Bowel Cancer Awareness Month: Symptoms, Delays & Claims

Claire Levene
Solicitor

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By Claire Levene

Solicitor | Medical Negligence

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Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

April marks Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness of one of the most common cancers in the UK.

Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK. Whilst most diagnoses occur in people over the age of 60, it has become increasingly more common in younger people. If bowel cancer is detected at an early stage, over 90% of cases are curable.

Our solicitors have acted in claims involving delays in the diagnosis and/or treatment of bowel cancer. Every case is different, but examples of cases our team has dealt with include:

• Failure by a GP to investigate symptoms such as a change in bowel habit and abdominal pain
• Misdiagnosis, including incorrect diagnosis of haemorrhoids (piles)
• Failure by a GP to make an urgent two-week referral despite symptoms such as change in bowel habit, abdominal pain, weight loss, and blood in stool
• Misinterpretation of CT scans
• Failure by a surgeon to take a sufficiently wide margin when resecting a bowel tumour
• Failure to properly investigate symptoms attributable to recurrence, including failing to consider the possibility of an extraluminal recurrence (outside of the bowel), which would only be visible on a scan and not during colonoscopy
• Administrative delays and errors, including loss to follow-up, wrongful discharge, and failure to offer screening

In some cases, a delay in diagnosis of bowel cancer can result in reduced life expectancy and the loss of the opportunity for curative treatment. In other cases, curative treatment may still be possible, but the treatment may be more extensive and prolonged than it would have been with an earlier diagnosis.

Time Limits

There are strict time limits for bringing a clinical negligence claim. The general rule is that a claim must be brought within three years from:

• The date the negligence occurred; or
• The date the claimant became aware that they suffered harm due to negligent treatment (if later)

Where death has occurred due to a negligent delay in diagnosis, a claim may still be brought by a surviving spouse or dependent, and/or on behalf of the deceased’s estate, provided that:

• The three-year time limit had not expired before death; and
• It is less than three years since the date of death

Compensation

The purpose of a clinical negligence claim is to obtain compensation for the harm and losses suffered as a result of negligent treatment.

In bowel cancer delay cases, depending on the individual circumstances, damages may include:

• Pain and suffering
• Loss of earnings and pension loss
• Personal care
• Help and support at home
• Travel expenses
• Medical treatment and prescription costs
• Other miscellaneous financial losses

Where a delay in diagnosis has resulted in death, compensation may also include:

For a surviving spouse or financial dependants:

• Statutory bereavement damages
• Loss of financial dependency
• Loss of services dependency, relating to housework, gardening, DIY, childcare that the deceased person would have carried out if they had survived
• Funeral expenses

For the estate:

• Pain and suffering experienced by the deceased following the negligence to the date of their death
• Any financial losses suffered by the deceased in their lifetime as a result of the negligence, for example travel/medical expenses, loss of earnings, care provided by others
• Funeral expenses

How We Can Help

If you or a loved one has experienced a delay in bowel cancer diagnosis, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact our specialist clinical negligence solicitors today for a free, confidential assessment.