Kidney cancer misdiagnosis claims

Kidney cancer misdiagnosis can be critical and where it has delayed treatment, caused additional suffering or reduced prognosis, you may be entitled to make a kidney cancer misdiagnosis claim with assistance from Blackwater Law.

Kidney cancer (also known as renal cancer) is one of the most common forms of cancer found in the UK. Prospects for successful treatment are good if the disease is diagnosed early, but the effectiveness of treatment diminishes in the event of a kidney cancer misdiagnosis. This is because a delayed diagnosis allows the disease to develop and potentially spread to other areas of the body. If you have been the victim of a kidney cancer misdiagnosis, you may be entitled to claim compensation for the undue suffering and any change in your prognosis.

Can I Make a Claim for Kidney Cancer Misdiagnosis?

It is commonly accepted amongst the medical community that early diagnosis and prompt treatment for all forms of cancer greatly increases a patient’s prospects of overcoming the disease and of long-term survival. With kidney cancer, this is especially pertinent as once the disease spreads beyond the kidney it can become very difficult to effectively treat.

Because of this, any case where the action or inaction of a GP or doctor can be shown to have delayed or obstructed your cancer diagnosis or treatment, could qualify you to make a kidney cancer misdiagnosis claim. Some of the most common situations leading to a claim for kidney cancer misdiagnosis include:

  • Where after presenting to your GP with symptoms that could indicate a threat of kidney cancer, he or she fails to adequately investigate your symptoms.
  • When initial medical examinations on the part of your GP do not nullify cancer suspicions, but he or she fails to schedule a referral to a specialist for further testing, or where there are delays in making such a referral.
  • Where results from medical tests are incorrectly assessed by a doctor, leading to incorrect diagnosis, advice and possibly the wrong treatment.
  • When medical professionals are shown to have incorrectly recorded, reported or interpreted the results of medical testing / examinations.
  • Where your kidney cancer is incorrectly diagnosed as a different, perhaps more minor, condition meaning you do not receive the treatment you need.

The aforementioned scenarios do not represent an exhaustive list of all potential situations where you may be able to claim for kidney cancer misdiagnosis. Any instance where failures on the part of medical staff have adversely affected your prognosis could mean you are eligible to make a cancer misdiagnosis claim.  You should seek expert legal advice from a medical negligence solicitor even if you are unsure.

Get expert legal advice

Call today and speak to a specialist medical negligence solicitor. Find out if you can claim compensation.

CALL 0800 083 5500

Expert solicitors in misdiagnosis of kidney cancer

When you contact Blackwater Law for advice, you will speak directly to a specialist medical negligence lawyer. The lawyer you speak with will be one of our national team that is independently recognised as having specialist expertise in medical negligence claims and which, across the team, has a wealth of experience dealing with misdiagnosis claims relating to a range of conditions and ailments. You can therefore be confident that the advice we give you is some of the best you can get and that your case will have the best chances of success when you contact Blackwater Law for advice and guidance.

 

  • specialist cancer misdiagnosis lawyers
  • No win, no fee misdiagnosis claims
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Blackwater Law medical negligence solicitors acted for Mr L in a medical negligence claim in the High Court after he was misdiagnosed. The misdiagnosis meant he went on to suffer a serious stroke-causing life-limiting disability.

No Win, No Fee Claims for Kidney Cancer Misdiagnosis

We understand the enormous toll cancer can take on your family life and on your finances. We also know that this is only made worse by a misdiagnosis. The team at Blackwater Law believe your claim for compensation should not make your situation more stressful. That is why we will proceed with you case on a no win, no fee basis if we agree to represent you in claiming compensation. This simply means that in the event that you case is not successful, you would not owe us any money. If your compensation claim for misdiagnosis is successful, our fee would be a percentage of your compensation award. This percentage would be agreed with you at the beginning of your case.

Types of Kidney Cancer

Types of kidney or renal cancer are determined on the basis of which kind of cell the cancer originated within.

In adults the most common form of kidney cancer is Renal Cell cancer. Otherwise referred to as renal cell adenocarcinoma or sometimes hypernephroma; this form of kidney cancer represents around 80% of cases and starts in the lining of the tubules responsible for the filtering of blood and urine. Within this form of kidney cancer there are subdivisions; clear cell (the most common at around 75% of cases), papillary (around 10%) and chromophobe (5%). The remaining 10% of renal cell cancers are comprised of rarer forms such as carcinoma of the collecting ducts and renal medullary carcinoma. It is possible for multiple forms of the renal cell to manifest at any given time, and any can become sarcomatoid; meaning they can take on the appearance of the cells of a sarcoma – a cancer of the body’s supporting tissues (i.e. muscles, vessels etc.). Renal cell cancers which become sarcomatoid are normally more difficult to treat than non-sarcomatoid cancers.

Making up about 7-8% of adult kidney cancers in the UK, transitional cell cancers (TCCs) of the renal pelvis affect a more central region of the kidney, in an area where urine accumulates prior to being sent down the urethra and expelled. It is treated in a similar manner to bladder cancer.

Children are the only victims of another form of kidney cancer known as Wilms’ tumour, or alternatively nephroblastoma. This occurs when leftover, immature kidney cells that were born with the child and were subsequently supposed to continue developing into kidney cells fail to do so. These eventually begin to grow and multiply in an uncontrolled, unhealthy manner instead, leading to the development of a tumour.

Claiming compensation for misdiagnosis can provide you and your family with financial stability to support you in moving forward.

Grades of Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancers are graded on a scale of 1-4, with 4 denoting the most serious and advanced form of the disease. The grade is determined according to the appearance of the cancerous cells, with those that look similar to normal kidney cells ranking at the lower end of the scale (known as the Fuhrman system), and increasingly abnormal-looking cells gaining a high number classification. Low grade kidney cancers are generally less aggressive and easier to treat.

The grade your doctor assigns to your kidney cancer will determine how it will be treated, with higher-grade cancers carrying a greater risk of having spread to other areas of the body. Inevitably, a delayed diagnosis of kidney cancer allows the disease more time to develop untreated, meaning that by the time it is diagnosed, the condition may be at a more advanced stage, at which point treatment may be less likely to be effective.

Who is Most at Risk of Kidney Cancer?

Whilst there is no set way to determine whether or not any given individual will contract kidney cancer, there are certain demographics at greater risk than others:

  • Those who are overweight or obese – particularly those with a BMI of more than 30.
  • Smokers – with the amount that you smoke correlating with your associated elevated risk.
  • Those who suffer from high blood pressure.
  • Those with a family history of kidney cancer.
  • Some genetic conditions such as Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome also elevate your risks of contracting kidney cancer – consult your doctor if you are unsure about your medical condition(s).
  • Those with a long-term reliance on kidney dialysis as a result of any prior condition.

Treating Kidney Cancer

Your treatment program will be devised on the basis of your cancer’s size, aggression and whether or not it has spread to other areas of your body. It will also take into consideration the state of your health generally.

The primary approach is normally to surgically remove part of, or the entire, affected kidney.

Cryotherapy or radiofrequency ablation may also be used to destroy cancerous cells through the process of rapid freezing or heating.

Biological therapies work by stimulating reaction in your body’s own immune systems to tackle cancers directly, rather than using medication.

Embolisation may also be used – this is the process of cutting off blood supply to the cancerous cells and killing it in this manner instead.

Radiotherapy uses targeted high energy radiation to attack and destroy cancerous cells and relieve symptoms, but can induce side effects of its own.

A misdiagnosis of kidney cancer can mean your treatment programme may have to be more aggressive due to the disease being more advanced than it otherwise would have been if it had been diagnosed promptly. The additional suffering you therefore have to endure, or the negative impact on your prognosis, will be considered as part of your case for compensation.

Free initial advice in cancer misdiagnosis cases

Whether you know already that you the care you or your family member have received was negligent, or you simply feel it was not at a reasonably level, call Blackwater Law on 0800 083 5500 and get free initial advice from a specialist clinical negligence lawyer.

You will have your questions answered and you will finally know whether you may have an argument for misdiagnosis compensation.

As well as kidney cancer misdiagnosis, Blackwater Law also advise on cases relating to breast cancer misdiagnosis, testicular cancer misdiagnosis claims, prostate cancer misdiagnosis claims, ovarian cancer misdiagnosis claims and bowel cancer misdiagnosis claims.

Get expert legal advice

Call today and speak to a specialist medical negligence solicitor. Find out if you can claim compensation.

CALL 0800 083 5500

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