How Long Does a Medical Negligence Claim Take?

Clinical negligence, also known as medical negligence, is when a patient has suffered pain, injury or discomfort as a direct result of a medical professional’s mistake. We often get asked the question; how long does a medical negligence claim take?

Claims for clinical negligence compensation can take a long time to complete, often up to a few years. This is largely down to a number of medical and legal protocols.

Your claim could be against an NHS organisation, a private clinic, a GP or a surgeon. Examples of medical negligence include incorrect treatment, an error during surgery or a failure to diagnose a condition.

Cases vary in complexity and, therefore, length of time; the more involved a case is, the more time-consuming it will be. The dependency on third parties, like medical experts, also plays a large part in adding extra time to a case.

First things first

To ensure your claim is as swift as possible, it may be an idea to make a complaint; your lawyer may be able to help you with it.

The timeline below outlines the necessary stages that our personal injury lawyers will take you through so that your claim is properly dealt with. The number of stages explains the potential length of time of a medical negligence claim. You should use it as a guide, as cases can vary significantly.

Background

First and foremost it must be established that a medical practitioner or medical body is to blame for your pain/injury or suffering. You will need to have an in-depth discussion with your specialist medical negligence lawyer to discuss the validity of the claim. Details of the injury/pain sustained and how it was the fault of a third party will be fully examined and considered during this consultation.

Funding

There are several ways in which your claim can be funded and your lawyer can discuss these options with you. At Jefferies, we work on a no win, no fee* basis.

Evidence

Once your case has been taken on by a personal injury lawyer, the following must be carried out:

• Medical records, sometimes hefty documents, will need to be obtained from your GP or hospital. Due to the Data Protection Act, these can be sent up to 40 days following a request.
• A medical expert will be contacted – your solicitor will get in touch with a medical expert and supply them with your statement and medical records.  Using this evidence, the expert will then write a report which will decide whether or not and to what extent medical negligence has occurred. It is important that medical experts have up-to-date clinical knowledge and often they will be working within the NHS. Because they may be heavily sought after for their opinion by others, their reports may take some time to complete.

Further examination

On completion of the report by the medical expert, his/her findings will be discussed with you.

Once a report on whether there has been a breach of duty has been produced, it is normally necessary to get a second report from an expert to show the breach of duty has caused you some injury. Only after reports are obtained both in relation to breach and what is called ‘causation’ – a report linking the breach to the cause of the injury, will a report on quantum or (‘how much’) be obtained. Details of your income will have to be provided and further exploration into your injuries will be required.

Your solicitor will send a formal letter to the defendant explaining the claim made against them.  Their reply will state whether or not they accept blame and the defendant has 4 months within which to return their response. Often cases are vehemently fought by defendants.

If your claim is defended by the medical body or professional then your solicitor may be able to take your claim of negligence to court, depending on the evidence. This, in itself, can be time-consuming (it’s possible it may take years) as several expert witnesses with demanding schedules will need to be brought together.

Your medical condition

The medical condition of the claimant is often instrumental in the time it takes for a claim to progress. For example, some complex conditions are reliant on the availability of specialist surgeons to carry out important operations which will then allow patients to recover and their condition to stabilise.

Stable medical conditions are required to assess a case fairly. A medical report confirming the exact condition of the patient is usually not given until a condition is ‘stable’ or has reached a point whereby there is likely to be no improvement. You have up to 3 years to make your medical negligence claim starting from the time you received the poor quality treatment. It is possible to legally protect the claim if your situation has still not stabilised after 3 years. Your solicitor will advise you on this process.

Settlement

A final compensation amount can be awarded following either negotiation between your solicitor and the defendant or when a court rules in your favour and awards you compensation after a hearing.

Your medical negligence claim

Do not be put off by the length of time your claim may take, many people succeed in medical negligence claims.  If you think that you have a claim for medical negligence, contact Jefferies solicitors today either by calling 0800 342 3206 or completing our initial online claim form.

*Please note – In limited circumstances, fees may be charged when your compensation claim is not successful. These limited circumstances are explained 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.

Claiming Compensation For Medical Negligence

If you feel that you may have experienced medical negligence contact our firm of no win, no fee medical negligence solicitors by either calling our national accident helpline above or filling out our initial quick claim online form. A member of our team of personal injury solicitors team will then discuss the prospect of you making a personal injury claim, in confidence.