Our Client was suffering from pain in both breasts and found a lump under the left nipple; they were referred to Breast Clinic at a local hospital and underwent examination. After having a mammogram and ultrasound at the hospital, our Client was told that the lump was a cyst and therefore they were discharged from Breast Clinic without any further follow up.

However, 16 months later our Client reported still having pain in both breasts and that the ‘lump’ had not resolved. Their GP referred them back to the hospital and following a biopsy, our Client was diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts and required a double mastectomy.

The mammogram and ultrasound scans performed when our Client attended Breast Clinic initially had been misreported and that they were in fact ‘suspicious of malignancy’ in both breasts.

It transpired that there had been a breach of duty of care by the Radiologist at the local hospital who interpreted the bilateral breast lesions as normal breast tissue. This failure caused an approximate 18-month delay in diagnosing both breast cancers.

Ultrasound guided core biopsies of both breasts should have taken place, and this would have resulted in an earlier diagnosis of breast cancer.