Who Can Help Me Make a Claim for Medical Negligence?

When you're ill or need surgery, it's always a difficult time. But who can you turn to if things don't go right, or you think that you, your diagnosis or treatment have not been handled professionally?

A lot of people shrink from challenging a medical professional, often because they are anxious that they can't 'fight the system'. You may feel intimidated and that, as a non medic or lay person, no-one is likely to listen to you.

Not so. That is exactly why there are specialist Medical Negligence Lawyers. These experienced Solicitors will listen to you; they will provide valuable professional guidance and support when you are making a claim for compensation following a medical accident.

So what constitutes Medical or Clinical Negligence?

Medical Negligence is when a medical professional, usually a doctor - but it could be a midwife, nurse, radiographer, dentist or other health worker - has given you medical treatment that has resulted in something going wrong.

Your specialist Medical Negligence Lawyer will need to determine whether the treatment you received, in a particular field of medicine, was substandard to that expected by a qualified competent doctor.

To get sufficient proof, your lawyer will have to examine your medical records before sending them, along with a statement prepared by you, to an independent doctor for their assessment. After reviewing these, this doctor will give a report on whether he or she feels the medical treatment was reasonable. If his indication is that your treatment was substandard, your case moves to the next stage.

From this point, your Medical Negligence Solicitor will write to the hospital or clinic where you were treated and inform them of your proposed claim. They must reply within 3 months.

A doctor or clinic may accept immediately responsibility for your injury. If so, it is less likely you will need to take the case to Court; your clinical negligence lawyer will begin negotiations to reach a settlement for appropriate compensation.

There are time limits for making a Medical Negligence Claim. Usually this is within 3 years of the accident or injury, although sometimes circumstances occur when symptoms develop later on. In such cases, the three year period runs from the date when the injury was discovered and was linked to previous medical treatment. If it is a child that has been injured, the three years starts from their 18th birthday. These time limits are strictly enforced so it's very important that you don't delay in taking legal advice about making a compensation claim.