Mouth Cancer Misdiagnosis and Delay of Diagnosis Compensation

Mouth cancer claims that are successful receive different amounts of compensation. This is because each case is valued depending on the effect medical negligence has on the patient’s life. As a result, it’s impossible to say how much compensation you could receive without fully understanding your case. However, medical negligence claims, including those for misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, can amount to thousands.

In 2014 the NHS paid out over £194 million to patients that had been affected by levels of care that were not up to standard. If you’re pursuing a mouth cancer misdiagnosis claim a wide range of factors will be taken into consideration when calculating its value, such as the effect it had on the treatment options for you and the impact it can have on your quality of life. What’s more, other areas can also be factored in, such as loss of earnings if you’ve been unable to work or extra medical expenses you may have paid.

When you work with us, our expert team will listen to your personal experiences and give your claim a value that reflects the treatment and suffering caused by a missed mouth cancer diagnosis.

If you have been affected by medical negligence when you had mouth cancer and would like to make a claim you must do so within 3 years.

Mouth cancer misdiagnosis claims, as with all medical claims, have 3 years from the ‘date of knowledge’ to be taken forward. This term refers to the point that you first realised a mistake had been made with your care, this could include test results being read inaccurately or the misdiagnosis of mouth cancer. In some cases, the ‘date of knowledge’ can occur a significant amount of time after you first visited your GP, making it difficult to understand exactly when this date is. If you’re unsure or would like to check if your case still falls within the specified time frame, you can talk to us.

If you’re worried about symptoms that could be mouth cancer you can book an appointment with either your GP or dentist. Whichever you choose, they will ask you about the symptoms you’re experiencing and carry out a physical examination. If mouth cancer is suspected you may be referred to a hospital or a specialist oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

The NHS has guidelines for referring patients after the signs of mouth cancer have been recognised. In some urgent cases, such as a patient that has an unexplained ulceration in the oral cavity that has lasted more than 3 weeks, this should be within 2 weeks.

Mouth cancer is typically diagnosed via a biopsy, a procedure that involves removing a small sample of cells from the suspected cancerous area for testing in a lab. There is more than one type of biopsy that can be used to achieve a mouth cancer diagnosis, which one is chosen will depend on a range of factors, such as how accessible the affected tissue is.

It is possible for mouth cancer to be misdiagnosed either by a GP or by a dentist. During the initial stages the signs of mouth cancer may be wrongly linked to other causes, such as irritation and sores being the result of a sharp tooth. However, persistent signs of mouth cancer should be further examined and referred to a specialist. Where this hasn’t occurred it may be possible to make a claim for medical negligence.

The prognosis following a mouth cancer diagnosis is often very good, particularly if it’s diagnosed during the earliest stages. Your treatment plan will be tailored to your circumstances, for example, considering how far the cancer has spread and your general health. In some cases, a complete cure may be possible with just surgery, in others radiotherapy or chemotherapy may be required to control the disease.

The team that’s responsible for your care will recommend a treatment option but the final say remains with the patient. Treatment for mouth cancer can include:

There are different types of mouth cancer depending on the cells that the cancer first started to develop in. The type of mouth cancer that you have should be determined at the diagnosis stage and can have an impact on the treatment options that are recommend for you.

Squamous cells are the flat, skin like cells that cover the inside of the mouth, nose, larynx, and throat. The majority of mouth cancers start in these cells, with more than 90% of oral cancer being diagnosed as squamous cell cancers of the mouth and oropharynx.

There are other types of mouth cancer, although they account for just 10% of cases between them and are therefore less likely to occur. These include:

Across the UK in 2014 there were 11,449 cases of head and neck cancer and 2,386 deaths as a result of the disease.

The statistics on mouth cancer survival rates aren’t as precise as others. For instance, between 19% and 59% of people diagnosed with head and neck cancers survive their disease for more than a decade, while between 61% and 86% will survive their diagnosis for a year or more. There are many factors that affect the mouth cancer survival rate, including the type of cancer present, the age of the patient, and the stage the cancer is at when it’s diagnosed.

According to Cancer Research UK, over 90% of oral cancer cases could be preventable through lifestyle changes, including cutting down tobacco and alcohol consumption and increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables eaten.