Nick O'Neill, Associate Solicitor in the Injury Services team at JCP Solicitors, which has an office in Cowbridge, tackles an issue around delays to medical care.

We have a history of lung cancer in my family and I'm concerned that my mother has delayed going to the GP for a persistent cough – she's worried about exposure to Covid. Do you have any advice?

It is very important that someone with a persistent cough sees their GP without delay.

GPs are accustomed to operating within the parameters of the pandemic and they have sound safety protocols in place.

Some GPs offer a phone or a video consultation, but they may want to see your mother in person while maintaining extra hygiene standards. Without wanting to alarm you, a persistent cough can, in some cases, be an indicator of cancer, so an early diagnosis is crucial, if only to rule this out.

Unfortunately, we are dealing with an increasing number of legal cases where a delay in diagnosis – or sometimes a misdiagnosis - has resulted in more serious injury to a patient than otherwise would have been the case.

Clearly the Covid situation has led to routine or follow up appointments being cancelled or delayed, so this is a growing issue.

Anyone who feels a delay or a misdiagnosis has caused them further injury or illness should seek tailored legal advice. It may be that compensation could be claimed to help meet any needs arising from the illness.

In most cases, the time limit for doing this is three years from the date the person becomes aware of the true diagnosis. For more information, contact: [email protected] or 01446 771742.

This question is based upon a hypothetical situation. The content does not constitute legal advice and is provided for general information purposes only. Welsh is spoken at JCP Solicitors' Cowbridge office.