Clinical Negligence Claims

Hospitals and medical practitioners should be safe places to turn to when you’ve been injured or fallen ill. However, sometimes patients don’t receive the quality treatment they expect or deserve, and the consequences can be life-changing or threatening.

Clinical negligence claims are highly technical and consider whether the standard of care received by a patient fell below that of a reasonably competent health care professional in that specific area of medicine, resulting in the patient suffering harm or loss.

Types of Clinical Negligence Compensation and Claims

Medical records are often considered with assistance from independent medical practitioners (expert witnesses) who help to assess the standard of care received in a particular case given the individual circumstances. A detailed letter of claim can then be drafted setting out the basis of the claim which is then considered with medical negligence solicitors representing hospitals and doctors, according to protocols prescribed by the courts. The level of compensation to be negotiated can be considerable, and cases are taken to court to be decided by a Judge where an agreement cannot be reached.   

Our team of clinical negligence specialists handle claims in both the NHS and the private sector, and the majority of these claims are dealt with on a ‘no win no fee’ basis. Our team of medical negligence claims solicitors could help you claim compensation if you’ve been affected by negligent care.

The initial consultation is usually free so that we can advise you on what steps need to be taken and whether a legal claim is worth investigating further. If relevant, we’ll also discuss the funding options available, including no win-no fee, insurance and private funding. 

We’ve helped clients with the claims below, plus more:

• Medication errors: This includes both prescribing errors and dispensing errors. The stage at which the error occurred will determine who the act of negligence lies with.

• GP negligence: GP negligence can occur when suffering is endured due to negligence during an appointment or examination (in person, over the phone or online) with a GP, leading to either misdiagnosis, a wrongful referral or being prescribed the wrong medication.  

• Hospital and A&E negligence or errors: The consequences of hospital negligence claims can have a huge impact on your life. The following claims can occur as a result of hospital or A&E negligence:

– Not receiving an acceptable standard of treatment

– Neglectful care from members of staff

– Delays to treatment

– Medical errors experienced while in the hospital

– Occurrence of infection

– Misdiagnosis of a condition while in hospital or A&E

• Surgical negligence: Surgical negligence occurs when mistakes during or after an operation lead to suffering from an injury or further medical problems. We can help with claims made as a result of the following:

– An incorrect operation was performed

– Surgery was performed on the wrong part of the body

– Foreign objects were left in the body following surgery

– An infection was caused due to negligence (for example, insufficient cleaning of operating tools or inadequate care post-operation)

– The risks of surgery were incorrectly communicated to the patient

– The suitability of the patient for surgery was incorrectly checked or not checked at all

– Incorrect levels of anaesthetic were injected  

– The occurrence of injury or damage to body parts that weren’t relayed as potential risks to the patient before undergoing surgery

• Fatal claims: Claims of this nature can be very distressing. The most common claims can be based on surgical or medical treatment negligence, misdiagnosis of conditions or conditions not being diagnosed as early as they could have been.

• Pregnancy and gynaecology injury claims: Suffering an injury or experiencing neglect in medical care while pregnant can be presented in many forms, including claims such as:

– Wrongful birth and occurrence of congenital disabilities

– Injuries experienced during the birth

– Misdiagnosed miscarriages

– Pregnancy as a result of failed sterilisation

– Negligence experienced during fertility treatment

– Neonatal death

– Stillbirth

– Erb’s palsy or Cerebral palsy as a result of negligence or errors by doctors, surgeons or medical staff

• Defective medical device claims: These claims can include defective equipment used by medical professionals, such as faulty defibrillators, defective medication, and devices placed into the body during surgery, such as knee replacements and cochlear implants. 

What Clinical Negligence Compensation are you Entitled to?

Depending on the circumstances of your claim, your compensation could include:

• Pain, suffering and loss of amenity
• Loss of earnings
• Care costs
• Medication costs
• Private treatment
• Rehabilitation costs
• Travel expenses
• Equipment and the cost of adapting your home or vehicle
• Funeral expenses
• Monetary compensation for the loss of a loved one

Those responsible for your negligent treatment claim may accept responsibility. If that happens, we will aim to secure interim compensation payments to fund private medical care and ongoing expenses. However, once your clinical negligence claim is settled, these interim payments will be deducted from your final compensation award. 

Our Medical Negligence Claims Solicitors

Part of our job is to gather as much detail and evidence from you and independent medical professionals as possible so that your case is robust. This evidence doesn’t just focus on what care you should have received; it also focuses on the future implications of that care to your health and well-being. We also consider whether you will need care for the condition in the future. To keep the claims process as cost-effective and efficient as possible, we always aim to negotiate out of court.

However, if your opponent doesn’t accept responsibility or disagrees with the amount of compensation we feel you deserve, we’ll start court proceedings. If that happens, then rest assured that we’re with you every step of the way.