors make mistakes, but imagine being told you dont have cancer and then find out you do? She is still fighting it now after 3 operations, but it keeps coming back.

And the only way that processes are developed that stop stupid mistakes like that being made, is through complaints and/or legal action!

@nolongersurprised

The crux of it is the biopsy, not necessarily the surgeon. The whole surgical pathway happened because of the biopsy result.

If the biopsy was your tissue and it was misinterpreted but within the realm of expected false positive error then it’s a horrible thing, but no one’s “fault”.

It may not have been your biopsy at all, in which case there’s a major fuck up.

Or it may be somewhere in between, where the pathologist was incorrect, and erred more than would be reasonably expected. That will be difficult to get clarification about and it may require external (legal) involvement.

You definitely need to find out what happened, but, if the surgeon acted on what was reasonably thought to be cancer (a positive biopsy result) then it’s not really their “fault”.

I keep coming back to this.I wonder where the pathology was done?

When I had breast cancer the whole planning was done on the basis of the core biopsy results. The lymph nodes were biopsied later at the time of the surgery. Even with just a sentinal node biopsy I have permanent nerve damage.

I hope op that you don't have long term permanent damage. Recovery from surgery can be slow and what you feel now may well improve.
Just a note for you specifically on cording. My cording which was hugely painful at the time was resolved with the help of the physio.
Cording looks like a tendon. Look at your armpit in the mirror and compare it to the other one. If you can see what looks like a tendon running down that's cording. So if it is cording the exercises are good but it needs massage. Very difficult to do yourself so rope DH in. You have to apply pressure with the palm of your hand along the cord, even though it's excrutiatingly painful. I was told to take painkillers 30 minutes before each session. We had to do it little and often but it did go away completely eventually.

On private health care.
I've had some bad experiences and would only choose it if the NHS was a long wait. Anything urgent including cancer care is usually done better by the NHS. However I know plenty of breast cancer patients who went private because they could, and because their hospital stay would be more pleasant than an NHS hospital.

Please get a medical negligence solicitor. They will know what questions to ask of the hospital.

It came as a real surprise to me as a newly qualified HCP that there was such a grey area in cancer diagnosis!

I thought I was cut and dried, cancer/not cancer, and read with interest the poster explaining how seeing 'the whole' could change the narrative after just seeing the micro- as in, I imagine, 'the cells in the biopsy sample look very concerning' versus ' the whole excised tumour doesn't point to that diagnosis any more' (to paraphrase).

I hope the OP can get some answers and explanations, and indeed is successful in suing if medical negligence is proved.

An aside, and this is in no way meant to sound as if I 'blame' anyone for making that choice if available, I wouldn't go private for anything potentially cancer related, myself.

@MoralityPondering I am so sorry you have been through so a traumatic experience.

I am not a clinical negligence solicitor - but I am a solicitor dealing with litigation (in a very different area). I strongly recommend seeking legal advice now - to assist you with trying to establish what happened. As soon as the hospital / consultant gets a whiff of a potential complaint / claim, it will be duty bound to notify insurers and they will have lawyers advising them.

I think Stewarts are well known for clinical negligence work. Leigh Day too (I feel like they've been involved in some high profile cases but can't recall off the top of my head). Don't worry about using a solicitor local to you - a lot of the work is done electronically and solicitors will travel to see you / you can travel to see experts etc.

It may well be the case that there has been on negligence but you are unlikely to be able to establish that on your own and they certainly won't admit to it.

It does sound like you will need care / procedures in the future and those are absolutely the sorts of losses that can be recovered. That is in addition to costs you have incurred to date that could have been avoided and of course, damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity. I really do think legal action should be considered (once you understand what has happened).

I hope you get some deserved answers.

@ frumpylump

Those doctors, collectively, are a disgrace to their profession to bring your friend in for a meeting on her own, to tell her such devastating news.

An absolute disgrace.

Zero decency, zero humanity.

@ThursdayWeld

I cannot belueive the naivety of some posters on this thread who think a private hospital will hold their hands up and say sorry, and here's all the information you want, without being forced to!!

OP, you have gone through something awful and the only way you will get answers is via solicitors. The hospital will have legaled up, now it's your turn!

Neither does the NHS in my experience