A family´s claim for the misdiagnosis of terminal lung cancer has been resolved out of court following the death of Frank Golby in February 2012.
Frank, who was aged 65 at the time of his death, had been referred to Coventry University Hospital in May 2010 by his family GP after complaining of a persistent cough and underwent a CT scan. The scan revealed a 1cm-wide nodule in Frank´s left lung; however this was overlooked by his doctors, who diagnosed a chest infection.
The scan was never reviewed, despite Frank returning to the hospital on several more occasions complaining of breathing problems; but, in February 2012, a chest x-ray showed that the lump had grown to five times its original size. Assurances that all was well – and that Frank would be home with his family in Whoberley within a few days – were found to be incorrect, as Frank died the following day.
Frank´s family made a claim for the misdiagnosis of terminal lung cancer after seeking legal advice, alleging that Frank would have lived for a further ten years had the cancer been correctly identified when he underwent the original scan in 2010 when the condition was treatable.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust reviewed Frank´s treatment and acknowledged that a mistake had been made. They hospital authority issued an apology to the family and the claim for the misdiagnosis of terminal lung cancer was resolved out-of-court for an undisclosed five figure sum.