Medical Negligence Solicitors In Canterbury

Medical Negligence Solicitors in Canterbury

When you call The Medical Negligence Experts, you can trust you will be safe in the hands of some of the most experienced medical negligence solicitors in Canterbury. Not all medical treatment goes as expected, or even as hoped, however when negligence is the cause of injury or illness, it is only right that you receive payment for damages.

Compensation claims represent more than a financial result – they can make the difference between you being able to recover and move on from your injury, or being stuck on a long list waiting for corrective treatment. Our goal is to get you the maximum compensation you deserve so you can make the most of your life, whatever that may look like.

Talk to the Medical Negligence Experts today. We can offer you free, no-obligation advice to help you understand the claims process and find out whether you can make a claim.

Claiming Compensation for Medical Negligence Solicitors in Canterbury

There are thousands of people who receive medical care in the UK and South East every day. People see their GP because they are feeling unwell or worried about unusual symptoms, they have prescriptions filled for medicine used to manage potentially dangerous conditions like high blood pressure or asthma.

Women have babies, dentists provide extractions and fillings, and physiotherapists help improve limited movement. We are fortunate in the UK that we can take a high standard of care for granted. The majority of the thousands are looked after, and their health is, if not improved then at least not hurt.

The experience of a small percentage of patients is, unfortunately, different. Instead of being treated with care and respect, they are hurt – even fatally – because someone didn’t do their job properly.

Medical negligence is when a medical professional, including GP negligence, dentist or carer in a nursing home, fail in their duty of care. They deliver a standard of service that is not only less than acceptable but which causes you physical harm, such as brain injury or birth injury. Thus leading to accident claims. But it’s slightly different than personal injury claims, such as road traffic accidents or work accidents.

Are you then expected to struggle with the financial implications of your injury? To simply sit back and accept that, although someone made a mistake you now have to retire early with a lower pension, or use your savings to pay a private doctor for the treatment that should’ve been unnecessary?

We certainly don’t think so, either. That’s why we entrust specialist law firms with solicitors capable of handling clinical negligence claims, be it for NHS hospital negligence or in private practice.

Common Types of Medical Negligence Claims

The Medical Negligence Experts handle all types of medical negligence claims. Our lawyers specialise in this area of law and have earned a reputation for getting results while maintaining a high standard of service which focuses on our client’s individual needs. Earning maximum compensation can have enormous benefits for your rehabilitation. As well as for your future and that of your family, and we can help you achieve that.

The medical negligence solicitors in Canterbury handle unique cases because every client is different. An injury that could cause some pain and a few weeks of inconvenience in one person could be enormously stressful and debilitating for another.

We tailor our support to fit you as much as possible, doing things like arranging calls at a time that suits you and even visiting you in the hospital if that is where you need us to be.

No Win No Fee* Medical Negligence Claims

You don’t need to worry about how you will fund your application when you turn to The Medical Negligence Experts. That’s because our Canterbury medical negligence solicitors offer a No Win No Fee claims agreement if they believe your claim has a good chance of being successful.

No Win No Fee agreements are also referred to as Conditional Fee Agreements. They make it affordable for everyone who needs expert legal advice and representation to access it because they take away the requirement to pay thousands of pounds upfront with no assurance that your claim will be successful.

Instead of expecting you to do it, your lawyer agrees to take on the financial risk of starting a claim. You may have to pay the odd incidental expense (for instance, assessment by an independent medical expert). But in actuality, you won’t even need to pay your own lawyer’s costs, either.

Who Pays Who?

If you win, the other party will pay all your legal fees (which can also include reimbursing you for incidental expenses) leaving you with a legal bill totalling £0. In return, you pay your lawyer a “success fee”. This amount is agreed at the start of your claim. Standard fees for successful claims are 25% of the compensation you receive.

No Win No Fee agreements work in conjunction with an insurance policy. You may already have legal cover as part of your home and contents or health insurance. If not, your lawyer can help you arrange an After the Event insurance policy. This protects you from the risk of having to pay your opponent’s legal expenses if your claim is not successful.

The financial benefits of a Conditional Fee Agreement are clear, which is why nearly every who qualifies for one chooses to make a No Win No Fee medical negligence claim. A bonus of this arrangement is that you know your lawyer will consistently do their best to obtain the highest possible compensation payment for you.

Because their fee directly links to how much you receive, your lawyer has an incentive to fight hard to for every penny in compensation you deserve.

Claiming Compensation for Another Person in Canterbury

At The Medical Negligence Experts, we often support clients who are claiming compensation on behalf of a family member or close friend who is unable to do so themselves either because they are under 18 or because they are mentally unable to. Typical examples could be a parent claiming for a child who suffered brain damage after a birth injury, or an adult applying on behalf of an ageing parent who was the victim of care home negligence.

The person who raises the claim is a litigation friend. In addition, the process of becoming one is usually a simple matter of completing a certificate of suitability that we send to the court for approval. You can also appoint your solicitor as a litigation friend if you don’t want to do it yourself.

A claim made by a litigation friend is very similar to a normal claim. The only difference is where a claim brought directly by the victim can find resolution out of court. In contrast, claims from litigation friends need to go to the court and can, therefore, take longer.

Compensation is not paid to you but goes to the Court Funds Office. In turn, it’s held in trust for the claimant until:

• they turn 18 or;
• recover their mental ability to legally manage their finances.

You can apply for the release of money if it will benefit the claimant. For example, if you need access to money to pay for ongoing medical care or mobility equipment.

Out of Court Compensation Claims

The prospect of going to court is not something that most people relish. If your claim reaches court, your opponent’s goal will be to undermine the credibility of your claim.

Naturally, this is a situation we want to avoid for our clients. As a result, we do all we can to resolve your claim without having to go to court.

One of the ways we avoid putting our clients in this situation is with thorough preparation of your claim. We take the time to thoroughly investigate the circumstances that lead to your injury. The Medical Negligence Experts intend to prove both:

• the extent of the damage it inflicts, but also;
• to show that negligence was to blame and that no pre-existing condition or misfortune causes it.

It can assist your claim if you raise a formal complaint about the negligence you experienced under the NHS. They will conduct an internal investigation and provide evidence that will help strengthen your case for payment of damages. You don’t need a lawyer to raise an NHS complaint but we are happy to advise on the best way of doing so.

Settling out of court

While we will always try to avoid the need to go to court, we won’t do so at the expense of getting you the compensation you deserve. We may recommend you submit your claim to a court if the other party refuses to pay what we know is a fair amount of compensation, or if they deny responsibility for your injury.

It can take 12 months (sometimes longer, depending on how busy the court is in your area) to receive a court date. We’ll continue to negotiate and fight for your rights to finalise your claim out of court.

Medical Negligence Compensation Claim FAQ

You can have a free conversation to find out more about how claiming compensation for medical negligence works. To help, here are the answers to a few of the most commonly asked questions we receive.

Can I claim compensation?

You may be entitled to claim compensation if you have been injured as the direct result of negligent care within the last three years. The statutory time limit applies to almost all medical negligence compensation claims. The exceptions are if you’re a minor, or if you lack the mental ability to manage your legal and financial affairs. In these cases, you have until your 21st birthday or three years from the date you reclaim your mental capacity.

How long does a medical negligence claim take?

Unlike the three-year deadline for requesting compensation, there is no statutory processing time for finalising an application. The average duration is around 18 months, but it can take longer if the other party:

• denies their care was negligent;
• believes your injury results from a pre-existing illness, or;
• if they refuse to pay an amount of compensation we know to be fair and reasonable.

You can also expect your claim to take longer if it needs to go to court. Court dates can take 12 months or more.

How much compensation will I receive?

The law calculates compensation payments on an individual basis. There is no flat rate for a hospital illness or delay in diagnosis, for example, as these affect everyone differently.

The Judicial College publishes industry guidelines, notably. These indicate ranges of how much compensation is appropriate for different types of injuries. Experts review and update these guidelines every few years to ensure they are relevant.

In addition to recompense for physical pain and suffering, your compensation payment will also include special damages. This part of your payment ensures you don’t suffer financially because of your injury.

Special damages can include the following:

• repaying the cost of any medical care or prescriptions;
• travel expenses to your doctor or hospital appointments;
• replacing lost income due to having to take time off work while you are recovering, and;
• loss of future earnings if you are no longer able to work in the same capacity as before your injury.

What happens next?

Call The Medical Negligence Experts today to arrange your free consultation with one of our team of solicitors in Canterbury. They will look at your claim in detail before advising:

• whether or not they believe you have grounds for a claim and;
• if they can handle under a No Win No Fee* agreement.

Once you confirm you are happy to proceed, your lawyer will notify the other party of your intentions. Then, they’ll start collecting the evidence necessary to prove your injury is due to negligence. This documentation can include your medical records, a report from an independent medical expert, and reliable witness statements.

The other party has four months to respond once they have received the evidence and letter outlining your claim, then negotiation continues until they either offer an acceptable payment or a judge makes their decision.

Contact Us

Call The Medical Negligence Experts today, or fill on our online contact form and find out how we can help you.

*Please note that conditions apply.