Megan Royle from East Yorkshire noticed a mole on her upper arm that continued to grow and became itchy and scabbed. As a result of these symptoms, her GP referred her to a dermatologist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for further evaluation in 2019. After a biopsy, she was diagnosed with a type of skin cancer known as melanoma, Sky News reports.
Following the diagnosis, Ms Royle was referred to a specialised cancer unit at Royal Marsden Hospital for her biopsy to be reviewed, and it was confirmed once more that she had melanoma. Based on this result, a 2cm-wide tissue excision was performed to remove what was believed to be the cancer.
After learning that the immunotherapy treatment she was undergoing might impact her fertility, the theatrical makeup artist who was 29-year-old at the time, decided to undergo an egg freezing procedure. By May 2021, she had completed nine treatment cycles and relocated to the North of England due to the closure of theatres during the lockdown. The misdiagnosis was only discovered after a new hospital trust reviewed her records and scans after relocating.
Legal action was taken against both the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust because of the medical negligence that occurred. Now 33, Megan Royle managed to win an out of court settlement. She conveyed her “frustration” and “anger” about the whole situation. She said: “When the doctors sat me down and told me, it took a while to sink in. You’d think the immediate emotion would be relief, and in some sense, it was, but I’d say the greater emotions were frustration and anger.”
In response to this medical error, a spokesperson for a joint pathology partnership, which includes three NHS trusts, including Imperial College Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are deeply sorry for the distress caused to Ms Royle and apologise unreservedly for the error made. While no settlement will make up for the impact this has had, we are pleased an agreement has been reached.”
Here at UKExpertMedical, we appreciate how traumatic these cases can be. Our team will always act in the best interests of the client and solicitor to prepare Medical Negligence Reports, including misdiagnosis reports as quickly as possible, in order that the claim can progress to a prompt conclusion. Get in touch with our team today.
