Medical Negligence Solicitors Spennymoor

We receive medical treatment from a variety of different people including our local GP and the doctors and nurses in our hospitals. If you receive unacceptable treatment from them and this causes you an injury then you have a medical claim. There are strict time limits for bringing medical claims. If you think you have a claim, then it is important you take action as soon as possible. In order to be successful in these cases, you must first obtain evidence from an independent expert who is willing to confirm that the treatment you received was substandard. Unless you receive a favourable expert report you do not have a case.

If you think you have a medical claim, you will need a solicitor to help you. These cases can be very complicated. Our expert solicitor will guide you through the case smoothly. You should take care when you come to choose a solicitor. You should use a specialist solicitor who deals with these cases all the time and has some medical knowledge. You would not ask your doctor for financial advice and in the same way, you should not ask a solicitor who normally deals with accidents or divorces about medical claims. We at Armstrong Foulkes know that you would not have contacted us if you had not been through an upsetting experience with the medical profession. That is why we endeavor to make your case run as smoothly as we can, explaining everything as we proceed.

Yes. The only way we work is on a no win, no fee basis to ensure we are taking on cases we can win. We wouldn't want you to spend your money taking on a case, if we didn't believe we could win it.

This is one of the ways in which you can fund an investigation into your case . If we are able to offer you a “No Win, No Fee” Agreement (formally known as a Conditional Fee Agreement). Essentially, the ” No Win No Fee” Agreement provides that we will not be charging you if you lose your case.

If your case is successful then you will receive your compensation (less any agreed deductions for treatment or items you may need for your recovery as the case progresses). Most of our costs are paid by the Defendant or their insurers. Unfortunately due to reforms brought in over recent years we are no longer able to claim all of the costs involved in your case from them. Therefore from your compensation there will be some small charges that you have to pay. However, we will go through these with you before you sign any agreement.

If your case is unsuccessful we will be unable to recover any compensation. Provided you have co-operated with us you will not owe us any money for the work we have done in pursuing your claim and we will write off all of the costs we have incurred in reaching that point.

Basically we are paid only if you win your case which is why it is called “No Win, No Fee,”. Although strictly speaking once the case is won you owe us the fees we have incurred, in practice most of the payment is made by the defendants/their insurers with a small deduction from your compensation. This is a very basic explanation of how this funding works and before you decide on this type of funding we ensure that you have received detailed information on how it works and the terms & conditions involved. If you would like further information or a more in-depth explanation as to how this works now please telephone us and one of our specialist solicitors would be happy to go through this with you in more detail.

In all clinical negligence claims a “Limitation Period” applies. This is the date by which the law says that your claim should be investigated and court proceedings issued. This is generally 3 years from the date of the alleged negligent treatment/mistake. However, if you are not aware until months or years later that a mistake has occurred it may be possible to argue that this 3 year time limit does not begin to run until that point. Following recent cases that have been heard at Court, even if this 3 year period has expired it may still be possible to pursue your claim.

Assessment of the limitation period can be a complicated issue and we recommend that if you are concerned about this you speak to one of our specialist solicitors who would be happy to advise you based on the specific facts of your case.