Medical Negligence

When things go wrong with a medical procedure, it can be hard for a patient or their loved ones to accept that human failure is a fact of life. When you put yourself and your health in the hands of a professional rightly you expect them to do their best. All medical treatments carry risks and patients are warned of serious risks.

So how do you deal with it when things do go wrong?

It is important to remember that you can claim compensation for medical negligence (also referred to as clinical negligence), when things go wrong with your medical treatment whether you receive that treatment from a doctor, dentist, surgeon or nurse as long as it can be proved that the treatment was negligent – meaning that the standard of medical care fell below the generally accepted standard It is also important to remember that the level of medical or clinical care expected will be the same regardless of whether you have been treated by the NHS or a private doctor or hospital.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of negligent medical treatment you may have a right to claim compensation for medical negligence.

Medical negligence is a highly specialist area so it is important that if you contact a solicitor that your solicitor has specific experience in this field. The team at Jefferies LLP are specialists in dealing with medical negligence claims and are members of Headway and The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers APIL

If you have suffered an injury because of medical negligence that you have discovered within the last 3 years then you may be able to recover damages. A claim for compensation must be commenced at Court within three years of the event causing the injury if the matter is not settled at that point.. Legal action will become statute barred if this time limit is exceeded however there are some exceptions to this rule:

  • In claims for children – the three year period does not start running until the eighteenth birthday
  • In clinical claims the three year period begins to run from the date when you first had knowledge that your injury was caused by the negligence.
  • For people who suffer from mental incapacity the time will only start to run if they gain capacity

Compensation for medical negligence may cover things such as:

  • Loss of past and future income
  • The cost of care
  • Medical expenses and prescriptions
  • Compensation for pain and suffering
  • Loss of amenity
  • Reduced employment prospects
  • Legal expenses

If you think you might have a medical negligence claim please contact us for informal advice. We operate on a No Win No Fee* basis.

*Please note – In limited circumstances, fees may be charged when your claim is not successful. These specific limited circumstances are set out in our No Win No Fee Agreement. In addition, if you fail to attend a medical appointment arranged for you, the doctor may charge a non-attendance fee