Medical Accident Compensation
Working towards a better solution

There are many procedures in which complications can occur, and if these known risks do occur during treatment they are not generally considered "accidents" or negligence as the chances of those errors occurring are explained to the patient prior to undergoing such treatment. In nearly all cases where the patient is conscious they are asked to sign a waiver stating that they understand these risks. For a resulting injury from health care treatment to be classed as a medical accident the surgeon, doctor, physician, nurse, medic etc. must be found to be negligent in that they made an error which resulted in physical harm to the patient or for their condition to deteriorate. An example would be transplants: if the patients own body rejects the transplant causing a condition to worsen the hospital staff cannot be held responsible. If the correct medicine to help prevent rejection was not given, that is where negligence comes in.

If you are the victim of a medically inflicted injury then there are many options open to you in the way of support, reporting grievance and/or compensation. If the accident did not result in actual physical harm then you will not be due compensation but that does not mean that you should not receive an apology for what happened to you. The NHS has its own investigative services into errors by their staff and although it may be slow eventually you will see results. If you have been injured as a result of negligence of staff at any healthcare facility in the UK then you could be due compensation and such a claim should be handled by a solicitor experienced in such case law. As with criminal injury claims the compensation for carelessness in the NHS comes from government/public funding which means that there are minimum levels of injury for an individual to qualify for compensation. Such matters should be discussed with an experienced solicitor but a guideline is generally injuries resulting in more than a few days of "minor" suffering (e.g. an accidental cut from a scalpel during surgery). Obviously if you were injured by a private health care facility then you will most likely be dealing with their insurance company.

Please note that claiming to be compensated for an accidental injury from a medically trained individual employed by the NHS does not necessarily mean that person will receive disciplinary action. Making a complaint to the appropriate health care authority and claiming compensation from them are complete separate matters. It is always advisable to use a solicitor when making a claim for a medical accident due to the complicated nature of such a claim. Almost always the case will rely on testimony and investigation by medically trained experts who require payment upfront which can be incredibly expensive, a solicitor should explain and cover these costs for you in the initial stages of a clinical negligence claim if they are offering you a no win, no fee arrangement. For clinical negligence the solicitor may not always offer you the no win, no fee arrangement and you may not get 100% of your compensation. Always make sure that you fully understand the costs involved before signing that dotted line.


Disclaimer: Although these articles are updated as often as possible the information provided may not accurately reflect the current procedures and/or facilities available to you. To ensure you get the most up to date information always consult an actual solicitor or other qualified advisor before pursuing any action. The articles on this site are for informational purposes only and are not intended to advise any particular action or inaction. Please read our terms of use for more information.