Family of Ovarian Cancer Victim Receives Justice

It is only right that fair compensation is paid to those who suffer unnecessarily due to delayed cancer treatment. In a case on point, the NHS agreed to pay seven-figure damages to the bereaved family of a mother who died of ovarian cancer.

After her widower lodged a clinical negligence claim, the NHS trust that bore responsibility for her care accepted that there was a negligent failure to detect signs suggestive of malignancy when she underwent a scan in 2016. They also accepted that a malignant tumour should have been removed during the elective caesarean birth of her second child the following year.

As it was, the disease progressed despite radical surgery and gruelling courses of chemo- and immuno-therapy and she died in 2020. The trust acknowledged that the delayed diagnosis had deprived her of the chance of early treatment. The prompt removal of the tumour would have improved her life expectancy and there would probably have been no need for major surgery.

Following negotiations, the trust agreed to settle the claim for a lump sum of £1.5 million. Of that total, her young children would each receive £10,000 as some compensation for the loss of their mother. Those sums would be invested for their benefit until they reached adulthood.

In approving the settlement, the High Court noted that the mother's final months of life were agonising and terrifying for her and her loved ones. Her suffering and distress had a profound impact on her family and was made all the worse by her anger and frustration at the treatment she had received.