For years, a man lived with seizures that continued to worsen despite treatment. A further MRI scan eventually showed significant changes to abnormalities first seen in 2015. Mandip Hayre secured £50,000 in compensation for the delay in diagnosing and managing his condition.
Mandip is a Lawyer in NBB Waldrons’ Medical Negligence team. She has experience of investigating delayed diagnoses, misdiagnoses and surgical errors, and joined the firm in 2023. In this case, she helped this client obtain recognition for the effect that years of worsening seizures had on his life.
From a first seizure to a changed diagnosis
The client was admitted to hospital in Cheltenham after a major seizure in March 2015. An MRI scan showed five abnormal areas in his brain, and he was referred to Southmead Hospital for further investigation. He was initially told he had terminal brain cancer and might have around six months to live.
Approximately two months later, he received a telephone call explaining that, following a further review of the scan, clinicians now believed he had frontal cortical dysplasia. He was referred to a specialist epilepsy team and prescribed different anti-seizure medicines.
Around July 2019, his seizures began to worsen. He repeatedly asked for another scan but was reassured that further imaging was unnecessary. An MRI was eventually carried out on 5th October 2020. It showed significant progression of the abnormalities identified in 2015, and he was told the likely diagnosis was malignant brain tumours that could not be cured.
In December 2020, he underwent surgery to remove as much tumour tissue as possible. Some areas could be removed, while others were inoperable. He subsequently received radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The effect of the delay
The seizures had a profound effect on the client’s day-to-day life. He was unable to work and struggled to function as he had before. His seizures improved following surgery.
He was advised that the delay had not changed his overall prognosis. That distinction matters: the claim concerned the avoidable impact of delayed diagnosis and management, particularly the prolonged effect of his seizures, rather than a claim that earlier treatment would have cured the tumours.
The NHS explains that seizures can be a symptom of a brain tumour. NICE guidance on epilepsy also addresses brain imaging and specialist review where seizures continue despite treatment and the diagnosis remains unclear. These are general sources of patient information and guidance; the findings in this particular claim depended on its own records and expert evidence.
How the £50,000 claim was resolved
The client asked NBB Waldrons to investigate his care. Mandip served a Letter of Claim, and the defendant carried out its own investigation, including obtaining expert evidence.
In its Letter of Response, the defendant admitted liability and causation in relation to the delay in diagnosis and management of the client’s condition. It then made a Part 36 offer of £50,000, which the client accepted.
Mandip Hayre, Medical Negligence Lawyer at NBB Waldrons, said: “This client spent years coping with seizures that were getting worse and affecting his ability to work and live as he had before. His overall prognosis was not changed by the delay, but that does not diminish the impact those years had on him. The settlement recognises what he went through and why his concerns needed to be investigated.”
Concerned about a delayed diagnosis?
A delayed diagnosis does not automatically mean that care was negligent. A claim depends on what should reasonably have happened and whether the delay caused avoidable harm. You can read more about delayed diagnosis claims and another case involving a delayed diagnosis of an acoustic schwannoma.
If you have questions about a delayed diagnosis or your medical treatment, contact Mandip or our Medical Negligence team for an initial conversation. NBB Waldrons has offices in Birmingham, Cheltenham, Dudley, Merry Hill, Kingswinford, Worcester and serving client across the West Midlands.
