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.

Reading your updates, YANBU and I’m someone who would never advocate for any one to sue. The effect this has had on you is enormous. Sorry you went through all this

I’d put a complaint in first and then see whether they came back with a reasonable explanation for the error. If I still wasn’t satisfied I’d involve a solicitor and see what their advice is.

It sounds like you have suffered significant harm but the question is whether it was an unavoidable error or negligence/incompetence. You have a right to know the answer to this.

@Ostara212

Just looking at the book

It names DCIS - ductal carcinoma in situ.

Just in case it's useful.

Thank you for looking. It isn't this or anything that had the potential to become cancerous. I would be able to cope much better with things if it was.

@MoralityPondering

I still can't lift my arm above my head. I have cording. I only have 1 breast. I have scars. And it was worth it when I was doing it to treat cancer & stay alive for my DC. Now I feel like I've been mutilated for nothing. I'm not angry so suing probably isn't right but I'm devastated at what this has taken from me. I'm 35 so have many years left to live like this.

That sounds absolutely horrendous and I feel for you. I think you need professional help to come to terms with it.

I would go and talk to a reputable personal injury solicitor. You can get a good recommendation out of the directories (Legal 500, Chambers Guide). I would talk to them before anything else. That does not commit you to taking action but it will ensure that someone is asking the right questions and asking to see the correct documentation etc. The fact that it was privately done may make it more difficult to find out what happened and where any responsibility lies and would suggest that means you need legal advice sooner than later, in my view.
I’m really sorry to hear what you have been through. The misdiagnosis has clearly caused you significant physical and probably psychological injury and if those injuries were caused by negligence you will want to know how it happened, what they are doing to ensure it doesn’t happen again and you should be compensated for that.

OP

I had to look into the whole "potential to become cancerous" thing when they were trying to tell me I had cancer.

Tbh everything has the potential to turn into cancer according to some doctors.

So I would be wary of saying that in any legal case.

I wish you all the best

I think you should at least get legal advice on this, from an expert in medical malpractice etc.
Whether you decide to go ahead and sue, will be up to you.
Yes you are in a state of shock, of course you are, because you've had quite extreme surgery for what now appears to be no good reason, and it will have a lifelong impact on your life.

Does the private hospital have anything akin to PALS? Or at least a debrief option? My knowledge of private hospitals is sketchy and biased - I used to work in the NHS - but it might be difficult to get them to admit fault.

Definitely look into counselling, I hope it helps you - but also get the legal advice and decide then what you want to do.

Independent hospitals in England are regulated by the CQC. This may meet the criteria for a reportable or adverse incident. Speak to them and they can give some initial information. I’m so sorry this has happened - it’s incredibly traumatic and you may well be due redress.

I'd start be putting in a complaint and asking if there's a serious incident review happening ( which it sounds like there should be). That gets you more info you can use to decide how you want to proceed.

Personally I wouldn't as they likely did what the scans etc were leading them to and the ultimate outcome is good news in that you don't have cancer. I would as others have said be pushing for some sort of investigation if you feel there was fault in what they did.

My DH was in hospital a few years one year after an organ transplant with a persistent cough and weight loss etc, following some investigation he was told by the senior consultant that he had what appeared as lung cancer and given his fragile state due to the transplant and how that may effect the treatment he would likely not have a good outcome, he was told they needed to confirm and was told this just after I had left visiting him while I was also pregnant. A week later which were spent thinking it was cancer he was told it was TB and he would be transferred to an isolation type room Inna different hospital, mistakes can be made but this was down to a truly awful consultant who should have kept his thoughts to himself until confirmed. We didn't sue as no reason to but did lodge formal complaints which led to discipline action.

I understand how angry and upset you must be, but your OP talks about suing the hospital. You can't sue the hospital for something like this - you'd have to find out just who did the diagnosis and then determine why they thought it was cancer. No doubt you were treated by multiple doctors - I'd start by seeing the surgeon who did the operation and have a talk to them about why this all happened, rather than going to a lawyer.

@Ostara212

Just looking at the book

It names DCIS - ductal carcinoma in situ.

Just in case it's useful.

DCIS is slightly different - it is 'pre-cancer' or early cancer and may become more cancerous, but we don't know which patients with DCIS will develop a full cancer. It is normal practice to treat with mastectomy in most cases but, as Margaret McCartney has highlighted, this results in many mastectomies in women who would never have developed full-blown cancer.

Complex fibroadenomas are not pre-cancer, but they do have malignant potential (i.e. can eventually become cancerous). However most do not turn into cancer and mastectomy is not offered for them all (unlike DCIS). This is why the OP's situation is complicated, and no one on this thread can tell whether or not she had the right treatment. It will depend on whether the hospital had the right diagnosis in the first place (and, if it didn't, whether there were good reasons why not), and whether the treatment offered was correct for her particular fibroadenoma. Offering a mastectomy for a complex fibroadenoma isn't necessarily the wrong treatment, but only an expert who has reviewed the OP's record will be able to tell if it was right for her.

People on here who are saying it was definitely negligent are talking shite. People on here who are saying it was definitely the right treatment are talking shite.

Clinical negligence solicitor here, you may be able to make a case.

It will depend on whether an independent oncologist (or surgeon, depending on who treated you) is of the view that no reasonable body of oncologist/ surgeons would have performed the treatment you had. You will need to get your hospital records, the expert will review them and report.

There are a number of very good clinical negligence solicitors firms around, Irwin mitchell is one and is nationwide. I don't work for them BTW.

Counselling is a good idea too, if you have a case the hospital insurer wil lasy for this but that will unfortunately take time. Good luck

I would get legal assistance. The thought of having a body part removed needlessly is terrible, surely they should have done exploratory surgery first before amputating your breast.

I’m really sorry this happened to you. I think counselling could be helpful to help you process what happened, what a shock, even if it is good news overall.

Sorry this happened to you, OP - it sounds awful.

I would do what PPs have advised and have a debrief with the medical team.

Before I meet with the medical team, I'd also:

1. do my own thorough research on your actual condition and the recommended diagnostic procedure for both conditions to get it clear in my head as to what they could/should have done differently and/or what would have been done differently in the NHS, and

2. call a couple of reputable personal injury lawyers to get an idea of whether it sounds like you have cause for a claim - the reason is do this first is because it might influence how you handle the debrief (in terms of whether it ends up being more about closure or fact-finding).

My DD had a misdiagnosis as a baby that was hugely detrimental to her, and now she's older (still young enough to sue if she wanted to), she's gone through phases where she's wanted to sue her drs as their misdiagnosis still affects her, and I've looked into suing them in the past too.

At the moment we've concluded that actually, we think the surgeons probably did the best they could with the available information they had at the time (she had a rare condition but they assumed it was something far more common, unfortunately to her long-term detriment). I was very angry about it when she was younger, and it obviously still bothers me, but I'm glad I waited till she was older to see how things panned out and so she could make her own decision. And I've definitely mellowed over the whole thing over time, too (although I'll obviously support her 100% if she does decide to sue over the next few years).

Obviously, your situation is different as you don't have the luxury of waiting two decades before deciding whether to sue. But you still have 3 years (from the alleged negligence), so I'd advise you to take some time before deciding, as you might find that having to relive the whole horrible experience again and again adds too much additional stress to your life on top of everything else you're going through.

I'd also suggest you get some counselling - even if you don't sue them, the hospital should at least be covering that cost! Don't waive your right to make any claim in the future, though.

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow thank you for such a helpful post. I assume even if the mastectomy was necessary the nodal clearance still would not have been as it isn't cancerous. I am trying to arrange a follow up appointment with my Consultant it is proving difficult. I mainly want to know how the biopsy could be so wrong.

Your post has given me lots to think about though so thank you.

I'm sorry you have had to go through this.

There is no right way to feel, and sadly news doesn't always get to be divided neatly into good news or bad news.

I hope you get the closure you need and are able to move on with your life positively xx

I'm so sorry OP 😓😓😓

How was this latest news broken to you? What follow up has been arranged with you? How easy access do you have to your medical team? Have you been invited to ask questions?

The answers to these might be quite revealing.

It was in my Pathology Results appointment. The Surgeon seemed quite cagey about how it happened and kept trying to steer the conversation to how me not needing any further treatment was good news. They have been quite hard to get hold of since

My DH was in hospital a few years one year after an organ transplant with a persistent cough and weight loss etc, following some investigation he was told by the senior consultant that he had what appeared as lung cancer and given his fragile state due to the transplant and how that may effect the treatment he would likely not have a good outcome, he was told they needed to confirm and was told this just after I had left visiting him while I was also pregnant. A week later which were spent thinking it was cancer he was told it was TB and he would be transferred to an isolation type room Inna different hospital, mistakes can be made but this was down to a truly awful consultant who should have kept his thoughts to himself until confirmed. We didn't sue as no reason to but did lodge formal complaints which led to discipline action.

A week thinking you have cancer is not in the same league as thinking you have cancer and having an actual breast removed.

OP I can only echo what has already been said. I'm so sorry this happened to you.

Having had a mastectomy , node clearance, chemotherapy, radiotherapy in the last year and now still struggling with cording and other issues relating to my treatment ! If I found out I didn't actually need it, I would be devastated! So I do think if there is fault at play then you should sue! I just think this is so awful 💐

They had it looked at 3 times to decide it wasn't cancer so it doesn't seem to be a straight forward decision.

People seem to think that science - and medicine - is an exact science. It isn't always.

I'd just be grateful you haven't got cancer. That's worth more than anything IMHO.

With regards to hormone receptors being wrong it could be so many things. Could be false positives, could be wrong tissue tested and slides not block checked, could be a poorly stained slide/lab not calibrated test corrected, could be Dr looked at wrong slide and typed report on wrong person, could be secretary typed report on wrong person and Dr authorised it, it could be your surgeon looked at wrong report, your surgeon miss read report. it could be that the hormone markers were positive and result taken out of context with the tissue morphology. Could also be your surgeon mislabelled a specimen post with a positive patients. There are so many ways you could get the wrong result, you need a copy of your reports to see what they say and a debrief.