LEUKAEMIA - MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE COMPENSATION

Symptoms

When leukaemia affects the body, normal cells in the bone marrow are rapidly replaced by large numbers of malignant marrow cells which in turn results in a deficit of platelets in the bloodstream. These platelets are crucial to helping the blood clot when wounds are healing. People with leukaemia can become bruised easily and may bleed excessively if the skin is punctured. Other effects of the disease include a suppression of the white blood cells that help fight pathogens. This in turn can cause an individual to develop infections easily and generally be less than able to protect themselves from contact with infectious diseases. The deficiency in the red blood cell count can also lead to anaemia which can cause dyspnea.

Diagnosis

To properly diagnose leukaemia the doctor must make use of blood tests and a bone marrow biopsy. Other symptoms he will ask about should include fever, chills and cold symptoms, weakness, swollen gums, persistent headaches and a loss of appetite or sudden loss of weight.

False Positive

Another potential problem with the diagnosis of leukaemia is that there is a possibility for the tests to return a false positive result. This means that some patients are told they have leukaemia when they actually do not. This can lead to many other problems, such as unnecessary treatments that cause harm, to the emotional worry and stress involved in thinking that you have a disease. It can also mean that whatever is causing your symptoms continues to cause you problems unchecked, and the treatment is missing the cause altogether.

Diagnosis Delay

A delay in diagnosing leukaemia or a mis-diagnosis can mean that the suffering of the patient is more than it might otherwise have been. An early diagnosis gives the patient the best possible chance for a successful series of management and treatment options. The law recognises this and has put in place legislation to properly compensate anyone who has been harmed due to the medical negligence of a health care professional.

Specialist Solicitors

If your life, or the life of a loved one, has been changed due to the medical negligence then there is now support available. We offer a network service of medical and legal experts who are on hand to provide you with free advice. Legal aid is available for medical negligence claims and for those who do not qualify we operate the no win no fee scheme. Legal aid will always be available for children with no parental contribution.

Free Legal Advice

Our solicitors offer free advice either personally or on the telephone for whatever length of time is necessary to establish whether you have a reasonable case and they will also give advice on the claims procedure and how much compensation may be awarded. You will be given unequivocal advice on funding your claim including legal aid, no win no fee and insurance policy cover. If you would like to discuss your claim with a specialist just complete the contact form and a solicitor will phone you. If after discussing your matter you do not wish to proceed further then you are under no obligation to do so and you will not be charged for the initial advice.