JZ had been suffering from blood in his urine and episodes of nocturnal enuresis (involuntary urination that occurs at night) so he attended his GP surgery in March 2013 with these concerns. His GP made a two-week referral to urology to investigate.
He was referred to Urology and underwent investigations including a renal ultrasound, cystoscopy, a video urodynamics test and eventually, bladder neck surgery. The possibility of a tumour was consistently ruled out.
JZ continued to suffer with bladder and kidney problems into the early part of 2014. A scan was carried out in March at the request of a kidney specialist. JZ and his wife received a letter in May 14 asking JZ to return to hospital for an urgent biopsy. The communication between the hospital and JZ was very poor and it was only at a later routine appointment with the urology clinic that he eventually learned that he had bladder cancer. They then discovered that the cancer was terminal and had spread to his lungs.
Sadly, JZ passed away on 31st December 2014 at the age of 41.
How CL Medilaw helped?
JZ’s widow instructed our team to investigate the possible negligence in JZ’s care and provide some much needed answers.
We obtained supportive evidence from a Consultant Urologist who was critical of the Defendant Trust’s care – there were multiple missed opportunities to diagnose JZ’s cancer in 2013 and earlier in 2014.
We sent a Letter of Claim, and the Defendant responded admitting some breaches of duty for the missed opportunities that occurred in 2014 but denying that it would have been curable if diagnosed then.
We replied robustly to the Letter of Response, and this led to an admission that had JZ been diagnosed in 2013, they could have provided the correct treatment and he would have probably survived.
Following the admission, a Mediation was held in 2020 with the Trust and their Solicitors and a significant financial settlement was achieved. A representative from the NHS Trust issued a face-to-face apology to our client regarding the tragic loss of her husband. The settlement means that she now has financial security for her future and some form of closure following a devastating period of her life.
