Medical Negligence Claims

When you go to a hospital for medical treatment, you assume that you will be taken care of by professionals in an appropriate manner. In no way would you expect to contract a nasty virus and end up more sick than you were when you got to the hospital. However, it does happen. Patients get sick with viruses they contract during a hospital stay, and sometimes patients leave the hospital with injuries they sustained during their stay. If you have contracted a virus or sustained injury due to the negligent acts of a nurse, doctor or surgeon, it is your responsibility to make a medical negligence claim. This is your legal and civil right.

Unfortunately, there are times when any doctor could fail to diagnose certain conditions such as cancer, for example. If cancer is left untreated, serious complications can arise. The most effective treatment for any type of cancer is to catch the disease in its early stages as soon as possible. With certain forms of cancer, not finding it until it has already reached the later stages and treatment is no longer an option can result in serious illness or premature loss of life. This negligence is serious and should not be left unreported.

On the other hand, there are cases where someone has been diagnosed with cancer or some other disorder when none actually existed. A misdiagnosis can result in a high level of anxiety and stress, not to mention drug therapy and surgeries that are not necessary. It is possible for a person to contract an illness from the drugs they are given that they never should have been instructed to take in the first place. In such a case, the actual illness can be left untreated with the possibility of becoming worse.

Since medical negligence claims have a tendency to get complicated and can take months before anything is accomplished, it is vital that you locate a specialist solicitor who has medical negligence claim experience.

If you have been victimised by medical negligence and plan to make a compensation claim, your case will greatly depend on medical evidence. Either you or your insurance company will have to foot the bill for such documentation, which can be quite expensive. You will need evidence to prove that the surgeon, nurse, doctor or other medical personnel that you are making the claim against owes you a “duty of care”. This is the general legal duty on all organisations and individuals to avoid careless harm to anyone. The medical professional must prove that everything within reason is being done to ensure the safety and health of everyone at the place of business.

Making a medical negligence claim is quite simple nowadays, and you will not have to pay a thing. There is a “no win, no fee” agreement in place that lets anyone file a claim with out having to come up with the funds to pay for legal fees. The cost to obtain the medical records you will need for the claim can cost anywhere from £28 to £113. However, your insurance company may be willing to cover this fee. Your personal injury lawyer should be able to inform you every step of the way as to what should be expected. Lawyers usually do not take medical negligence claims on a whim, so they will tell you right away what your chances of winning the case are. Any cost that is incurred will be recovered from the insurance company of the losing party.