Making A Medical Negligence Claim

Doctors have a responsibility or ‘duty of care’ to every patient. Clinical Negligence, also known as Medical Negligence, is when a person is injured while under the medical care of a doctor or medical provider.

What Areas Does Medical Negligence Cover?

Essentially, if you were injured whilst under the care of a doctor or medical provider, this could be defined as clinical negligence. This could be:

• Dental negligence
• Ophthalmic
• Drug and medication errors
• Mistaken or delayed diagnosis
• Surgical claims
• Birth injuries
• Claims against GP’s, nurses or doctors

Making A Medical Negligence Claim

In order to make a clinical negligence claim, it must be proved that:

• The doctor or medical provider made a serious mistake, and their negligence contributed to your injury
• Claims must usually be made within three years of the incident, or if you were injured as a child, within three years of your eighteenth birthday.
• It must be shown that on the ‘balance of probabilities’ the negligence caused the injury

Claims can be made against both the NHS and private healthcare providers. Claims against the NHS are dealt with by the NHS’s own litigation authority. Claims may be made based on the law of tort, and with private healthcare providers, there may be a claim under the law of contract.

Medical Negligence: An Overview

Clinical Negligence claims are complicated, but that shouldn’t put you off claiming if you believe you have a valid case. One of the main reasons claims are complicated is due to the many medical and scientific issues involved. Even medical experts often disagree about the cause of someone’s injury.

It is also often not possible to establish the long-term effects of clinical negligence as they can take many years to be seen. This means claims can take a long time to settle. It may be that interim settlement payments are made with later revisions.