A dad tragically died after a kidney tumor went untreated for 10 years, due to the hospital losing his test results.
After an investigation found that Michael Lane may have survived if he learned of his tumor and was operated on sooner, his family is now speaking out in the hopes of helping others who may be missing life-saving information.
The 50-year-old died in May 2021, just five months after being diagnosed with kidney cancer — despite showing signs of cancer for a decade.
The United Kingdom man went to the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital for tests, but the radiology report was printed and filed without ever being sent to his consulting urologist or his doctor, leaving the fatal tumor to grow.
The father of three was unaware of the tumor until he was diagnosed in December 2020 with metastatic kidney cancer.
An investigation report was carried out by the National Health Service Trust in May last year, with his heartbroken family finding out that if Lane’s tumor had been treated earlier, he may have survived.
“Mike was a very private person and never wanted any fuss, but one of his regrets was trusting the doctors and assuming everything was OK,” his brother Mark told South West News Service.
“Now that our case has settled, I can’t help but worry that this isn’t a one-off and that there are other people out there who have been failed like Mike, and had crucial scan results go missing at this Trust.”
Lane died five months after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, leaving behind a devastated family. Courtesy Lane Family / SWNS
Doctors lost a scan revealing the kidney tumor. Courtesy Lane Family / SWNSLaura Weir, a clinical negligence specialist at Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors, said the shocking case had identified a worrying flaw with the Trust’s radiology reporting system.
“Despite the Trust assuring us that they are now moving to an electronic system, which they hope will prevent future harm, the implementation of an IT solution will not prevent sad cases such as that of Mr. Lane where the scan report, that was missed, took place before the widespread availability of such systems,” she said, urging anyone with similar concerns to contact an expert for advice.
Richard Steyn, co-medical director at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, offered his “sincere apologies and condolences to the family” for failing to report the discovery of the tumor earlier.
“We carried out a thorough investigation into this case to learn lessons and are planning to introduce trust-wide electronic record systems, designed to safeguard patients from similar errors with paper-based records,” he said.
