Father-of-one from Halesowen, died in March 2014 four years after he first sought medical help for lump

The family of a 27-year-old cancer patient whose referral to specialists was delayed for more than a year are to receive a six-figure settlement following legal action against the two NHS Trusts that failed to ensure he received the right care.

Daniel Hemmings, a father-of-one from Halesowen, died in March 2014 from carcinomatosis with spindle cell soft tissue sarcoma, four years after he first sought medical advice regarding a lump on his lower back which was growing in size and increasingly painful.

Daniel instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate his treatment. Following his death, Daniel’s partner Fallon Waldron, 28, carried on the case in an attempt to get answers for his death.

Now, the case has been settled for an undisclosed sum with the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust admitting that Daniel should have been referred to a specialist cancer team more than a year earlier than he was. No other admissions of liability were made by either Trust.

Fallon, who lives in Halesowen with the couple’s six-year-old son Harry, said: “It is almost three and a half years since Daniel passed away and we all continue to miss him so much. It breaks my heart when Harry talks about Daddy being in the stars because I am devastated that he will never have a lasting relationship with his father.

“I still look back in disbelief that it took around two years from Daniel complaining about the lump for it to be recognised for what it was. Unfortunately this settlement came without full admissions of liability from either Trust, so for us as a family some questions do still remain about how this was allowed to happen.

“I just hope that if any good can come from the nightmare we have faced, it is that lessons can be learned which will ensure that the treatment and care received by others can be improved. 

“This should simply not happen again.”

Daniel, who had Type 1 Neurofibromatosis which caused him to develop tumours in his nervous system, initially raised concerns with his GP regarding the lump back in 2010. He was referred to Worcestershire Royal Hospital – which is managed by Worcestershire Acute Hospital NHS Trust – and an MRI scan was undertaken, but no follow-up appointment was then made to review the findings.

This led Daniel to assume everything was fine, but he contacted his GP once again with concerns about the lump in March 2011 and was this time referred to Russells Hall Hospital, which is operated by the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust. Following an MRI and an ultrasound scan in September 2011, the lump was deemed to be a benign tumour and then removed in an operation in March 2012.

However, further tests then confirmed the tumour was in fact a malignant spindle cell sarcoma and a referral was made to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham. Daniel was not informed of this due to a mix-up related to his contact details and was only seen by the hospital in July 2012 when he received his diagnosis. Treatment was then started, but Daniel passed away in March 2014.

Jenna Harris, an associate solicitor and the expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Fallon and the family, said: 

Expert Opinion

“Securing this settlement for Fallon is a small ray of light in a desperately tragic and devastating case.

“A young father sought medical advice related to a lump and put his faith in the medical professionals who advised him. Unfortunately, by the time he received the appropriate care it was too late.

“We will continue to work with Fallon to ensure she and Harry have the support they need moving forward.” Jenna Harris - Partner