Doctors are lifesavers, as we know, but they can make mistakes like the rest of the people. Some doctors are really tired after long shifts, and normally, they should take a break whenever they feel exhausted. Medical negligence can occur when a doctor provides the wrong treatment, and injury, harm, or even death take action.
Medical malpractice often involves a medical error which can include wrong medication dosage, treatment, aftercare, diagnosis, and so on. Let’s suppose that these happened to you. Your doctor misdiagnosed you, and now you’re likely to develop other health issues. Now, you’re clearly a victim because your doctor who was supposed to improve your health treated you differently. Health problems can worsen over time, and if you don’t receive the right treatment from your healthcare specialist, your body will respond worse.
Most of the time, the treatment for an illness you are misdiagnosed with can lead to severe side effects, as you are exposing your body to meds that aren’t suitable for you. Speak to another doctor who is actually able to check your symptoms and give the right treatment.
You have the complete right to expect to receive safe and effective treatment when you’re visiting the doctor. Whenever you are under the care of a doctor, or at the hospital, you must receive optimal treatment. It’s absolutely normal to expect your doctor to be qualified and treat you with professionalism. But when something goes wrong, or the doctor doesn’t do their job properly, they can destroy your trust and leave you with health issues or injuries. In this case, a medical negligence claim can be made.
Luckily, medical negligence law in the UK is carefully helping patients who were misdiagnosed, have been injured, or are ill through no fault of their own. It’s a team formed of specialists in medical negligence law and can offer victims free legal advice about making a claim.
How to Make a Medical Negligence Claim?
To make a medical negligence claim, you must contact a specialist solicitor. From that point, the lawyer will take care of things. You’ll even receive a free consultation to talk about what happened and if you have the right to claim.
After chatting about your claim, the team of medical negligence solicitors will review your story, and decide if you are eligible to make a legal claim. If so, your case will be passed to a solicitor, who will consider the most suitable options for your case. For your case to be successful, you must prepare your medical records – those will be shared to other medical experts to be reviewed, and decide whether the treatment you received is wrong. If the medical evidence supports your claim, the legal process will then start.
How Many Claims Can You Receive for Medical Negligence?
The compensation you can possibly receive for your medical negligence can vary, depending on the type of injury or illness you have, its severity, its impact on your life, on your current job, and future. When an expert works on how much compensation can a victim receive, they usually look at a number of things, like expenses you’ve faced because of medical negligence.
Other expenses you might have faced due to medical negligence:
- Travel expenses for medical appointments
- Medical equipment
- Costs of surgery/Medical procedures you experienced after suffering from medical negligence
- Earnings you’ve lost due to lost job
- The costs of receiving current/future care
- Future loss income due to current medical condition that doesn’t allow you to not return to work
You can also receive compensation for the pain and sorrow resulting from medical negligence. Your payout will depend on the nature of your injuries. Use this information to ensure you get the compensation you so deserve.
Can You Go to Court?
Medical negligence cases rarely go to court: only the most severe cases end up there. But if your case goes to court, use the information above to collect evidence, and increase your chances to receive compensation. Hire a medical negligence expert to help you through the process. Most clients are surprised about how beneficial it is to have someone qualified by their side to help them with the case.
Medical Negligence Claim Time Limits
Generally, there’s a three-year time limit for deciding to start a medical negligence claim. The time limit will start from the date that the negligence occurred, or since you’ve become aware that you’ve been misdiagnosed.
But there are some exceptions. If the negligence relates to treating a child, or someone who is mentally ill, then the time limit can extend. However, there are some paybacks for suing early.
Any solicitor will recommend you to claim as soon as possible for medicinal carelessness compensation, just to make sure that you receive the best possible results. You’ll also receive access to rehabilitation (if needed), and the best suited medical support. You might also be able to receive expenses, while your claim is continuing, which can help you pay for travel to the hospital, and certain treatments you might need.
It’s crucial to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Oftentimes, people mistake the time limit of their medical negligence. This is a reminder to notify the court within the right time frame, or you may not be eligible to make a claim. A dedicated solicitor will be happy to “walk” you through this journey, striving to settle medical negligence claims as fast as possible. A mild medical negligence claim can be settled within a month, while more complicated cases can take a couple of years to be settled.
However, it’s essential to contact a solicitor that can quickly investigate your case, and start formal court proceedings, if needed. If you strongly believe that the medical treatment that was given to you was negligent, then you are entitled to make a claim through a medical negligence solicitor.