11 Year Delay in Diagnosing Carcinoid Tumour

For 11 years Angela suffered from debilitating fatigue which doctors repeatedly attributed to depression. After years of struggle, it was found that the real cause was a carcinoid tumour in her lung. The delay in treatment led to other health complications, including heart failure. She was awarded in excess of £700,000 compensation.

In 1999, Angela began to experience episodes of faintness, accompanied by a fast pulse rate. The mother of three attended her GP who arranged routine blood tests and an ECG. She was also referred to a cardiologist.

The ECG did reveal some abnormalities, but the cardiologist assured Angela that there was nothing to worry about. Angela questioned whether she had had a heart attack. He said there was no evidence of a heart attack but that she was suffering from anxiety and tiredness.

Angela continued to feel unwell, so further tests were performed, including another ECG and a urinary test. Her urine sample also showed abnormalities and the GP was asked to repeat the test. However, this was never done and she was instead referred to a psychiatrist with a diagnosis of depression.

Angela remained under the care of a psychiatrist for the next 11 years. During this time, the psychiatrist repeatedly wrote to Angela's GP asking for further clinical tests. Again, these were never carried out.

By 2010, Angela was extremely unwell. For the past decade she had become increasingly tired. She could not look after her three children properly, leaving her husband to do almost everything. This made her feel extremely guilty, and she missed their development from young children to young adults.

She also struggled at work as she was so exhausted. She reduced her working hours until she finally took early retirement on grounds of ill health. She was virtually unable to perform any of the activities of daily living, but had little choice but to trust her doctors who continued to attribute her symptoms to depression.

But this changed in June 2010 when Angela attended hospital complaining of a persistent cough and breathlessness. An x-ray was performed, revealing a mass on her left lung. Further investigations revealed she was suffering from a carcinoid tumour which had spread to the lymph nodes. The tumour had been the cause of her symptoms for the past 11 years.

Carcinoid tumours in the lung can cause heart damage, and this is exactly what had happened to Angela. Because the tumour was not treated for so long, she developed mitral valve disease with severe mitral regurgitation and pulmonary hypertension, apical hypokinesia indicating a previous myocardial infarction and sub-total occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery.

Therefore Angela had actually had a heart attack, which was missed by the GP and cardiologist. Had this been detected, it would have indicated a carcinoid tumour. The abnormal urine tests also suggested a tumour, but like the ECG, the abnormalities were overlooked.

Angela went on to have multiple operations to treat the carcinoid tumour and ischaemic heart disease. The amount of treatment she required could have been significantly reduced, had she been diagnosed earlier. This would also have prevented the onset of heart disease.

When she discovered that her cancer had been missed over an 11 year period, Angela contacted us to discuss a medical negligence claim. We advised that medical practitioners had a number of opportunities to make a diagnosis but failed to do so.

We helped Angela pursue a claim for the terrible injuries she suffered. She was awarded over £700,000 compensation.

Her compensation settlement reflects the 11 years of extreme exhaustion and illness she endured unnecessarily. Emotional damages were also taken into consideration – for example, the guilt of letting her children down, and the worry of knowing something was wrong, but being told it was depression.

Compensation was also awarded to reflect the substantial sum of money Angela lost as a result of being unable to work. She would not have lost this income, had a diagnosis been achieved when she first presented in 1999.

(Details which might identify our client have been changed.)

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