Fatal claim: compensation for failure to diagnose cancer on a CT scan

Fatal claim: compensation for failure to diagnose cancer on a CT scan

The story

Negligent reporting of a CT scan failed to pick up evidence of colorectal cancer, which meant our client’s husband went undiagnosed for 16 months, by which time the disease had spread and he sadly died a few weeks later. 

The details

Our client was the widow, and Executor of the Estate, of Mr W (Deceased), who had a successful career as an international Quantity Surveyor. In August 2018, Mr W, who was 65 years old, went to the A&E department at Southampton General Hospital, with intermittent crampy, abdominal pain. He was found to have anaemia, and a two-week referral for suspected cancer was arranged.

Despite the two-week referral, it wasn’t until October 2018 that a CT scan of Mr W’s chest, abdomen and pelvis was performed. The CT scan was reported as normal, with no cause for the anaemia.

However, this was a negligent report: the CT scan had, in fact, demonstrated omental and nodal disease, confirming cancer. As a result of the misreporting of the scan, Mr W was reassured and treated with Mebeverine for crampy pain and iron replacement therapy for anaemia. 

In September 2019, Mr W returned to hospital, again, with crampy abdominal pain. It was found that his haemoglobin had once more dropped below the normal range, indicating anaemia. However, a referral to gastroenterology for further assessment determined further investigations were not necessary.    

Mr W continued to suffer abdominal pain, which progressed to vomiting and weight loss, requiring an acute surgical admission for suspected bowel obstruction in February 2020.

A second CT scan was then reported as showing widespread peritoneal and hepatic metastases, followed by an ultrasound-guided biopsy which confirmed a diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

The original CT scan of October 2018 was then corrected by the doctors.   

Mr W received palliative care, before he sadly died in April 2020.   

How we helped

Our client sought legal advice and instructed Sumit Morjaria, a Senior Associate in the medical negligence team at Shoosmiths, to pursue a claim against the trust for alleged failures to diagnose and treat colorectal cancer following the CT scan in October 2018.  

During our investigations, we discovered that the hospital had outsourced and delegated the reporting of the CT scan through a contract of services with a private limited company, who in turn had their own contract with a consultant radiologist. The radiologist was not employed by the hospital or the company. He was contractually obliged by the company to have his own insurance policy for clinical negligence claims, so he should have been the defendant in this case. Before our investigations, there was no way our client or Mr W could have known this. As far as Mr W was concerned, he had received treatment under the NHS.  

We obtained supportive expert evidence from an independent expert consultant radiologist and a consultant clinical oncologist, who concluded that if the CT scan in October 2018 had been correctly reported, Mr W would have undergone further investigations including biopsy, which were likely, on the balance of probabilities, to have confirmed colorectal cancer.  

Furthermore, our expert oncologist believed that if Mr W had received chemotherapy following diagnosis in or around October 2018, he is likely to have lived longer.   
No admissions of liability were made by the defendant. However, following strategic negotiations, a substantial five-figure out-of-court settlement was agreed on behalf of Mr W’s Estate.   

What our client said

Mr W’s widow is now rebuilding her life following the tragic loss of her husband.  She commented:

“Right from the start I was treated with the utmost professional care and consideration from everyone at Shoosmiths. Mine was a difficult and complex case, although the evidence was clear to all concerned. It was a long hard road, but I was always kept informed of the progress through all the legal processes. Sumit was always aware of my feelings and was so understanding, empathetic and helpful. I completely put my faith in them, and we eventually had a positive outcome settling out of court. I would not hesitate to highly recommend Shoosmiths to anyone facing a similar battle.”

Disclaimer

This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before acting on any of the information given. © Shoosmiths LLP 2025