A substantial damages settlement has been obtained for a 48-year-old man whose health was significantly affected by a seven-month delay in diagnosing tongue cancer.
He had developed a tongue ulcer which became increasingly painful. He had difficulty eating because of the pain and rapidly lost weight. When he attended a dental appointment, his dentist referred him to hospital, concerned that he had had the ulcer for six months and the pain was not improving. A biopsy was taken but the results came back as normal.
His health deteriorated significantly and the pain worsened, spreading to the left side of his head. He struggled to speak and continued to lose weight. He attended another dental appointment and his dentist arranged an urgent hospital appointment. Another biopsy was taken and he was diagnosed with stage 3 tongue cancer. By this time, seven months had passed since the previous biopsy, which had in fact shown that he had stage 1 cancer.
He underwent surgery to remove the tumour, which involved removal of part of his tongue and multiple teeth, a neck dissection and reconstruction of the inside of his mouth. He then underwent a six-week course of radiotherapy. He was unable to eat for 18 months and had to be fed liquid food via a tube inserted into his stomach. He continues to suffer complications including difficulty speaking, neck swelling and tightness, and persistent pain in the left side of his jaw.
He brought a claim for compensation against the NHS trust responsible for his care. The NHS trust admitted liability, accepting that if the original biopsy had been reported correctly, he would have needed much less invasive treatment and would have had an improved clinical outcome. While his claim was ongoing, the cancer returned and he required further surgery and radiotherapy. Updated medical evidence was obtained and his claim was finally settled for a substantial six-figure sum.