Our client underwent a routine blood test to check his PSA levels, which is a known marker for prostate cancer. Our client had a family history of prostate cancer and therefore always arranged for regular PSA blood testing. The results came back to his GP as raised at 9.06. The GP tried to telephone our client, but on an old mobile telephone number. They did not try his landline number, nor did they email or write to him. Our client had been told to presume that the results were normal unless he heard otherwise, and as he did not know about the contact attempt, he presumed everything was fine.
8 months later, our client had a GP appointment regarding an unrelated matter. No mention was made of the abnormal PSA results.
A further 5 ½ months later, our client attended another GP appointment, and the previous abnormal PSA result was noted. A repeat test was carried out, and the result showed that the PSA had risen significantly to 22.86. Our client was referred to hospital and by the time he was seen, his PSA had risen again to 43.7.
Our client was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and received radiotherapy treatment. The experts in the case concluded that sadly, due to the nature of the underlying cancer, our client’s life expectancy would always have been affected but they concluded that the delayed diagnosis had likely accelerated his death by up to 3 years.
Following settlement negotiations, our Client recovered the sum of £52,500 in compensation.
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