5 Things Solicitors Should Know When Handling Skin Cancer CN Claims

Skin cancer claims can look relatively straightforward where there has been an obvious delay in referral, diagnosis or follow-up.

But the existence of a delay does not, by itself, establish that the claimant suffered a recoverable loss.

For solicitors, the more important question is often whether the cancer was already sufficiently advanced that the same treatment or outcome would probably have followed anyway. That means separating breach from causation, identifying the right counterfactual and making sure the expert evidence addresses what actually changed because of the delay.

Download The Guide Here >

Dr Falk has worked as a medico-legal expert since 2004, providing opinions on causation, condition and prognosis for claimant and defendant solicitors, alongside more than 30 years’ experience in clinical oncology.

Based on his INNEG webinar, Skin Cancer Clinical Negligence Claims: Causation, Delay & Prognostic Uncertainty, the guide focuses on the issues most likely to affect whether a claim is viable, how it should be investigated and what should be put to the expert.

Inside you’ll learn:

• Why delay alone may not establish causation.
• How to build a chronology that actually tests outcome.
• How to frame the “but for” treatment pathway.
• When treatment burden may matter more than life expectancy.
• Why melanoma prognosis needs current evidence.
• How to choose the right oncology specialist.
• When another discipline may also be needed.

A key theme throughout the guide is that the length of the delay is not enough on its own. The real issue is whether earlier diagnosis would probably have changed treatment, progression or prognosis.

It also explains why expert instructions should test the likely counterfactual, rather than simply asking whether the delay caused harm.

For melanoma claims, current treatment outcomes can materially affect both causation and quantum, while expert selection is equally important: “oncology” may be too broad where the case requires a site-specific specialist or additional evidence from dermatology, pathology or surgery.