Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To make a claim against hospital

89 replies

PistachioFrapp · 15/07/2024 16:29

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?

OP posts:
Rainydayinlondon · 15/07/2024 18:45

stillisHQ · 15/07/2024 17:06

but they asked if you wanted a Wider excision

you could have just said… same size as the missing sample

Show quote history

But surely it couldn’t be the same size as that had already been removed. So it HAD to be wider …

haveatye · 15/07/2024 18:47

Scarletttulips · 15/07/2024 18:42

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.

Erm no, the premium they pay for insurance increases based on the number of claims so it does have an effect.

Original poster
PistachioFrapp · 15/07/2024 19:13

FateReset · 15/07/2024 18:34

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?

I have it in writing that the sample was lost.

The moles were all removed because they looked suspicious, not for cosmetic reasons.

I consented to the second procedure because the dermatologist himself said it was the only way I could be sure that there were no cancerous cells present.

The initial scar was approx 4cm long and 1cm wide. The new scar is almost 10cms long and 1.5cms wide.

By the time of the second procedure all three initial scars had healed completely. A similar time has elapsed since the second procedure and the new larger scar still hurts daily.

OP posts:
Original poster
PistachioFrapp · 15/07/2024 19:18

Nannyfannybanny · 15/07/2024 18:39

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.

I am sorry for your experience, I hope all is well with you now.

I saw 3 different dermatologists along the way and they all advised removal and testing, so I followed their advice.

OP posts:
Hazelville · 15/07/2024 19:32

Mamasperspective · 15/07/2024 18:34

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.

A couple of inches? That would be a massive scar for a biopsy.

olympicsrock · 15/07/2024 19:38

I’m a surgeon. I think you have a good case for a claim and I think it’s completely unacceptable for them to lose a histology specimen. This is why there are barcoding systems that trusts can pay for and use.

Shielehdie · 15/07/2024 19:40

haveatye · 15/07/2024 18:34

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?

Losing a sample is, quite patently, something no reasonable person acting with due care and attention would do. The fact that it does occasionally happen doesn’t mean that it’s isn’t negligence when it does.

Badbadbunny · 15/07/2024 19:43

TinyYellow · 15/07/2024 16:39

As it’s a private hospital, you’re fine to complain. They have probably already made you sign something to cover themselves over the bigger scar etc.

Why only a private hospital? If an NHS hospital screws up, they should be liable too, for at least the extra costs the patients have incurred due to their negligence that they are out of pocket by and loss of earnings. Hospitals, both private and NHS get away with too much and need to be made to be held accountable for their foul ups, otherwise they've no incentive to improve.

Badbadbunny · 15/07/2024 19:44

haveatye · 15/07/2024 18:47

Erm no, the premium they pay for insurance increases based on the number of claims so it does have an effect.

Show quote history

So that's an incentive for them to make fewer mistakes!

BonifaceBonanza · 15/07/2024 19:45

Boomer55 · 15/07/2024 16:42

You’ve suffered no harm, so you haven’t got any basis for a claim.🤷‍♀️

What do you mean she hasn’t suffered harm?
She’s suffered loss of time and money in additional travelling, she’s suffered the harm of unnecessary pain and the harm of a potentially more disfiguring scar. She’s also suffered a longer period of worry.

Chartreux · 15/07/2024 23:57

Mamasperspective · 15/07/2024 18:34

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.

So what that "these things happen"? You might equally say that being run over but a negligently driven car is one of those things that happen, but would that stop you from claiming if you were seriously injured?

The hospital charged money for a procedure which included having samples analysed by the lab. It failed to deliver on that. Given the significant dangers involved in mixing up samples, all hospitals should have rigorous procedures in place to ensure that they do not go astray. OP has had all the stress and inconvenience of travelling back for another, more serious operation as they had to cut around the previous scarring and take a sample from a bigger area, she's suffered considerably more pain, she's got a much more noticeable scar, and she's got all the worry associated with not knowing whether there were cancer cells in the original sample. Why shouldn't the hospital pay compensation?

Chartreux · 15/07/2024 23:59

haveatye · 15/07/2024 18:34

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?

Yup. No competent hospital would lose an important sample. Negligence established.

Have you not read the explanations of upthread of why the loss of the original sample means that OP can't ben 100% certain about the possibility of cancer?

Chartreux · 16/07/2024 00:01

FateReset · 15/07/2024 18:34

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?

FFS. It's right there in the first post that OP did get a second biopsy. That's the problem. OP really had no choice but to go through the second procedure to establish whether there was evidence of cancer. I don't understand why on the one hand you're asking why she didn't getting a second biopsy, then blaming her for doing so?

WildLemur · 16/07/2024 00:34

stillisHQ · 15/07/2024 17:06

but they asked if you wanted a Wider excision

you could have just said… same size as the missing sample

Show quote history

Geez, how many samples did they lose doing your brain biopsy?

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread