Medical Negligence Claims

What is Medical Negligence?

Medical negligence occurs when a GP, consultant, nurse, or other type of healthcare professional breaches their duty of care to a patient, resulting in that person suffering physical or mental harm.

Surgeons, GPs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals receive rigorous training to ensure they possess the highest levels of skill and competence. Every time we seek medical treatment or advice from a healthcare professional, we trust them to provide us with the best guidance and care possible. Most of the time, that faith is well-placed, and the treatment we receive is excellent.

Medical professionals can make mistakes just like the rest of us. Medical negligence takes place when a highly trained professional makes mistakes and breaches their duty of care to you, as a result of which you suffer a loss, in the form of injury or illness.

How do I prove medical negligence?

Proving medical negligence isn’t straightforward. That’s why getting legal advice at the earliest opportunity from a specialist medical negligence lawyer is vitally important. What is known as the ‘burden of proof’ lies with you, the person making a claim.

In other words, it is down to you to prove that medical negligence occurred by getting together sufficient evidence to support your negligence claim. Rest assured that if you come to Mooneerams for help with your medical negligence claim, our medical negligence solicitors will assist you in gathering all the necessary evidence.

This evidence must be sufficient to help you prove that the medical treatment you received from the health professional was below the standard expected of a competent and skilled practitioner in that same field of medicine.

It isn’t just enough to prove negligence alone, either. You must also prove that you have suffered loss as a result of that negligence. That loss will take the form of pain and suffering, as well as any other losses, usually monetary losses (such as loss of earnings).

How do I claim for medical negligence in the UK?

At Mooneerams Solicitors, we assist individuals in bringing medical negligence compensation claims where they have been the victims of mistakes made by healthcare professionals.

Mooneerams clinical negligence solicitors handle negligence claims that occur in Wales and England. We can assist you even if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, by referring you to trusted partners in those countries.

Here are some points to help you understand what is involved in the medical negligence process, and, where necessary, what you can do to help your clinical negligence claim succeed:

• You will need to provide a detailed statement to your clinical negligence solicitor. Making some notes before you meet with them will help jog your memory and ensure you remember all the points you want to get across to your lawyer.
• When you meet with your specialist medical negligence solicitor, they will assist you in writing a letter of complaint to the healthcare body whose medical professionals you hold responsible for the clinical negligence which has caused you pain and suffering.
• Most healthcare providers, whether in the NHS or the private sector, will have a specified complaints procedure. It is always a good idea to follow this procedure before embarking upon a formal medical negligence claim.
• The health authority’s complaints protocol will specify a timeframe within which the authority must respond to your claim. When that response is received, the relevant health body’s handling of the matter will dictate what happens next. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaints procedure, then the solicitor will take the necessary steps to look into making a medical negligence claim.
• When you first consult with your medical negligence solicitor, they will ask you to sign an authorisation form to obtain your medical records. Once these are received, the medical expertise of your clinical negligence solicitor will enable them to consider the records in conjunction with your statement and any response received from the Health authority to your complaint letter. The solicitor will then be in a better position to advise you whether they believe your claim for medical negligence has reasonable prospects of success.
• If your solicitor believes your claim may have reasonable prospects of success, they will obtain a report from a medical expert, usually a consultant surgeon. (You may hear your solicitor referring to this person as a ‘medico-legal expert’). The medical expert your solicitor recommends will be a specialist in the field of medicine that applies to your case. The conclusion of the medical report will provide the consultant’s opinion, which will either confirm or disprove the solicitor’s initial belief that the case has prospects.
• The consultant’s initial report is a crucial piece of evidence in your case. If the conclusion is that your case has little chance of success, this may be where your case ends. If, on the other hand, the consultant agrees with your solicitor that there are reasonable prospects of success, it paves the way for your claim to begin.
• Time limits – you have 3 years from the date of the negligent treatment within which to bring a claim. That really means three years within which to start a claim formally. This period is the ‘limitation period.’
• ‘Bringing a claim’ involves sending various bits of paperwork to the court. The court staff check all the paperwork, and if it is all in order, they provide a case number. The court officer stamps the paperwork, and legal proceedings are then underway.
• In most cases, considerable negotiations with the other side (the insurers of the medical body or doctor) have often taken place before court proceedings start. However, it is vital to start proceedings before the limitation date, even if negotiations are ongoing. Should the discussions come to nothing and you have missed the cut-off time for the limitation period, your claim will not proceed further.
• It is worth noting that sometimes, in cases involving medical negligence, you may not be aware that any negligence has taken place at the time that you received the treatment. You may not suffer the consequences of negligence until some months later. For example:

You have an operation, and the surgeon tells you everything went as planned. Recovery may seem normal at first, but ongoing pain or problems could point to a hidden issue. In rare cases, patients have discovered years later that a swab, piece of gauze or even a surgical instrument was mistakenly left inside during the procedure. At the time of the surgery, the patient would have had no way of knowing that such an error had occurred. Therefore, the limitation period in this case would only commence when the patient became aware of the health professional’s error.

Can I claim for Medical Negligence using a No Win No Fee agreement?

If your claim has a reasonable prospect of success, we will likely be able to fund it using a No Win, No Fee agreement.

If you are eligible for a No Win, No Fee agreement, then, should your claim not succeed, there will be no financial risk for you. You will have no legal fees to pay us or the healthcare provider against whom the claim was brought.

If you win your claim, you will be asked to pay Mooneerams a percentage of your compensation, capped at a rate agreed upon in writing by you and your lawyer before your claim proceeds.

What are the different types of medical negligence claims?

Our medical negligence solicitors deal with all types of medical negligence claims, including the following:

• Negligent surgery claims
• Breast augmentation claims
• Cancer misdiagnosis claims
• Delayed diagnosis of cancer claims
• Accident & Emergency claims
• Medical Negligence Amputation Claims
• Sepsis claims
• Pressure Sore claims
• Dental Negligence claims
• Brain surgery negligence
• Cauda Equina claims
• Erb’s Palsy Claims
• Gynaecological and obstetric negligence claims
• Cerebral palsy and birth injury claims
• Anaesthetic Negligence Claims
• Bladder Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
• Other types of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis claims

Who will the Medical Negligence claim be brought against?

• If you received negligent treatment whilst in an NHS hospital, your claim will be against the NHS Trust responsible for the hospital.
• If you received negligent treatment by a GP, dentist or doctor working out of a private hospital, you will claim against the individual, who will be insured against such claims.

Can Mooneerams help me with my medical negligence claim?

Mooneerams team of experienced medical negligence solicitors can handle all types of medical negligence claims. With home visits and No Win, No Fee funding, plus the specialist expertise and care you would expect from Mooneerams, you can contact us with confidence, knowing that the service you receive will be outstanding.

Contact Mooneerams on 029 2199 1927 or complete the contact form on this page, and one of our experienced medical negligence solicitors will call you at your convenience with no obligation to take the matter further. If they believe that you have reasonable grounds for successfully claiming compensation, then they will arrange to visit you at your home or in our offices.

Further Relevant Reading

NHS England:  https://www.england.nhs.uk/

NHS Wales: https://www.nhs.wales/

Sepsis Trust: https://sepsistrust.org/

Cancer Research UK: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org

Cerebral Palsy: https://www.cerebralpalsyfoundation.org/

Rethink.org: https://www.rethink.org

You might also find our A-Z Legal Glossary a valuable read in conjunction with our Medical Negligence page: https://www.mooneerams.com/a-z-legal-glossary/