What to Do When Making A Medical Claim
August 9, 2019
If you’ve been subjected to medical negligence and have made the decision to make a claim against it, then there are a few things you need to consider. Medical negligence means that a healthcare professional has neglected their duties and caused an accident or issue for you personally, through no fault of your own. However, medical law is complicated, and you will thereby need the help and advice of a professional solicitor, such as the team at The Medical Negligence Experts.
Here are some prompts which you need to consider when making your medical claim.
Check Your Eligibility
The easiest and most secure way to check your eligibility is by speaking to an advisor. The professional staff at The Medical Negligence Experts are trained to give you an instant answer on whether they can proceed with your claim. Your injury or accident also needs to have happened within the past 3 years, with certain exceptions which your advisor can explain to you.
Ensure You Can Prove Both Negligence and Causation
Although you may believe that your accident or injury was the result of medical negligence, you need to ensure that you can back up your information. This means, firstly, that you need solid grounds that negligence was involved, but this alone is not enough: you also need to prove causation. This means that you need to ensure you have the means to show that your subsequent injury or illness was a direct result of the negligence, and would not have happened in any manner if you had not received that particular care. For example, you need to ensure your illness is not a routine side effect of a certain treatment. That being said, if your medical professional did not tell you that your injury could be a possible side effect and did not seek your consent, this still falls under medical negligence worthy of a claim.
Keep Track of Areas Affected
It’s important that your solicitor has all the relevant details in order to make a bid for the maximum compensation amount. These details must include:
- Loss of earnings as a direct result of your injury or illness. If you have lost money due to not being able to work, then you can make a claim for the amount lost and incorporate it into your settlement amount. It’s therefore important that you keep a log of days and hours you have not been able to attend work, and the subsequent amount of pay you have lost as a result.
- Any money spent on services or items as a direct result of the injury or illness. This could be along the lines of counselling sessions for a psychological illness, physiotherapy sessions for a physical illness or any items needed to be installed in the home to better treat your illness or injury. Anything which has cost you personal money needs to be accounted for and logged.
Your solicitor can also advise you on which personal outgoings are relevant for the claim.