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Like most other forms of the disease, bladder cancer misdiagnosis can critically delay and even prevent effective treatment. Where this has happened to you, Blackwater Law can help you make a bladder cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim.
Bladder cancer has the potential to spread to surrounding tissues, and to other areas of the body through the lymphatic system. As a result, a bladder cancer misdiagnosis can lead to the condition becoming unmanageable and untreatable. If you or a family member have had bladder cancer misdiagnosed, you may be entitled to claim compensation for the pain, suffering or negative impact on your prognosis that has been caused. You will though need expert legal advice from a specialist medical negligence solicitor in order for your case to be successful.
Making a Bladder Cancer Misdiagnosis Claim
Any failure on the part of medical personnel responsible for your care that leads to a delayed diagnosis, and subsequently delayed or incorrect treatment, could mean you are eligible to make a bladder cancer misdiagnosis claim.
Should you decide to make a claim, the extent to which your misdiagnosis has had a negative effect on your condition will play a part in deciding how much compensation you could eventually receive, and indeed whether you can claim at all. Only by speaking with a specialist medical negligence solicitor at Blackwater Law will you find out whether you may have grounds for a successful case.
GPs are trained to recognise the signs and symptoms of bladder cancer in patients, and to take the necessary precautions to avoid misdiagnosis. As such, some common instances of negligence that may qualify patients to make a bladder cancer compensation claim include:
- Where you present to your GP with symptoms that may be indicative of bladder cancer, but he or she does not proceed to investigate these symptoms, to examine you sufficiently thoroughly so as to rule out other conditions, or to refer you to a specialist for expert assessment.
- Where your GP suspects you may be displaying symptoms of bladder cancer but fails to urgently refer you to see a specialist, or makes a referral but an appointment is not provided, or is unreasonably delayed.
- Where you have been diagnosed with bladder cancer but your options with regards to treatment and the associated side effects are not explained to you in sufficient detail, preventing you from being able to make an informed decision.
- Where there has been a surgical error during a procedure intended to remove your bladder cancer. For instance, the surgery was not performed with adequate care, causing damage to surrounding organs or tissues. Whether or not the cancerous tumour was removed, mistakes during a procedure which cause undue harm to the patient can give rise to a surgical error claim.
- Where mistakes by medical staff which lead to a false positive bladder cancer misdiagnosis, when you do not have the condition. Such a mistake can cause significant mental trauma and possibly prompt the administration of unnecessary, harmful treatment.
- Where the results of medical examinations are not properly interpreted, recorded or reported by doctors.
The above situations situations do not represent an exhaustive list of all scenarios where a compensation claim for bladder cancer might be made. If you are not happy with the care you have received, you have experienced GP negligence or hospital negligence, call Blackwater Law and speak with a specialist medical negligence solicitor.
Specialist medical negligence solicitors
When you call Blackwater Law, you will be dealing with a team of expert medical negligence solicitors with a wealth of experience in dealing with bladder cancer misdiagnosis compensation claims. Our services are ranked by the Legal 500 as some of the very best in the South East, and when you decide to make a claim with us you can be sure we will piece together the strongest claim possible on your behalf and fight for the maximum possible compensation sum available, according to your specific circumstances.
Blackwater Law act for clients across the country due to our national reputation in the field of medical negligence.
- Specialist cancer misdiagnosis solicitors
- No win, no fee claims
- Recognised as expert medical negligence solicitors
No Win, No Fee Claims for misdiagnosis of bladder cancer
We understand the devastating impact a bladder cancer misdiagnosis can have on your health, your family life and on your finances. We know that putting together the funds to make a compensation claim for misdiagnosis of bladder cancer at a time like this can be a daunting prospect; so with Blackwater Law you do not have to do this. At Blackwater Law we undertake all of our medical negligence claims – including those for bladder cancer misdiagnosis – on a no win, no fee basis.
That means if we don’t win your case you simply do not pay us anything. None of your own money is ever at risk, and whilst any fees we do charge for winning your case are capped according to strict government regulation, the amount you could potentially receive is not. That means you get a risk free, fair deal with excellent legal representation – whatever happens.
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.
Types of Bladder Cancer
There 3 primary forms of bladder cancer which vary in terms of their progression:
- Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancers: As the name suggests this relates to bladder cancers which have not penetrated surrounding muscle tissue. These cancers are divided amongst low, intermediate and high-risk according to how aggressive / dangerous they are.
- Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancers: These are more dangerous as they have the potential to ultimately spread around the entire body through the lymphatic system. Where the cancer has spread past a certain point the condition may not be treatable.
- Locally Advanced or Metastatic Bladder Cancers: Whilst these may not have penetrated the lymphatic system, they may have spread to surrounding organs and still pose a major risk to health.
Causes of Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer ensues when the cells in the bladder begin to mutate and replicate in an abnormal way, at an uncontrollable rate. There is no single definitive cause for the disease, but it is frequently linked to exposure to certain hazardous chemicals.
The carcinogenic chemicals released when smoking tobacco are linked to a higher risk of contracting bladder cancer. Those who smoke heavily for a period of several years will have these harmful chemicals filtered by their kidneys from their bloodstream and into their urine, which in turn passes through the bladder. The bladder acts as a storage space for urine, and as such is exposed to these harmful carcinogens for extended periods of time. This exposure can damage the lining of the bladder wall, and cause the cells therein to become cancerous. At present around a third of cases of bladder cancer occur amongst smokers. People who take up smoking regularly are now approximately four times as likely to contract bladder cancer.
After smoking, exposure to harmful industrial chemicals is ranked as the next biggest threat in terms of elevating your risk of developing bladder cancer. Medical studies now estimate that this is the case for around 25% of all bladder cancer patients, with the following chemicals listed as being amongst the most hazardous:
- Aniline dyes
- 2-Naphthylamine
- 4-Aminobiphenyl
- Xenylamine
- Benzidine
- O-Toluidine
Long term occupation in certain manufacturing or motoring industries can regularly expose you to these hazardous chemicals over a long period of time, posing an elevated risk of bladder cancer. If you have ever worked with dyes, textiles, rubbers, paints, plastics or leather tanning this could be applicable to you. However, anyone who is or has been in a work where they were regularly using chemicals may be entitled to make what would be known as an industrial disease claim.
Other factors too can elevate your risk of developing bladder cancer:
- If you have received radiotherapy treatment for other forms of cancer close to your bladder, such as bowel cancer.
- If you have received certain chemotherapy treatments, particularly the likes of cyclophosphamide and cisplatin.
- Where you may have had part of your prostate gland removed in order to treat benign prostate enlargement.
- Bladder cancer risk has been linked with type 2 diabetes.
- Having an indwelling catheter inserted into your bladder for long periods of time can also cause nerve damage and subsequent paralysis – in turn elevating your risk of bladder cancer.
- Having suffered long term and / or repeated urinary tract infections (UTIs) or bladder stones.
- Experiencing an early menopause, particularly where this happens prior to the age of 42.
- In very rare instances an untreated infection known as schistosomiasis; caused by a freshwater parasite, can elevate your risk of bladder cancer.
Treatment of Bladder Cancer
Any treatment you receive will depend on which form of bladder cancer you have, and the state of your personal health. A multidisciplinary team will discuss your options and the associated risks with you; this is likely to include an urologist, a clinical oncologist, a pathologist and a radiologist.
Treatment solutions can include:
- Transurethral resection of a bladder tumour (TURBT): This is where a surgeon places you under general anaesthetic and uses an instrument known as a cystoscope to locate your tumours, before removing them from the bladder lining. Your wound will then be cauterised using a mild electrical current, and a catheter may be inserted to collect any debris over the following days.
- Chemotherapy may also be applied directly to your bladder post-surgery, with the solution remaining for roughly an hour before being drained away. Some forms of bladder cancer may require multiple chemotherapy treatments in their own right, and the potent medications involved can cause side effects.
- Several courses of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment may also be administered using a variant of the BCG vaccine (commonly used to protect against tuberculosis). This too can produce uncomfortable side effects.
- It may be necessary to surgically remove your entire bladder in an operation known as a cystectomy.
- Radiotherapy may also be administered using a radiosensitiser. The side effects of this treatment are well documented and are severe enough that significant thought and discussion should be given before pursuing it.
A misdiagnosis of bladder cancer increases the likelihood of you requiring a more aggressive treatment plan with more negative side effects associated with it. It may also prevent you from recovering altogether, making it critically important for doctors to recognise your bladder cancer quickly.
Get free initial advice on claiming
The legal experts at Blackwater Law have successfully helped secure misdiagnosis compensation for clients across the country. Whether you or a family member have suffered a misdiagnosis of bowel cancer, testicular cancer, breast cancer, or any other form of the disease, we can help you get the compensation you need to move forward.
Blackwater Law client testimonial
It seemed like we were the only case that Jason was working on, and that can’t be true, but that’s how he made us feel.
Mr Shaw, as featured in video above.
Through a challenging period, the legal support, advice and guidance provided to me by Blackwater Law has been excellent. My medical negligence solicitors always had my best interests at heart and kept fighting on my behalf until the very end of my case.
Mr Irving, Blackwater Law Client
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