Understanding Medical Negligence
Errors made due to medical negligence can have a lasting impact on patients mentally and physically, and many of those affected have no idea where to turn or who to speak to, explains Holly Barnes, medical negligence expert at Farleys
The majority of medical appointments and treatments undertaken on the NHS or privately are completed without any problems. However, there are occasions where errors are made due to negligence.
The first thing to establish is whether medical negligence has occurred. So, what is medical negligence?
If you have been injured or harmed by a GP, nurse, dentist, pharmacist, paramedic, consultant, or private clinician, you may have been the victim of medical negligence. There is a standard of care expected of medical professionals and, if they fall below this standard, they are likely to be negligent.
Your health is the number one priority so the first thing you need to do if you feel your treatment has been negligent is to raise the issue with the person treating you. It is also perfectly acceptable to ask for a second opinion from another medical professional if you want it.
If you have spoken to the person treating you and you’re still unhappy, you should make a written complaint. For a GP, your complaint should go to the GP surgery’s practice manager or, for NHS staff, you should make your complaint to the complaints department of the relevant NHS trust or hospital.
If you choose to make an official complaint, you should always make it in writing, by email or recorded post. Never just telephone someone as you will have no record of what was said.
You can find copies of the complaints process on the organisation’s website. If you’re unsure, ring them and ask them to send it to you. State in your letter that you are prepared to allow 14 days for an acknowledgement and 40 days for them to send you a response.
When deciding what to say, try and step back from what has happened. Be clear but, more importantly, be precise. Some complaints may be about a number of things so make a list of all your complaints, putting them in order of importance. The simpler and clearer you make your complaint, the harder it will be for any professional to avoid answering your grievance.
A medical negligence solicitor can guide you through the process for making a complaint as well as advise you on the possibility of making a claim for damages so it is important to speak to a legal specialist at the earliest opportunity.
To bring a successful claim, you must prove, on the balance of probabilities that breach of duty has occurred and that it caused you to suffer injury. Your legal representative can discuss this in detail with you referring to your individual set of circumstances.
You must show that the treatment or care received fell below the standard of a responsible body of medical practitioners in the relevant field of medicine.
It must also be proved that the breach of duty caused or materially contributed to you suffering a worse outcome than you would have done if the breach of duty had not occurred.
Most clinical negligence claims have a three-year time limit, which means that court proceedings must be issued (not just that the claim must be started) within three years of the injury or in some cases, three years from the date that you first became aware the injury was caused as a result of negligence. For cases involving children, the three-year time period starts from their 18th birthday.
The investigative process at the start of a claim can be lengthy and therefore, it is advantageous to instruct legal representation as soon as possible and when the issues are fresh in your mind.
Farleys has a team of experienced medical negligence solicitors based in Lancashire
To discuss your case with a specialist please call 01254 368040, email: info@farleys.com or visit: www.farleys.com
