Last Updated 8th January 2026. Brain cancer misdiagnosis claims can be made by patients who are able to prove that they suffered avoidable harm as a result of a medical professional’s failure to provide them with the correct standard of care. Brain cancer misdiagnosis can have severe impacts by delaying treatment, often resulting in the disease spreading and more invasive and complex treatments being needed. Additionally, a delay in treatment can increase the risk of the cancer spreading to other organs, reducing survival rates.
Although brain cancer misdiagnosis compensation can’t undo the harm caused, it can be used to help you fund any private medical treatments you require, cover any lost earnings if you’ve been made unable to work, and compensate you for the physical and psychological harm caused by a brain cancer misdiagnosis.
With decades of experience, one of our dedicated solicitors can manage the claims process on your behalf. Whether this be by connecting you with specialists who can assist with your recovery or by gathering important documents that can serve as evidence, your solicitor will be here to help you every step of the way.
What You Need To Know About Brain Tumour Misdiagnosis Claims
- What Could Brain Cancer Be Misdiagnosed As? Brain cancer can be misdiagnosed as epilepsy, migraines, vertigo, or even stress and anxiety due to overlapping symptoms.
- What Are Some Symptoms of Brain Cancer? Persistent headaches, seizures, nausea, and vision problems are some of the most common symptoms of brain cancer.
- How Is Brain Cancer Treated? A combination of treatments may be used, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or surgery.
- How Can Brain Cancer Be Misdiagnosed? A medical professional can misdiagnose brain cancer as another condition due to overlapping symptoms, staff may mix up your results with someone else’s, or a radiologist may misread your test results.
- Can I Make a Brain Tumour Misdiagnosis Claim For a Loved One? Yes, you can help them pursue their claim if they are unable to pursue compensation for the brain misdiagnosis because they are either under 18 or mentally incapacitated.
To get in touch and ask any questions you have about medical negligence involving brain tumour misdiagnosis, please reach out to our 24/7 team of friendly advisors using the contact information found in this guide.
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What Is The Eligibility To Claim For A Brain Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Medical negligence occurs when a medical professional breaches the duty of care that they owe to you and, as a result of this breach, causes you to suffer avoidable harm.
All medical professionals owe a duty of care towards all of their patients. This means that they are expected to always provide their patients with the correct level of care. If the care provided falls below an acceptable standard and the patient suffers avoidable harm as a result, then this could be considered a breach of the duty of care.
You may be eligible to make a brain cancer misdiagnosis claim if you can establish the following:
- You were owed a duty of care by a medical professional, such as your GP.
- The duty of care was breached in some way. For example, you showed clear symptoms of brain cancer, such as seizures, headaches and regularly feeling sick, but your GP did not send you for further tests.
- You suffered avoidable harm because of the breach.
Not all cases of brain cancer misdiagnosis will mean a claim can be made. For example, if a medical professional provided you with the correct level of care, but a misdiagnosis occurred because you did not explain all of your symptoms, you may not be eligible to claim.
Limitation Periods For Brain Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
An important piece of information to know about medical negligence claims is that they are subject to certain time limitations. This is outlined via the Limitation Act 1980, which states that you should begin this kind of claim:
- Within 3 years from the date when the medical negligence happened.
- Within 3 years from the date of knowledge, this can be when you learned of medical negligence in connection to the harm you suffered.
If you would like to enquire about exceptions to these time limits in connection with your potential claim, please speak to our team of advisers. Also, get in touch if you’d like more information about the medical negligence claims process.
Causes Of Brain Cancer Misdiagnosis
Various causes could lead to the occurrence of a cancer misdiagnosis. For example:
- Your doctor does not listen to you when you explain your symptoms and therefore fails to send you for further testing, despite your symptoms making this necessary. This leads to a misdiagnosis.
- A medical professional in a hospital mixes up your blood test results with those of another patient, meaning that you receive a diagnosis based on someone else’s test results.
It is important that cancer is diagnosed as quickly as possible, as cancerous cells can invade and destroy nearby healthy tissue, this includes organs. Brain tumours can cause varying symptoms depending on the affected part of the brain. This could include: mental or behavioural changes, vision problems, seizures and paralysis.
Speak to our advisers if you would like to discuss whether you could make a claim for medical negligence following a brain cancer misdiagnosis.
Evidence To Support Brain Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
In order to prove medical negligence has occurred, you will need supporting evidence. We have given a few examples of evidence you can use to support a brain cancer misdiagnosis claim here:
- Medical records showing your brain cancer misdiagnosis, such as improperly performed scans.
- You can also acquire medical records showing you received the correct diagnosis much later, and any additional treatment you underwent.
- Keep a diary during treatment, making a note of your symptoms and the effects on your physical and mental health.
- Anyone who attended your appointments with you or witnessed the substandard care could provide a witness statement. Be sure to take down the relevant contact information so they can give their statement during the claims process.
Contact our advisors today to check if you’re eligible to claim compensation for brain cancer misdiagnosis, contact our team today. If eligible, one of our dedicated solicitors could help you with gathering evidence.
Estimated Payouts For Brain Cancer Misdiagnosis
An award for a successful medical negligence claim could be comprised of up to two heads. These are normally called general damages and special damages.
General damages compensates you for the medical negligence. To help assess this head of claim, a solicitor may refer to a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document containing compensation bracket guidelines for different kinds of injuries.
We have used the JCG to create the following table as a guide. Each claim is different; therefore, the amount awarded will vary depending on the details of the case. Please note that the figure in the top row was not taken from the JCG.
Compensation Guidelines
| Type of Harm | Severity | Guideline Compensation Brackets |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Forms of Harm That Are Very Severe In Nature Plus Financial Losses | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Paraplegia (b) | £267,340 to £346,890 | |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 | |
| Moderate (c) (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 | |
| Less severe (d) | £18,700 to £52,550 | |
| Epilepsy | Established grand mal (a) | £124,470 to £183,190 |
| Established petite mal (b) | £66,920 to £160,360 |
Are Special Damages Awarded In Medical Negligence Claims?
For a successful medical negligence claim, you could also receive special damages, which is the second head of claim. This reimburses for the financial losses incurred due to medical negligence. For example, loss of earnings, care costs and travel expenses.
It is important to note that you will be required to deliver evidence of these losses to support your claim. This could include travel tickets, payslips and invoices.
Contact our team of advisers if you would like to receive a personalised estimation of the medical negligence compensation you could be eligible to receive following a brain cancer misdiagnosis.
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Why Choose Our Specialist Solicitors For No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Claims?
If you contact our team of advisers and allow them to carry out an evaluation of your claim, they may find that you could be eligible to pursue compensation. In this case, they could connect you with one of the medical negligence solicitors we have available.
Our solicitors may offer to work on your claim under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a kind of No Win No Fee agreement. Working with a No Win No Fee solicitor under a CFA means that you won’t pay upfront for their services, nor will you pay for these for the duration of your ongoing claim. Also, you typically don’t pay for their services at any time if your claim does fail.
A No Win No Fee solicitor can take a small success fee from the compensation if your claim is successful. This percentage is subject to a cap under the relevant legislation. Therefore, you always receive the majority of the compensation.
Why Work With Legal Expert?
If one of our advisors confirms that you are eligible to proceed, you may wish to work with one of our solicitors due to their experience in handling medical negligence claims. A brain cancer misdiagnosis can have a major impact on your daily life and health. Our legal team understand this, which is why they work hard to reduce the potential stress of making a claim. They can do this by:
- Helping you to prove your brain cancer misdiagnosis- they may organise an independent medical assessment or Bolam test to provide medical evidence
- Handling the negotiation of how much compensation is owed to you and arguing for the total to include the relevant losses suffered
- Maintaining professional communication with the defendant on your behalf
- Giving you regular case updates and opportunities to raise any queries you have about the legal process
- Assisting you with an application for an interim payment- this is a payment that is sometimes given to a claimant before the claim has been completely settled
Reach out to our team of advisors today to find out whether you can claim compensation for a brain tumour misdiagnosis. They can further explain the benefits of working with one of our solicitors.
- Complete our ‘Contact Us’ form
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Speak to an adviser using the live support window below
Find Out More About Claiming For Misdiagnosed Cancers
Further guides from our website:
- See when you can claim for the misdiagnosis of lung cancer
- Read about claiming for cancer misdiagnosed as kidney stones
- Get information on how to sue for a hospital-acquired infection with our guide
External resources:
- Brain Tumour – Information and support from Macmillan
- Good Medical Practice – Guidance for doctors from the General Medical Council (GMC)
- Treatment for Brain Tumours – Information from Cancer Research UK