What is medical negligence?
Medical negligence is a breach of a duty of care by a member of the health care profession. A medical negligence compensation claim is one brought by someone who thinks they have been a victim of a medical mistake or when a family member has been injured/died as a result of what is thought to be a medical mistake.
Who can a claim for medical negligence be brought against?
Claims are frequently brought against GPs or hospital doctors employed by the NHS. However, claims can also be brought against doctors in private practice, dentists, midwifes and some alternative therapists such as physiotherapists. The latter are normally more challenging claims to bring.
Here are some common examples of medical negligence claims:
- Failure to diagnose symptoms accurately
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to refer to the appropriate specialist
- Gone wrong surgical procedures
- Incorrect medication prescribed
- Lack of proper consent obtained prior to treatment
You must be aware that making a medical accident compensation claim involves strict time limits in which you are able to seek redress (see below). Therefore the sooner you talk to a specialist solicitor for professional legal advice the better.
What do you have to prove to make a claim?
- That the care received was not of a standard which would be provided by a reasonably competent doctor of the specialism treating the patient
- That this lack of care has caused an injury or death.
Medical negligence compensation claims are assessed in court on the 'balance of probabilities' this means that you have to argue that there was more than a 51% chance that the substandard treatment caused your injury.
How do you prove substandard care?
There are a few standard steps to take in order to help prove that you have received substandard care, these are:
- Obtain your medical records
- Commission a report on the standard of treatment you received from an independent doctor of the same discipline
- Produce a schedule of losses that you have incurred (if any) as a result of the treatment. Examples of this could be lack of earnings, commission from work and expenses incurred.
What about proving it made a difference?
This is one of the harder aspects to prove in a medical negligence case as many people who claim have an underlying medical condition, which can already significantly affect their life.
Proving 'it made a difference' is done by showing that the condition suffered, was either caused by or developed as a result of, the substandard care.
The type of compensation that you might receive?
Compensation in the form of damages can be awarded for:
- Physical injury, pain and suffering
- Out of pocket expenses
- Future losses ie those needed for care or potential future earnings
Is there a time limit for making a claim?
Yes - a medical accident compensation claim involves strict legal limitation periods:
- A claim must be brought 3 years from date of injury or 3 years from the date you knew what caused the injury or that the treatment was substandard
- If the claim concerns a child then the limit is 3 years from the child's 18th birthday
- If the claim is to be brought on behalf of a mental heath patient, then the latest this can be done is 3 years post the date of registration with the Court of Protection.
If you want to make a claim how would you fund it?
There are numerous funding options to consider in a medical negligence claim:
- Private funding ie own money
- Insurance money - many people have legal expenses cover without evening knowing it ie through home insurance, this is something which a solicitor can help investigate for you
- Conditional fee arrangement ie a no win no fee agreement
- Public funding ie legal aid, if it is in the public interest
- Trade union funding - if you or a member of your family belongs to a trade union
Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_1645003_18.html?kcplink=1
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