To make a claim against hospital

[PistachioFrapp]

Not sure if I'm reasonable to do this or if I just need to suck it up?

I had 3 suspicious moles removed before Christmas, 2 biopsies came back clear but the 3rd sample went missing.

Hospital debated for a few weeks and then said it was up to me, probably all ok, but if I wanted to be sure they could do a wider excision on the third one to do another biopsy.

Obviously I went ahead and thankfully it was clear. So, in the end, no harm was done.

BUT

The truth is, the procedure is not very pleasant, and it was worse second time around as they had to cut wider and deeper. I had to go into London for the procedure and a follow up which cost money and took up my time. The healing process was inevitably longer and more painful and the scar is twice as big as it should have been.

I'm really annoyed, I have a horrible scar that still hasn't fully healed (the other original two have healed and faded and don't bother me at all).

It's a private hospital btw if that makes a difference so I don't have any guilt about attacking the NHS.

Should I pursue for compensation or just get over it?

Thanks everyone, I think I’m going to have an initial chat with a solicitor for some advice and then decide whether the stress of a claim is even worth it.

As I said upthread I think the prospect of having a 4th mole removed now has just made me wobble about this and I can’t get it out of my head, so it will be good to get it off my chest to a solicitor and see what they think.

Let it go and get on and enjoy your life. Thank God, it wasn't cancerous

You have no idea how many chuckles your bizarre insistence on this non-point is giving the rest of us.

It doesn't matter if it's medical negligence, it's negligence and also breach of contract. If you take money for this sort of procedure there is an obvious duty to ensure that you have a system in place to ensure you don't lose samples, precisely because having the samples checked is an essential element of the procedure, and because you know it will cause harm if you lose one

None of us really know this. As @lateatwork points out, the consequences of this are potentially quite wide ranging. Whether it would be stressful depends on whether the defendants would seriously resist the claim; given that the hospital has admitted to losing the sample and advised on the second operation as the only way of getting the check done, it may well be that they wouldn't.

She's not claiming against the NHS. This was a private hospital.

Did you get any legal advice on your claim?

@stillisHQ irrelevant

The wide area excision was clear- IE didn't show any cancerous cells. This does not mean that the original biopsy was clear... It also doesn't mean it wasn't.

So, it does leave uncertainty. Had the hospital not lost the biopsy, then the OP would know where she stood. It's for this reason that hospital should provide some recompense to the OP- as I would assume she would have to act as if the biopsy was cancerous- with regards to additional check ups etc

That’s not how it works, but you need to raise a complaint first and as for their procedure on how they will deal with it.

I went privately for a test and the specialist told me it has come back ‘positive’ and I needed a biopsy for possible cancer. I decided to get a second opinion and took the results with me to the biopsy where the specialist said these test results show nothing abnormal at all therefore I did not need a biopsy.

I was shocked obviously and had been through a horrendous time so I complained. I got a refund from the hospital for the specialist’s fees and a letter of apology but not a refund for the lab results as that had been done externally and I had access to the results.

I’m not sure in this instance you will be able to claim because you don’t like the scar, they will claim the doctor you paid the doctor for his time most likely. Plus they will definitely not refund you for anything anaesthetic etc as those are sunk costs. It is worth putting in a complaint however to see the outcome.

Get over it. It's not a big deal. Just be glad you are healthy.

Only becuase she couldn't get the result of the original one.

Are you being dim on purpose? The initial mole was removed and lost. The only way to determine if it was in fact cancerous was to cut further round the initial scar and also go deeper. The OP will have the initial then a margin round it. Can you really not understand this?

From working in the nhs and with people that have made complaints I'd say you'll have a hard time getting anything from this other than maybe a half arsed apology. What's happened is bad but the outcome was fine, just a scar so I feel they'd say you'd have had a scar anyway so 🤷🏻‍♀️ I mean if you'd feel you'd get closure then maybe think about it but I'm not sure how far you'd get. Good news about your moles being all ok though 😁

OP do you have any legal cover on your house insurance? You don’t have to use their solicitors ( even though they’d like you to!). With some experience in this area as a service user I imagine the hospital will agree a settlement quite quickly as the legal costs will very quickly dwarf the value of the claim.

Speak to a reputable lawyer in personal injury claims and take their advice.

Good luck.

Seen as this is completely paid for by yourself I’d ask for a refund

basically you paid for a service that was substandard

Jeez, how thick are you???

This isn't a claim against the NHS, it's a claim against a private hospital.

@stillisHQ has gone strangely quiet. Let's hope the penny's dropped.

Did you not read all of the OP? It is clearly stated that it is a private hospital, nothing to do with NHS.

I wouldn't claim, samples go missing, it happens and samples also arrive at labs and can't be used or results can be inconclusive so further samples are required. If they hadn't offered to do a second sample then it had turned out to be cancer then yes I would say put in a claim but, regardless of if your scar is slightly bigger or not, I still expect being a mole that it's no more than a couple of inches, if that, so I really wouldn't bother. These things happen, a claim is excessive.

They're usually contracted to the hilt.

Med negligence is not doing something wrong, it's doing something so wrong no competent professional could be expected to do it. Much higher bar.

You could try claiming and see if they'll throw some money at you to go away.

Ultimately if you're not dying of cancer, that's a win?

Do you have in writing it was 'lost'? They may claim it wasn't mislaid but was inadequate for some reason eg didn't get enough cells or sample degraded or the lab report was inconclusive. Happens to samples a lot. Why didn't you get a second biposy instead?

Was the removal partly for cosmetic reasons?

Some scars do look ugly or raised, or turn keloid or wound opens due to poor compliance with aftercare instructions etc.

If you consented to second procedure, knowing risks and that outcome would result in bigger more prominent scar, I'm not sure your case would be taken seriously?

Well, your NHS experience is completely irrelevant because OP didn't have anything done on the NHS

To be honest, I am surprised that the hospital, which ever consultant you are under, would have to excise a mole "to see if it's cancer". I had what looks exactly like a dark brown mole on my arm ,then this weird raised crusty thing appeared on the top and it grew about 8 times it's original size in 6 months. I also had what looked like a teenage pimple on my chest. I went private. Dermatologist pushed this gizmo on the mole crusty thing said it wasn't a mole,it was actually an irritated wort , and the chest spot was cancer. First removed by liquid nitrogen,all fine and no trace. Spot, removed 2 inch margin each side,yup, horrible painful scar,6 weeks recovery period, and tests confirmed cancer.

You aren’t suing the hospital, you are suing their insurers.

Hospital wont lose out.

Worth filling in the paperwork. They take feelings into account plus time and money spent and injury.