Medical Negligence Solicitor In Gloucester

Medical Negligence Solicitors in Gloucester

If you suffer at the hands of medical professionals, talk to our medical negligence solicitors in Gloucester. Our lawyers specialise in securing compensation for victims of medical negligence. Accordingly, they can get the treatment and support they need to recover from their injury.

Our extensive experience in handling medical negligence claims means we bring understanding to your claim. Specifically, how difficult it can be for victims and families to handle a physical recovery when dealing with day-to-day expenses. Compensation claims are not merely about money. Compensation allows you control over your future by giving you the funds to access the best choices. In short, it’s about your recovery and not having to settle merely for what is available.

The Medical Negligence Experts’ law firms help clients obtain maximum compensation & consistently maintain high standards of customer service. We shape our processes around the needs of our clients and take the time to understand what you are experiencing. As a result, we can find the right solution that gives you the access to move forward. After all, you need to deal with your injury and enjoy the best quality of life possible.

Claiming Compensation for Medical Negligence in Gloucester

Our medical negligence lawyers in Gloucester have years of successfully obtaining positive outcomes for our clients.

Get in touch today to arrange an initial consultation with a legal expert. In turn, they can give you advice about grounds to make a claim and how to proceed. We happily offer a free, no-obligation chat so that you can get information to make the right decision. Moreover, one that comes without a feeling rushed to commit to anything.

When you proceed

So what happens when you decide to proceed with a claim? Well, the first step is to inform the other party of your intentions and see if they accept responsibility. If so, and if you need it, we may request an interim compensation payment. This will help fund any immediate medical treatment you require. Moreover, that amount comes out of your final compensation award.

The next step is to examine the circumstances around your injury in detail. One of the reasons medical negligence claims need to be handled by a specialist solicitor is because proving negligence can be difficult. We gather evidence from a variety of sources including independent medical experts. It is vital to assess the full impact that your injury has had on your health, as well as identify future implications it may have.

Compensation claims are final. Once you accept payment, there is no opportunity for you to reopen a claim or raise a new one. Even if, in the future, you discover you have an entitlement to more money. As your medical negligence lawyers, our job is to prepare a robust claim that proves your legal rights beyond dispute. Our goal is to obtain maximum compensation in the least possible time with a minimum amount of stress to you.

Common Types of Medical Negligence Claims

It does not matter whether you received your treatment from a private practitioner or through an NHS organisation, we can assist with any medical negligence claim you have. Although this list is far from exhaustive common types of medical negligence claims we handle include:

Accident and emergency negligence claims

These can include:

• failing to admit a patient when they require further treatment;
• excessive waiting times which lead to deterioration of a patient’s condition;
• misreading or misinterpreting test results, and;
• failing to request further tests or assessments where necessary to make a correct diagnosis.

Doctor and GP negligence claims

There’s one particularly frequent reason people claim medical negligence against their GP.

Because their doctor failed to refer them for testing or scans which would have lead to a correct diagnosis. Other reasons can include misreading test results, misdiagnosing an illness, incorrect prescriptions, and not undertaking a thorough examination of a patient.

Hospital Negligence claims

Hospital-acquired infections, such as MRSA, are one of the leading causes of claims against hospitals. Other reasons patients may suffer injury include:

• lack off sufficient monitoring and attention;
• not handling a patient correctly when moving them, causing fractures or other injuries;
• failing to give a patient their medication on time or in the correct dose;
• Accident and Emergency mistakes;
• and not reading patient records before treating them.

A recent example of this involves a nurse handling a patient with a severe latex allergy using latex gloves. This was despite the fact that the victim:

• wears an identifying bracelet, and;
• their allergy comes with clear identification in their medical notes.

Pregnancy negligence claims and birth injuries

These can include neglecting to detect conditions such as preeclampsia, causing injury during birth including brain damage from a dangerous forceps delivery.

Others may include:

• lasting physical damage from a badly-done episiotomy;
• midwife negligence, and;
• mistakes made during delivery.

In short, there are all types of pregnancy negligence issues we can successfully claim compensation for.

Surgical Negligence claims

There are many ways a surgeon can cause damage to their patient. Apart from physically harming them during surgery and anaesthetic mistakes,  surgeons can fail their patients by not informing them of the risks associated with surgery and any potential alternatives. Moreover, failing to obtain proper consent is grounds for a legitimate compensation claim.

No Win No Fee* Compensation Claims in Gloucester

There is no reason to worry about how you will fund a medical negligence claim. Our medical negligence solicitors in Gloucester offer No Win No Fee* agreements to make quality legal advice and representation affordable to everybody who needs it.

No Win No Fee* agreements, also called Conditional Fee Agreements, are not your only funding option. You can hire a solicitor on a private basis, paying your legal fees from your own pocket which will enable you to keep 100% of your compensation. It is possible you have legal expenses insurance under and motor vehicle or home policy you already have. Legal aid may be available in a small number of claims relating to birth injury, where your child has suffered neurological damage during pregnancy, birth, or within the first eight weeks after they are born.

No Win No Fee Claims in Gloucester

Most of our clients, however, aren’t eligible for those options. Therefore, the majority of claims we handle are under a No Win No Fee* agreement.

No Win No Fee* agreements are almost as straightforward as they sound. If your claim is not successful, you will not have to pay your lawyers fees. Your opponent may request to recover their legal costs back from you. But these receive coverage under an insurance policy, either:

• one you already have or;
• a specialist After the Event insurance policy we can help you arrange before you begin your claim.

If your claim is successful, and we will only recommend you proceed if we believe it will be, you will pay your solicitor a percentage of your compensation as a success fee. We have provided more detailed information about how no win no fee medical negligence compensation claims work in a useful guide.

Claiming Compensation for Another Person

It is possible to apply for compensation for somebody who is unable to do so for themselves. At The Medical Negligence Experts, we often support parents of children who have suffered medical negligence either during birth or as the result of later treatment, as well as adult children of elderly patients who have been injured by medical negligence or care home negligence.

There is little difference in the manner in which professional solicitors handle these claims. Call today on our freephone number or fill in our online contact form if you want to find out more about making a claim on behalf of your family member or close friend.

Medical Negligence Claims in Gloucester FAQ

It’s likely you have a lot of questions about whether you can make a claim, how to make a claim, and how long medical negligence compensation claims take. We are happy to answer any question you have in a free no-obligation consultation with one of our legal advisors. To start things off, here are the answers to some of the FAQs we receive.

Can I claim compensation for medical negligence?

You may be able to claim compensation for medical negligence if you have received an injury through substandard medical care within the last three years. One must prove both causation (negligent care) and damages for the claim to have legal validity.

The three-year statutory limit applies to virtually all compensation claims. Exceptions to this time include:

• if you were under 18 at the time (in which case you have until your 21st birthday to bring about a claim), or;
• if you are legally unable to handle your financial affairs due to mental incapacity.

How long does a medical negligence compensation claim take?

The typical medical negligence compensation claim takes between 18 months into years to settle. If your application needs to go to court, for example. In turn, if the other party denies liability or refuses to offer an acceptable amount of compensation. As a result, it can extend the processing time by up to a year.

However, we do not stay inactive during this time. We will always do our best to settle your claim out of court. For example, this includes negotiating up until the day a judge hears your request.

Your claim may take longer than the average processing time if your injury has long-term implications which cannot be determined. For example, in cases of babies who receive brain damage during delivery, the extent of their injury and future needs may take some time to be determined. Providing the other party accepts responsibility, we can request an interim compensation payment to help address your short-term financial needs.

How much compensation can I expect to receive for medical negligence in Gloucester?

Your lawyer will be able to give you a good idea of what is a reasonable amount of compensation to expect once they have investigated your claim in detail. Calculation of payment comes in two parts: general damages and special damages.

General damages through Medical Negligence Solicitors in Gloucester

General damages factors in the pain and suffering you have injured as a result of your injury. The Judicial College regularly updates industry guidelines about compensation payments for different types of injuries. The amount you receive will depend on the nature of your injury and the effect this has had on your life.

For example, a woman who is left sterile due to cancer misdiagnosis could receive a higher compensation payment than a woman in her 50s who suffers a similar fate.

Special damages through Medical Negligence Solicitors in Gloucester

The second part of your compensation claim is called special damages. Special damages cover any expense or financial loss you have had due to your injury that you would not otherwise have incurred. This payment can include expenses such as private medical care, such as physiotherapy to help treat your injury, as well as wages lost due to not being able to work if your injury has caused you an extended recovery period.

Will I have to go to court?

There is a small possibility your claim will go to court, but the likelihood is slim, and the majority of claims we handle settle out of court. We may recommend you submit your application to a court for a judge to make a ruling if the other party denies responsibility and we have evidence to prove it, or if, despite extensive negotiations, we have been unable to reach an agreement about an acceptable amount of compensation.

Get in touch today to arrange a time to speak with a legal expert about your circumstances. There is a statutory limit of three years in which to bring about a claim for compensation for medical negligence. Our experience shows that the sooner you talk to a lawyer, the more successful your application is likely to be.

Use our freephone number to call, or fill in our contact form and we will call you back at the best time to suit you. Talk to The Medical Negligence Experts today to find out how we can help you get the compensation you deserve.

*Please note that certain conditions apply.