Medical Negligence: A Complete Guide

When you visit a healthcare professional, you expect to receive the highest standard of care. However, unfortunately, there are examples of medical negligence that result in injury or illness in patients, or cause their conditions to get worse. Find out what is classed as medical negligence and whether you may be able to make a medical negligence claim.

In this guide:

• What is medical negligence
• Examples of medical negligence
• How can you prove medical negligence?
• How to make a medical negligence claim
• How The Medical Negligence Experts can help with your claim
• How much compensation will I get for medical negligence?
• Can you make a medical negligence claim against the NHS?
• How long does a medical negligence claim take to be settled?
• How long do I have to make a medical negligence claim?
• What is the difference between medical malpractice and negligence?

What is medical negligence?

Medical negligence is when a medical professional provides below-standard care or makes an error that causes a patient’s existing condition to worsen. It also includes where a professional directly causes additional injury or illness.

What constitutes medical negligence?

Medical negligence examples include misdiagnosis that leads to increased or new difficulty, issuing the wrong medication, or a healthcare professional neglecting their basic duties. If any of these sound like something you’ve been impacted by then get in touch..

Examples of medical negligence

What are the some common types of medical negligence?

Medical negligence is a broad term used to refer to any injury or illness worsened or caused by a healthcare professional failing in their duty to keep you safe. There are numerous medical negligence examples that you should be aware of. Discover some of the types of medical negligence you could claim for.

·         Doctor and GP medical negligence

Examples of medical negligence claims against your doctor or GP include, but aren’t limited to, misdiagnoses that led to brain injury or cancer, worsened fracturing, or a stroke. You may also be able to claim if your doctor failed to administer adequate or appropriate medication, which directly led to serious illness or injury. Additionally, you might be eligible to make a medical negligence claim against your doctor or GP for mental health trauma.

·         Hospital negligence

Medical negligence cases made against a hospital include injury or illness that was the result of failed treatment, inadequate monitoring, and infection or sepsis. You may also have a strong medical negligence claim if the hospital lost relevant medical records or misread rest results.

·         NHS negligence claims

You may be eligible for NHS compensation, if you’ve experienced suffering through the negligence of a doctor or dentist, or faulty medical equipment. NHS negligence claims can also be made against a hospital.

·         Dental negligence

There are various reasons why you might want to make a dental medical negligence claim. Medical negligence examples include extracting the wrong tooth, incorrectly administering anaesthesia, and failing to identify gum disease, resulting in dental infection.

·         Care home medical negligence

If you or an elderly or disabled relative has experienced medical negligence at a nursing home, you may be able to make a claim against the care home. Examples of medical negligence include failing to provide sufficient safety equipment, lack of nursing staff, and inadequate protection against pressure sores.

·         Optical negligence

You may be able to make a medical negligence claim against your optician, for eye injuries, or injury that has occurred as a result of laser eye surgery. Our eye injury experts can get you the compensation you deserve.

·         Surgical negligence

It is possible to make a surgical negligence claim, if you’ve been through a failed procedure that exacerbated an existing injury, or led to new suffering, such as a wrongful amputation. Additionally, you may be able to make a claim if a medical professional was negligent in their duty to administer anaesthetic.

·         Cosmetic negligence

If you’ve experienced medical negligence at the hands of a cosmetic surgeon, you may be able to make a cosmetic surgery claim. Medical negligence examples include botched breast surgery and nose job negligence claims.

·         Pregnancy negligence

The birth of a baby should be an exciting time for parents, but, if you’ve experienced medical negligence during pregnancy that led to assisted delivery issues, birthing injuries to baby or mother, or your baby developing cerebral palsy, you may be eligible for compensation.

·         Pharmaceutical negligence

You may be able to make a medical negligence claim against your pharmacy, if you have fallen victim to a medicine dispensing error, suffered illness as a result of a healthcare professional failing to administer medicine, or experienced injury as a result of faulty equipment.

·         Physiotherapy medical negligence

The purpose of physiotherapy is to restore health and fitness after injury or illness, so it can be devastating if you notice deterioration because of a negligent medical professional. You may be able to make a claim if you have experienced negligent knee replacement surgery or below-standard orthopaedic care.

·         Weight loss medical negligence

If you have experienced unsuccessful weight loss surgery, through the error of a healthcare professional, you may be eligible to claim compensation for medical negligence. Medical negligence cases examples include botched gastric band surgery or liposuction surgery.

·         Urology negligence

Urology claims can be made against healthcare professionals who demonstrate gynaecological negligence, or botch a vaginal mesh implant. If you think this applies to you, we’ll fight to win you the medical negligence compensation you deserve.

How can you prove medical negligence?

Knowing how to prove medical negligence can be tricky, with the burden of proof sitting squarely with you. This means it’s up to you to demonstrate evidence that a medical error was responsible for your injuries, discomfort, and financial losses. Similarly, you must be able to show how a healthcare professional is responsible for any psychological impact.

How to prove medical negligence

A medical negligence claim is often weighted on the balance of probability. This means the courts determine whether your physical, psychological, and financial suffering is more likely than not as a result of medical negligence. To present a case of medical negligence, you should be able to prove that it’s more than 50% likely you experienced injury or illness because a healthcare professional neglected or breached their responsibility to offer a duty of care.

At The Medical Negligence Experts, we are partnered with a a variety of experienced law firms, each with years of experience making healthcare claims.

How to make a medical negligence claim

We work with some of the UK’s top medical negligence solicitors, who tirelessly fight to help you seek the compensation you deserve for your injuries, illness, or loss of earnings. We’ve outlined how you can claim for medical negligence below.

The medical negligence claim process

To start your medical negligence claim process is straightforward, with a strong emphasis on clear communication and transparency We’re always on hand to offer support.

When starting a medical negligence claim with us, it’s crucial that you have a full awareness of how we operate. We follow three simple steps:

1. If you’d like to make a medical negligence claim, get in touch with our dedicated team of specialists. You can contact us via our freephone number (0808 501 6428), request a call back, or make use of our instant live chat function.
2. Once you’ve notified us that you’d like to begin the medical negligence claim process, one of our agents will go over the details of your case. Here, they’ll assess whether you have a potential claim for compensation.
3. If your claim assessment is successful we will connect you to one of our partnered solicitors. Upon starting the medical negligence claim process, your solicitor will collate the required evidence. At this point, they will let the opposing party or organisation know that you are opening medical negligence claims proceedings. While negotiating on your behalf, your solicitor will clearly communicate each step of the process, to offer complete clarity.

Ultimately, because our partnered solicitors operate using a No Win No Fee* process, even if you’re unfortunately unsuccessful in your claim, you’ll not have to pay a penny for the process.

*No Win No Fee: Typically, customers pay 25% including VAT of the compensation amount that is recovered by our third-party law firms, although this is subject to your individual circumstances and the actual fee may be more or less than this. Termination fees may apply if you do not keep to the terms of the agreement.

How The Medical Negligence Experts can help with your claim

We work some of the UK’s best medical negligence solicitors

If you’ve suffered injury or illness as the result of medical negligence, and looking for representation, it’s important to be matched with the right lawyer. With this in mind, each medical negligence solicitor we work with has:

• Years of hands-on experience working exclusively or primarily in medical negligence claims.
• Possesses a strong network of contacts in the fields of rehabilitation, pain management, financial support, and counselling, to help clients recover from the effects of medical negligence.
• An extensive list of medical negligence success stories they’re willing to share, to demonstrate their expertise.
• A fair and honest approach. Our medical negligence solicitors won’t give you false hope of a successful claim, nor will they pressure you into accepting compensation. You can trust our medical negligence lawyers with your case.

While there are firms who claim to work alongside solicitors who deal with medical negligence, they may only manage a handful of medical negligence cases each year. In contrast, our partnered medical negligence solicitors are experts in their field, with established reputations.

How much compensation will I get for medical negligence?

At The Medical Negligence Experts, our aim is to help you seek the compensation you deserve, and add you to our ever-growing list of medical negligence success stories achieved by our partnered law firms.

One of the first questions asked by our clients is ‘how much compensation will I get for medical negligence?’. It’s difficult to offer a one-size-fits-all medical negligence claim calculator, and, before being able to answer with certainty how much you can claim, our team will require a little context around your concern. If we can connect you to a partnered law firm, they will be able to calculate the amount of compensation that you are entitled to and will seek to obtain.

This is split into two parts, both of which will require evidence. Medical negligence payouts are calculated according to a combination of:

1. How a medical professional exhibited negligent care.
2. What the impact of medical negligence has had on your life.

Reading on, we’ve outlined what you can expect before you begin the medical negligence compensation process.

Making a medical negligence claim for general damages

Medical negligence claims for general damages are calculated according to the overall implication of an injury, as well as the suffering endured.

Industry guidelines that medical negligence solicitors use when making claims are published annually i.e., ‘The Judicial College Guidelines’, and vary greatly between cases. However, as a rule of thumb, the more severe the injury, illness, or implications, the more medical negligence compensation you can claim. To see how much you might be able to claim for, get in touch with our team.

Medical negligence claims for special damages

Medical negligence pay outs for special damages are in relation to financial losses. At the most basic level, special damages can cover the cost of private medical care.

Medical negligence claims for special damages are handled on a case-by-case basis, with solicitors considering the cost of healthcare, and the loss of current and future earnings.

Can you make a medical negligence claim against the NHS?

It is possible to make a claim against NHS doctors and hospitals for medical negligence compensation. While you may not feel particularly comfortable making claims against NHS workers, as opposed to making a medical negligence case against a private institution, it’s not fair that you should suffer because of stretched resources.

Doctors, nurses, and medical staff are all routinely made aware of how to avoid medical negligence. Subsequently, NHS compensation can be claimed if you believe a medical professional failed in their duty of care, which led to you suffering illness or injury. This includes a doctor, nurse, or healthcare worker providing a medical misdiagnosis.

To determine whether a caregiver fell below the expected standard, medical negligence experts look into your case and compare their performance to standard practice. If you believe you were ill-treated, and are wondering how to start a medical negligence claim against NHS staff, simply get in touch and we’ll talk you through the process.

How long does a medical negligence claim take to be settled?

One of the most common questions posed by individuals seeking compensation is ‘how long do medical negligence claims take to settle?’. Generally speaking, a medical negligence claim will take between 15-18 months to resolve but could take longer. With this in mind, get in touch with our team, to start the claim process.

How long do I have to make a medical negligence claim?

Is there a medical negligence time limit?

If you’ve experienced physical or financial suffering as a result of medical negligence, you have three years from the date of illness or injury to make a claim. However, because the burden of proof is on you, it’s always easier to win medical negligence compensation if you start the claims process straight away.

Are there exceptions to the medical negligence time limit?

There are a couple of common exceptions to the three-year medical negligence time limit:

1. If you experienced injury or illness as a child, due to the negligence or error of a medical professional. In this case, you have three years from the date of your 18^th birthday to make a claim.
2. If you (or a family member you’re claiming on behalf of) had a physical disability or mental illness at the time of the incident you’re claiming medical negligence compensation for, and you (or they) still suffer from the same condition, the three-year time limit doesn’t apply.

What is the difference between medical malpractice and negligence?

If you’re looking for medical negligence lawyers, the chances are you’ve also come across the term ‘malpractice’. But what is medical malpractice?

The difference between malpractice and negligence is that medical malpractice is when a healthcare professional is aware of their wrongdoing, and decides to act anyway, whereas medical negligence is an error.

Medical malpractice compensation could be claimed if a doctor decided to continue along a certain line of surgery, despite the clear, avoidable risk to a patient. In contrast, medical negligence compensation claims are more popular. This is because they are based on human error or false judgement of a situation, rather than intent.

How we can help

If you’ve suffered injury or illness, through the fault of a negligent medical professional, get in touch or request a call back to see if you can make a claim. We offer a completely free, no-obligation consultation call to see if we can connect you to an expert law firm to assist with your potential claim. Our dedicated panel of experts are committed to securing you the compensation you deserve. They will guide you through the process of how to sue for medical negligence.

*Conditions may apply.