Royal Marsden Hospital: £1m for family of woman not told of BRCA gene mutation risk
Helen Thompson settled a claim on behalf of Mrs O's family in relation to care she received under the Family History Clinic at The Royal Marsden Hospital.
Mrs O had a strong family history of breast cancer. In in her late twenties, Mrs O came under the care of the Family History Clinic at The Royal Marsden. She started having annual breast examinations until the age of 35 after which she started to have annual mammograms.
The BRCA 1 and 2 gene mutations have been identified since around 1994 and it was known that women who had the gene mutation were at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer Private testing became available for the BRCA gene mutation over the next few years.
From 2004, NICE Guidelines recommended genetic counselling for women deemed to be at risk of having the BRCA gene mutation and in 2007, The Royal Marsden published a protocol which required all high risk women such as Mrs O to be referred for genetic counselling.
Due to her family history of breast cancer there should have been a strong suspicion that there may be a genetic mutation. However, Mrs O was not advised about her potential risk of the BRCA gene mutation, nor of the link to ovarian cancer at any time during her care at Royal Marsden. She was also not offered referral for genetic counselling at any time.
Mrs O developed classic symptoms of ovarian cancer. Investigations confirmed a cancerous mass arising from the left ovary and suspected metastatic disease. Mrs O underwent chemotherapy followed by extensive abdominal surgery to remove the cancer followed by more chemotherapy.
Following her diagnosis of ovarian cancer Mrs O was advised about the BRCA gene mutation and the link between breast and ovarian cancer. She underwent genetic testing which confirmed she had a mutation in the BRCA 1 gene.
Sadly, treatment for the ovarian cancer was unsuccessful and the disease recurred several times and Mrs O passed away from the disease at 50 years of age leaving a husband and three children.
The Trust denied that there had been a failure to advise Mrs O about the genetic mutation and ovarian cancer risk before November 2007 but admitted that a referral for genetic counselling should have been made in April 2008.
The Trust defended the claim on the basis that even if properly advised, Mrs O may not have had genetic testing for the BRCA gene mutation and/or would not have had protective surgery to remove her ovaries and prevent ovarian cancer. The Defendant admitted that if Mrs O had undergone surgery to remove her ovaries by the end of 2009 she would have been cured of any disease and would have avoided her death.
After exchange of witness and expert evidence in the claim the Trust agreed to an early settlement meeting. At the settlement meeting Helen was able to negotiate a settlement in the sum of £1 million for Mrs O's family.
Contact us
For further information about ovarian cancer claims, please call Helen Thompson on 03304606765 or email helen.thompson@fieldfisher.com.
Alternatively
- You can speak to our medical negligence solicitors on freephone 0800 358 3848
- email us: personalinjury@fieldfisher.com
- Complete the short online enquiry form
All enquiries are completely free of charge and we will investigate all funding options for you including no win no fee. Find out more about no win no fee claims.