Family sue over tumour doctors failed to spot

Leigh Fawcett suffered years of debilitating symptoms and was finally forced to give up work following brain surgery to remove the slow-growing tumour.

And his family's plight dramatically worsened when they lost their home after insurers claimed his condition was pre-existing and refused to pay out to cover his mortgage.

Now Mr Fawcett is taking legal action against GPs and hospital chiefs over the delays in diagnosing the tumour which doctors say he could have suffered from since birth.

The 40-year-old said he first noticed symptoms aged 26 when he was working at a warehouse for Morrisons in 1996.

He was joking with colleagues and laughing hard when suddenly he felt a crushing pressure at the back of his head which forced him to his knees and "frightened the life" out of him.

After a second attack, he went to see his family doctor and continued to visit with "vile" headaches.

"Sometimes I was having to run a shower on my head for an hour-and-a-half because the pain was that bad and the painkillers wouldn't touch it. It went from bad to worse," he said. "I finally lost my temper at the GP's, hit my fist on the desk and said 'I know there is something wrong'."

When he was given a scan date at Pinderfields Hospital, it clashed with a routine hernia operation. But instead of getting a re-scheduled date, he said his paperwork was lost for another 12 months.

By this time he was suffering dizzy spells and had "dangerously high" blood pressure.

In April 2007 – 11 years after his first attack – he was finally given a CT scan.

Doctors confirmed his "worst fears" when they told him he had a brain tumour.

"It was indescribable. I was a young, fit bloke in my prime. Life drained out of me – I was absolutely speechless. I thought 'Is this it? Is it over?'

"After 10 years of being made to feel I was wasting people's time I was given the worst possible diagnosis. I felt completely let down.

"The specialist said they wanted to operate in weeks and until a biopsy was taken we didn't know if it was benign or not."

He said the operation was delayed until he was well enough to have surgery and eventually doctors told him the tumour was benign.

"It was a relief when they finally operated," he added. "It was a hard tumour and had to be chipped away. Some was left at the side of my vertebrae as it was too risky to remove."

Mr Fawcett now has scans every six months to monitor the tumour which is still affecting his health and he has been told it could be years before his condition improves.

"I have only just turned 40 and used to be a fit man. Now I have headaches every day, I feel sick, my sight is going and I regularly get pins and needles down the left hand side of my face," he said.

"There have been occasions when it has been difficult to cope and I couldn't have got through it without my family. You put your trust in the doctors and hope it is going to be all right."

Andrew Harrison, of Raleys Solicitors in Barnsley, said: "As well as having to deal with years of constant, sometimes unbearable pain, which was effectively dismissed by the medical profession, when the eventual diagnosis came through, the family lost its source of income and, as a result of that, their home."

Prof Tim Hendra, medical director at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said he appreciated it had been traumatic.

He added: "I am aware that Mr Fawcett has instructed his solicitors to investigate a possible claim and we are carrying out a thorough investigation to fully cooperate with that process."

Family lost home over long illness

Leigh Fawcett was forced to give up work as a lorry driver and then his wife Tracey, 43, had to leave her job in Wakefield to care for him.

But insurers refused to pay out to cover their mortgage because they said his condition was pre-existing due to the length of time it had taken to diagnose.

Realising their house would be repossessed, the couple, whose daughters Jamie-Lee, 18, and Lauren, 17, still live with them, put it on the market but had to drop the asking price drastically.

"We applied to the council for a house but because we had effectively made ourselves homeless we were turned away," he said.

The family were re-housed by the council after a year in private rented accommodation.