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Medical Negligence

Medical negligence occurs when those in the medical profession fail to carry out the duties expected of them which then results in injury being incurred to the patient.

In order to show that this has taken place it has to be proven that the standard of care the professional is duty bound to provide for patients was on this occasion unacceptable and lead to the cause of further health issues which would otherwise not have occurred.

An example of this would be when a patient who is experiencing bowel problems visits his General Practitioner, is not referred to a specialist, and it is later discovered that he or she is suffering from cancer.

Claiming medical negligence compensation will be possible if it can be confirmed that a deterioration of the condition could have been avoided or a full recovery made, had the patient been referred to a specialist for treatment at an earlier time.

medical negligence compensation claim

In order to ensure your claim for compensation is sound and stands a good chance of success, there are a few questions you should ask.

• Have you received medical treatment under a qualified medical professional's supervision which resulted in injury?

• Was a failure to meet an acceptable level of care demonstrated by the medical professional? Was a wrong diagnosis made or inappropriate treatment prescribed or administered?

• Are you in possession of an expert's testimony confirming that the treatment you received was either incorrect or the direct cause of the injury you have sustained?

• When claiming compensation can you substantiate the amount of damages you are seeking by way of physical distress, loss of earnings and so on?

It is essential that the services of a specialist solicitor are taken up as soon as possible due to the difficulties associated with establishing a compensation claim for such negligence and causation.

Specialist solicitors are generally Action for Victims of Medical Accidents (AVMA) members and details of those in your area are available from the AVMA itself or from the Legal Services Commission.

If after answering the above mentioned questions you feel you are the victim of medical negligence the next step is to get in touch with a solicitor with medical negligence claims expertise.

When you attend your first consultation, take all your medical records with you along with everything else relevant to the claim, such as the name of the professional and the clinics or hospitals involved and the dates you attended for consultation or treatment.

The solicitor will advise you as to whether or not you have a strong case and if so, how much compensation you should claim for. For this reason it is important that you are truthful with your solicitor and make them fully aware of the facts.

In many cases, just like private enterprises, the NHS has to pay compensation for claims being made.

The difference, of course, between the NHS and employers paying out for claims of compensation is that the NHS funds their own insurance whereas employers take out accident insurance to cover them for such expenses.

making a claim medical negligence compensation

As well as compensation being awarded, punitive action is also likely to be taken against the health professional responsible for your claim of medical negligence which may result in disciplinary action, or in the case of instances of repeat negligence being shown, the loss of their job.

Although you may not want to feel responsible for someone losing their job, the professional who regularly misdiagnoses or fails to treat in the right way should be prevented from continuing to make such mistakes.

Although suing the NHS may not be an easy decision to make, if suffering and pain have been experienced because of medical negligence you have a legal entitlement to sue for compensation.