What is medical negligence?
Medical negligence happens when a patient fails to receive the correct care or treatment from a health care professional resulting in physical or mental harm to their patient. Negligence can present itself in different forms, some of the main ones being, misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, in correct treatment and errors during surgeries, failing to warn of detrimental side effects and failing to refer to specialists.
One of the most common types of medical negligence falls under the misdiagnosis category. This is when a doctor or medical professional fails to diagnose their patient's illness incorrectly or not at all, often leading to the wrong treatment or no treatment at all. Surgical errors are also more common than you think, usually this happens when mistakes are made during operations or medical procedures whether it be operating on the wrong part of the body or leaving a surgical instrument inside.
Do I Have Case For Medical Negligence?
You may have a case for medical negligence if you have suffered harm physically or mentally due to the care you have received. You need to be able to prove that the damage has been detrimental to your health. If you think you or someone you know has been exposed to medical negligence it’s important to seek help and advice from a legal professional. We have teams dedicated to this specific sector and can determine whether you have a viable case that will stand up in court.
Types of Compensation From Medical Misdiagnosis
There are many different types of compensation should your claim be successful such as...
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of earnings
- Medical expenses
- Travel expenses
- Care costs
Should you have ongoing issues and expenses, o5 losses that affect you in the future, then you may also be awarded compensation for this.
What Else You Need To Know
What if you signed a consent form? - You may think that when you sign a consent for you sign away any legal right to make a claim for medical negligence which is totally incorrect.
Time Frame - You usually have 3 years to file your medical negligence claim from the day you became aware of your medical negligence such as wrong treatment, being misdiagnosed etc.
Liability - You usually have 3 years to file your medical negligence claim from the day you became aware of your medical negligence such as wrong treatment, being misdiagnosed etc. The NHS is usually responsible for all its employees so claims would be made against them, if it’s against your doctor or a private surgery claims would be made against them individually or to the practice.
- Health care professionals
- Doctors
- Dentists
- Ambulance Trust
- Medical Charities
Average Settlement - The settlement awarded depends on the case and the factors included and what damages are awarded in the overall settlement.
Can I Claim Medical Negligence on Someone Else's Behalf?
If someone else is unable to claim for themselves or does not have the mental capacity to do so then the answer is YES. If someone is died due to medical neglect and you are appointed executive of their estate then you can start legal proceedings. Also you can claim on behalf of a child if they have not yet reached the age of 18. Medical negligence and medical malpractice are basically the same thing, in the UK we commonly use the term medical negligence whereas the US usually uses the term malpractice.
How Long Do Medical Negligence Cases Take?
The time taken to resolve cases can vary; it all depends on the complexity of the individual's case; some can take months and some can take years; we cannot give a specific time frame.