Medical Negligence

Medical Negligence FAQs

• Do I have a medical negligence claim?

  If you consider that you or anyone in your family have suffered injury as a result of sub-standard medical treatment, you could be entitled to make a compensation claim for the injuries and financial losses suffered. To successfully bring a claim we will need to obtain medical evidence to demonstrate that:

  1. The medical professionals who treated you (or failed to treat you) owed a duty of care which was breached by following a course of action not supported by a reasonable body of medical opinion.
  2. As a result of the breach of duty, you have suffered injury and financial loss.

  Subject to proving the above, we will proceed with your compensation claim.

• How do I make a medical negligence claim?

  1. Get in touch

  For a free initial consultation, contact our medical negligence team on 020 7288 4800 or complete our online medical negligence enquiry form.

  2. Funding options

  We’ll help you determine the best funding arrangement for you. Read our legal fees guide to find out more about the different funding options available.

  3. Medical records

  We’ll request copies of your medical records to identify incidences of substandard treatment.

  4. Expert opinion

  If your medical records support your claim, we’ll instruct a medical expert to examine you and provide a report on the harm caused by the negligence.

  5. Letter of claim

  Once we have received supportive evidence from the medical experts, we will write a formal “letter of claim” to the medical professional(s) responsible for the substandard treatment.

• Can I claim against the NHS, GPs or Private Hospitals?

  Negligence can occur at any stage of medical care, from an initial GP appointment, to post-referral treatment from an NHS consultant or department or within a private hospital or their treatment facilities. In each of these cases, a specific process will need to be followed by our expert team to investigate and set out your complaint and establish whether you have a viable claim.

• How much compensation will I receive?

  If you are successful with your medical negligence claim, you will receive compensation for both the injuries and the financial losses you have suffered as a result of the substandard treatment.

  1. Compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity

  If you are successful, you will recover compensation for your injuries, pain, suffering and loss of amenity.

  The amount will depend on how serious your injuries are, how long you take to recover and how the injuries affect you now.

  2. Financial losses

  You are entitled to claim for all financial losses that flow from the injuries you have sustained as a result of the substandard treatment.

• What are the time limits to make a claim?

  Strict time limits apply to medical negligence claims. If missed, this could result in losing the right to claim compensation.

  You must issue court proceedings within 3 years of your “date of knowledge”. This is the date when a reasonable person in your situation would first have had knowledge of a potential claim.

  Contact a solicitor immediately if you suspect you have suffered injury and loss due to substandard treatment.

  Adult claims

  If, as an adult you did not have the mental capacity to instruct a solicitor, the clock doesn’t start ticking until you have regained capacity.

  Child claims

  If the claim concerns a child, then court proceedings must be issued by the child’s 21st birthday.

• What happens if my claim is successful?

  Protecting your means-tested benefits

  Your financial circumstances change when you receive compensation. This means your means-tested benefits may be at risk. You can protect your entitlement by setting up a personal injury trust.

  Investment advice

  Investing your compensation requires careful thought and specialist advice. We can make recommendations of appropriate advisors on request.

  Rehabilitation

  Your medical situation and future prospects may be improved by rehabilitation and treatment. We have arrangements with medical services providers to get you back on your feet as soon as possible.

• What can Medical Negligence Compensation Pay For?

  Compensation is there to ensure that you get the support you need in your day to day life following an injury. A good level of compensation can help to ensure that you can access the care and support you need for your individual needs for the rest of your life.

  Compensation can help you to manage:

  • Loss of earnings due to your injury
  • Further treatments
  • Adaptations to your home
  • Care costs
  • Expenses

• Who will pay my legal costs?

  If you have a claim, we will find a way to fund it for you. The four main types of funding are:

  1. ‘No win no fee’ agreement
  2. Legal Expenses Insurance
  3. Legal Aid
  4. Paying privately

  When you win your claim, it is usual for the Defendant to pay most, if not all, of your legal costs. We have a specialist team who work to ensure the costs process is dealt with speedily and to your advantage.

• What can I do if I’m not happy with my solicitor?

  If you’ve already started a claim with another solicitor but are unhappy with the service you’re receiving, you are allowed to change your solicitor without having to justify why. Going through a litigation process is stressful as it is, and you’re fully entitled to move to a different firm if you’re unhappy with your current one, particularly if the relationship of trust and confidence has broken down. If you’d like to discuss moving from your current solicitor firm to a solicitor from Bolt Burdon Kemp, just give us a call or send us a message using our contact form.

  If you decide we could be a better fit for you, we can contact your old solicitor to get all the information we need and transfer your case. You may still need to pay your old solicitors for the time they spent on your claim, but we can help you with this, too. Find out more about this process in our article on the subject.