It is a sad fact of life that some of us will receive injury because of the mistakes made by others. When those mistakes are made in the context of a medical environment by a doctor or other clinician, the knowledge that the injury might have been avoidable had proper care been taken can be hard to bear.

Some of the injuries suffered as a result of medical negligence can be catastrophic and lead to a complete life change. Going into hospital for a routine operation and coming out as a paraplegic as one young girl did recently, can lead to understandable bitterness.

However some accidents are purely that-accidents. It is only when you can show that the injury arose because the clinician did not perform the task as another competent clinician would have done and that the outcome for you has been different to the expected outcome, can you have the prospects of making a claim for compensation.

Process for making a claim

• In the first instance you may wish to make a complaint through the hospital or GP’s own complaints procedure. In itself that will not lead to compensation but it may lead to an explanation and an apology. Whilst legal aid for medical negligence claims is now fairly limited, an approach to the hospital through its own procedures is usually a prerequisite for qualification for legal aid.

Given that the hospital or GP are unlikely to offer compensation through their own complaints procedure, what other options are available to you?

• If you consider that you may have a claim for medical negligence then you need to contact a specialist medical negligence solicitor and First4lawyers can help put you in touch with such a specialist.

• Your solicitor will examine your case and decide whether there is any merit in pursuing it. In order to reach that conclusion he or she will probably have to obtain your medical records and ultimately obtain medical evidence.

• Once it has been concluded that your claim has some merit, then the claim will be intimated to the offending hospital or GP or dentist initially by letter and ultimately if the case cannot be concluded amicably, by way of court action. That does not mean that your case will proceed all the way to court, many cases settle well before a court date.

How much Compensation can I expect?

If the case settles or you are successful at trial, your compensation will be based on the medical evidence. You will receive compensation for your pain and suffering and loss of amenity i.e. the actual injury and the effects of the same and for other expenses like loss of earnings to date and in the future if applicable, medical or nursing care, and in the more serious cases, the costs of adaptations to the home or car, mobility aids and the like. The actual compensation requirements differ from case to case and in the more serious cases such as brain damage can be considerable.

Time Limits

Any legal action has to be commenced within three years of the date of the injury although there are some exceptions to the rule. Children have effectively until their 21^st birthday to make a claim

Making a Medical Negligence Compensation Claim

If you believe that you may have a claim for medical negligence then you should seek legal advice as soon as possible.

Similar Pages

How the claims process works when dealing with medical negligence

The Claims Process

A guide to the claims process