If you’ve recovered from medical treatment feeling like something wasn’t quite right, you might have reason to suspect that you were the victim of medical negligence.
While accepting that this possibility is a daunting task, being able to seek justice could be the best approach for your long-term health and financial stability too. In this guide, we’ve offered some guidance to help you gather information and evaluate the possibility of a claim.
How high was the quality of care?
Medical professionals have a legal duty of care. This means that they must always carry out their role to a reasonable standard, putting their patients first and ensuring thorough, high-quality care.
If you’re worried about your experience, you’ll need to assess whether it’s possible that your healthcare provider failed to meet the accepted standards. In many cases involving NHS negligence, patients must need to take this vital first step independently. A few telltale signs might include:
- A missed or delayed diagnosis
- Lack of written consent for treatment or surgery
- Administrative errors, including incorrect prescriptions
Can you provide evidence of harm caused by your healthcare provider?
Next, it’s important to remember that your solicitor can only prove medical negligence if you’re able to provide sufficient evidence.
This must irrefutably demonstrate that the actions (or inactions) of your primary healthcare team directly caused unnecessary physical suffering or financial loss. Evidence can be presented to the court in various different forms, but it could look like:
- Photographs of your injury or condition
- Receipts from further appointments for additional treatment
- Doctors’ or nurses’ notes reporting symptoms or recovery
What compensation could you claim?
Next, you’ll need to think about the different types of compensation that you might be able to pursue as a claimant. These can cover both the immediate and long-term effects of negligence, so it’s worth considering if compensation could help you through your current situation. You could claim damages for:
- Physical injury: Were you physically hurt after your treatment, or did an existing injury worsen after medical intervention?
- Emotional distress: Did a delayed diagnosis or unnecessary prescription cause you significant worries and anxiety?
- Financial losses: Have you been left to cover the costs of equipment and further treatment after being failed by the NHS?
Are you still within the time limits to make the claim?
Finally, it’s worth remembering that there are statutory limitation periods for making a medical negligence claim. This is typically three years in the UK, although some exemptions apply. These include:
- Claiming on behalf of someone who is aged under 18 years old.
- Cases where the connection between the injury and negligence was only discovered later.
- Claiming on behalf of someone who does not have the mental capacity to do so independently.
If you’re thinking about taking legal action, we hope that you should now feel empowered to proceed. No matter the extent of your illness or injury, you always deserved to receive a high quality of care without repercussions.