Whilst, thankfully, most medical and dental treatment is performed very well, there are inevitably going to be occasions when the treatment may go wrong and an injury to the patient is suffered as a result. The types of issues which arise are misdiagnoses; labour/birth injuries; surgical errors and errors made in dental care. Such treatment can be administered by a number of different medical practitioners such as a hospital doctor, nurse, general practitioner, physiotherapist, dental surgeon or orthodontist.
What should I do if I believe that I may have suffered an injury as a result of poor treatment?
Firstly, you should contact the medical practitioner in charge of your treatment and raise your concerns with them.
It is likely that if your treatment took place at hospital there will be a set procedure in place to deal with complaints. The hospital may ask you to complete a form detailing your outcome.
You may receive a letter from the hospital in response explaining the reasons for the outcome you achieved, and/or you may be asked to attend a meeting. We would always suggest that you accept any offer to attend such meetings as you are usually able to obtain useful information in relation to your treatment and the reasons for any poor outcome.
If, after this process, you remain concerned about the treatment, you may wish to investigate matters further. If so, we suggest you contact us to discuss your concerns and to explore if you are likely to be able to establish a medical negligence claim against your treating doctor.
What will Calio Claims do for me?
We will be able to guide you through the whole process. We will initially take a detailed statement from you which will set out the circumstances of your treatment and will document your concerns and in what respect your treatment has gone wrong.
Thereafter, we will contact your general practitioner and, if appropriate, the hospital or practice you attended to obtain all your records. Once we have your records and have reviewed them, we will discuss matters with you to agree the best way of progressing your claim.
It is likely that we will require obtaining a report from a suitably qualified expert who will review your records together with any other information provided to them which will include your detailed statement. The expert will thereafter prepare a report which will set out the treatment you were given and his/her opinion on whether your treatment fell below the standard of care you ought to be able to expect from a doctor acting with all ordinary skill and care.
We will also ingather all evidence of all other losses you have sustained. Typically, losses will include your loss of earnings including any payments you have made to obtain private treatment as well as any costs of having to travel for further hospital appointments. We would urge you to keep copies of all appropriate receipts including evidence of travel and treatment costs, home help bills, items purchased and costs for any medication.
Assuming we have received a supportive expert report, we will thereafter intimate your claim on the party responsible for your treatment. Our dental negligence claim lawyers will guide you through the whole claims process and, should it be required, the various stages of the court action.
We have a great deal of experience in dealing with dental negligence claims. David Armstrong secured compensation for our client after their dentist failed to provide appropriate orthodontic treatment over a period of six years.
What do I need to be successful in my medical negligence claim?
There are essentially two issues you will have to prove in order to be successful in a medical negligence claim. Firstly, you need to prove that the treatment given to you fell below an acceptable standard and, secondly, the treatment complained of has led to your injury.
If you are able to successfully prove both these factors, you will thereafter need to provide all appropriate evidence to value your claim to ensure that the damages you recover adequately compensate you for your past losses and any future costs you are likely to incur.
How much will the claim cost me?
We have a number of different funding packages which takes into account your current financial position and type of claim you have. It may be possible for us to take your claim on a no win no fee basis. However, usually with regards to medical negligence claims, we will require to obtain a report from a suitably qualified expert who will advise on whether the treatment you received could be considered negligent.
You may be required to cover the cost of the expert report as well as the recovery of all your medical records. You may be entitled to legal aid but that will very much depend on your financial circumstances. We will be able to guide you through the best way to fund your claim.
If you are not able to settle your claim, you may need to raise a court action against the defender. In order to protect you against the prospect of losing the court case and having to pay out legal costs to the defender, it is possible for you to take out an insurance policy which will enable you to run the litigation safe in the knowledge that you will not have to pay any costs should you lose.
How long do I have to make a claim?
As with all personal injury claims, there is a three-year time limit for making a claim. However, that three-year time limit will only start to run when you are aware that you have a claim or ought to have been aware. That date can change when it comes to medical negligence claims. Even if you had your treatment more than three years ago, it is still possible you will be entitled to make a claim. In order to obtain the correct advice, we would urge you to contact us as soon as possible on 0800 988 8082.
How much am I likely to receive by way of damages?
That very much depends upon the extent of your injuries and other losses sustained as a result of your injuries.
You are entitled to recover what in Scotland is called the solatium damages. That basically covers you for the cost of the pain and suffering associated with the injury itself. The amount is based on a set tariff which refers to previous awards given by the courts for similar injuries.
If you required time off work to recover from your injury or indeed you require further treatment which results in further time off work, then you will be entitled to recover the losses flowing from this additional treatment.
If you wish to speak to someone in our specialist medical negligence team, please call us on 0800 988 8082 or complete our online enquiry form.
