Clinical Negligence can be caused by mistreatment or misdiagnosis by a medical professional. This might take place at a local hospital or a GP at a local practice might be at fault.
Sadly, when medical mistakes are made, there can be serious and sometimes life-changing results. Compensation can be obtained for both the injury caused and the financial losses that ensue.
Making a Clinical Negligence Claim
To make a successful claim for compensation the law requires you to prove:
- That the standard of care you received fell below that of a reasonably competent health care professional in the relevant area of medicine.
- And you have suffered a physical or mental injury as a direct result of that action or inaction.
It is important to note that you cannot claim compensation just because someone has done something wrong. You will need to prove both breach of duty and causation. You will have to prove that, that person has caused you an injury.
The NHS Complaints Procedure
Prior to making a claim, our Clinical Negligence Claim Solicitors will talk to you about the NHS Complaints procedure. It can sometimes be beneficial for you to submit a complaint before pursuing a compensation claim. A Letter of Response from the healthcare professional might admit that mistakes were made.
We can advise you on the procedure and assist you with drafting your complaint as well as reviewing the outcome of your complaint.
For further details on the NHS Complaint Procedure, visit our page here.
Limitation
The limitation period for bringing claims in the courts is usually three years from the date of the incident. Alternatively, it is three years from your date of knowledge that you sustained an injury due to a mistake of a particular person.
It can take a long time to obtain your records and then to receive reports from our own medical experts on the merits of your case. In practice this means that to avoid the claim becoming “ statute barred” we will often have to begin a claim as soon as possible by requesting your records. Unfortunately, this terminates the Complaints procedure.
Evidence Required To Make A Clinical Negligence Claim
The main evidence needed to make a clinical negligence claim will come from independent medical experts. These medical experts will be doctors or other healthcare experts who will be able to provide an expert opinion on your case. Opinions will be based on:
- Your medical records
- Your statement about what happened
- Other documents supporting your case
- The treating doctors’ statements about what happened
We usually instruct tried and trusted, sympathetic medical experts from a database kept by Action for Victims Medical Accidents.
Breach Of Duty
To start off with we will obtain a report on breach of duty from a suitable expert on a “like for like” basis. So, for example, if we consider your GP was to blame, we will obtain a report from another independent GP. Often there are many diverse types of experts who potentially might have been at fault throughout your treatment.
For example, you might also have been seen later by an A & E doctor but sent home without proper treatment so a report from an A & E doctor would have to be obtained. In such circumstances we must obtain many breaches of duty reports from many different “like for like” experts.
Causation
Once all necessary breach of duty reports are to hand, and assuming they all support your case or at least one of them does, we will then obtain reports from an expert or experts on causation. For it is necessary to prove on a balance of probabilities, or in other words to prove by at least a chance of 51% , that but for the breach of duty you would not have sustained the injury or loss.
Improving Standards
We know that no amount of money can fully compensate the victims of avoidable medical accidents. However, we hope that by bringing clinical negligence cases forward, it will increase patient knowledge and help improve standards and practices in the medical profession.
Making A Clinical Negligence Claim - How We Can Help
Our team are experts in the field of Clinical or Medical Negligence.
We offer a free, no obligation, initial interview. This can either be on the telephone, or if you prefer, you can discuss your Clinical Negligence case with one of our team in person at one of our offices in Derby, Burton, Ashby or Swadlincote.
We have a detailed understanding and longstanding experience of the legal process of pursuing medical negligence cases. This involves interacting with carefully selected medical advisors to ensure you receive a detailed, objective opinion on your treatment, together with the highest level of compensation.
We understand that these are often extremely sensitive matters and will speak to you in a sympathetic manner. We will listen carefully to what you want to achieve, explain the process, and provide you with the best legal advice to meet your specific needs.
No Win, No Fee
If you win your Clinical Negligence Claim, our fees that are not recovered from your opponent will be taken from damages recovered by you. Rest assured, however, that our fees are capped to ensure you receive most of your damages.
If your case is unsuccessful and no damages are recovered by you, usually no legal fees at all will be payable by you. To facilitate this, we take out an after the event insurance policy on your behalf at the beginning of your claim. The premium is self-insured for the eventuality of losing the case, so you do not need to pay that premium either if you lose.
Alternatively, you may have before the event legal expenses insurance as an add on to your household insurance.
Instructing An Experienced Legal Professional
For further advice and/or an initial discussion on pursuing a Clinical Negligence claim, please feel free to contact us on freephone 0800 011 6666 or via email at legal@timms-law.com. Or for more information on making a clinical negligence claim visit our page 'How Do I Make A Clinical Negligence Claim?'.
