Settlement for entrepreneur after delayed diagnosis of lymphoma at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

DL was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in April 2014. About a year earlier he had an x-ray at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. They failed to report a lesion in his chest and he was falsely reassured.

During the course of the following year the cancer grew, DL was in agonising pain and the tumour eroded through his right 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th and 9^th ribs.

Iona Meeres-Young obtained expert evidence from an expert radiologist who confirmed the x-ray was negligently reported, and causation evidence from a haematologist.

Surprisingly the delay made no difference to his prognosis other than the intervening period of pain and suffering.

However, DL sustained significant loss of earnings. He is a successful entrepreneur and has set up many new businesses over the years. At the time of the diagnosis DL was formulating a new venture. The timing of the diagnosis caused damage to the launch of that business. The late diagnosis in April 2014 happened at a key moment when his venture was on the brink of securing investment and launch. He had spent the previous year developing the business. It was a successful start-up with significant potential. When he was diagnosed in 2014 and told it was terminal, he shifted his focus to his recovery.  The business lost momentum and folded. Iona argued that had he been correctly diagnosed in 2013, the business would have been in its "seed" stage where he could have suspended the business and picked it up a year later.  Iona instructed a forensic accountant to consider these issues.

The claim settled for in excess of £75,000.

Image: By Thomas Blomberg [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

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For further information about delayed lymphoma diagnosis claims and medical negligence claims, please call Iona Meeres-Young on 03304606769 or email iona.meeres-young@fieldfisher.com.

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