Family secures £358,000 after medical staff failed to address husband’s lung cancer

In 2016 Mr Love was at a work event in the north-east of the country when he suddenly collapsed.

He was rushed to A&E and after an X-ray medics suspected he had lung cancer - but he was not told about the cancer fears and the health board did not schedule any follow-up appointments.

Two years later Mr Love was diagnosed with terminal lung and brain cancer - that was the moment he reached out to Digby Brown.

Trish McFadden, a clinical negligence claims specialist with more than 20 years’ experience, provided support to Mr Love.

Sadly, he passed away shortly after his legal action began, and a month before his first grandson was born, but his wife and family were able to continue with the case in his memory.

Mrs Love, said: “My husband began the process.

“I never liked the whole ‘making a claim for compensation’ notion – I thought it was very much an American concept and I didn’t like the idea of taking money away from the NHS.

“But then it felt like the health board just tried to dismiss its role in my husband’s death - and this really upset me.

“If my husband hadn’t started his claim I don’t know if I would’ve, but I’m glad he did.

“I feel like my husband is behind me, encouraging me to do it.” 

Trish continued to support Mrs Love and her other family members.

She gathered witness statements and medical records – including the conclusions of internal reviews which are essential for any clinical negligence claim.

With the right evidence in place, she was then able to build a strong argument against both NHS Grampian and the Medical & Dental Defence Union Solicitors (MDDUS), an insurance group that deals with injury claims against GPs, as it was thought both the A&E health board and Mr Love’s GP both failed in their care.

We argued that if the 2016 X-ray findings were acted on then Mr Love would have received appropriate treatment and made a full recovery.

Both the NHS and MDDUS denied liability, but they continued to respond to settlement negotiations.

Their first offer of £25,000 angered Mrs Love but it just helped her focus her determination to get justice for her late husband.

After some time, a settlement of £358,000 was finally secured for Mr Love’s family – nearly 14 times more than the initial offer.

Mrs Love added: “It felt like these people were just dismissing what happened and when the first offer came in, I thought ‘How dare you’, so when the case finally settled there was a sense of closure.

“My husband no doubt expected to still be here when he started the legal action but his illness had already taken hold.

“It was for him we did it – manging to hold someone responsible for what happened.

“The compensation helps us manage with domestic bills but I would give it all back in a heartbeat if it meant I could have my husband by my side.

“I can only thank Trish for her support and helping us through it – she was absolutely wonderful, kept in touch with everything that was going on and shared in our frustrations.”