Settlement obtained for woman following avoidable treatment delay

Julie Crossley, a medical negligence specialist at Ashtons Legal, has obtained a settlement of £10,000 for a woman who suffered both physically and psychologically as a result of avoidable delays in her treatment.

Ms F underwent a mastectomy in 2013 following a diagnosis of breast cancer. She agreed to undergo reconstructive surgery and was warned that this would involve multiple procedures over the course of 12 months.

By August 2016 Ms F had undergone 11 procedures. She was left in constant pain and was unhappy with the physical appearance of the reconstruction. Ms F had also become increasingly concerned about the delays between each surgery and was suffering symptoms of depression and anxiety as a result.

Eventually Ms F was referred to a different trust who successfully carried out the reconstruction.

Evidence was sought from a breast surgeon who found that overall Ms F’s treatment was unnecessarily delayed by a total of 27 months.

Julie comments: “This was a difficult case as although there are no guidelines on timings of surgeries the medical expert did conclude that the delays were unnecessary even when taking into account waiting lists. Ms F was grateful for the settlement and for the trust’s acceptance that some of the delays were longer than they would usually anticipate. She hopes that this outcome will change the way similar patients are treated with what is already a distressing diagnosis.”