In this guide, we will explore the benefits of hiring No Win No Fee solicitors for a medical negligence claim.
Can I hire No Win No Fee solicitors for a medical negligence claim?
We will also discuss what medical negligence is and the duty of care you are owed by medically trained professionals.
Additionally, we will explore examples of how medical negligence could occur and the harm that could be sustained as a result.
Keep reading to find out more about the medical negligence claims process. Alternatively, please get in touch with an advisor using the details below:
- Telephone: 0113 460 1216
- Online form: Complete our contact form with your query.
- Live chat: Chat to an advisor directly using the chat box below.
Choose A Section
- When Can You Use No Win No Fee Solicitors For A Medical Negligence Claim? – A Guide
- Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors For A Medical Negligence Claim
- When Are You Eligible To Make A Medical Negligence Claim?
- What Could You Receive When Claiming For Medical Negligence?
- How To Claim For Medical Negligence – What Evidence Is Important?
- Learn More About The Medical Negligence Claim Process
When Can You Use No Win No Fee Solicitors For A Medical Negligence Claim? – A Guide
Medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. As part of this duty, they must ensure they provide the correct standard of care. If they fail to do so, causing you to sustain unnecessary harm as a result, this is known as medical negligence. If you can demonstrate that medical negligence has occurred, you may be eligible to seek compensation.
The unnecessary harm you sustain can be both physical and psychological, the impact of which can affect your quality of life. You could also experience a financial impact due to the harm you have sustained. These factors will be considered when valuing your potential claim.
Hiring No Win No Fee solicitors for a medical negligence claim can help you through the process of seeking compensation. They can help you gather sufficient evidence to support your case and can ensure you receive a settlement that is fair and relevant to your specific claim.
To learn more, please get in touch with our team. Alternatively, please continue reading to find out how the solicitors from our panel could help.
Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors For A Medical Negligence Claim
Today’s technology means you are no longer dependent upon hiring solicitors located physically nearby. Instead, it’s possible to look further afield and focus on finding a solicitor who has experience handling claims similar to your own.
This is something we can help with. The solicitors on our panel have experience handling different types of medical negligence claims. They can also offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee service.
By using a CFA, you won’t usually pay for the solicitor’s services upfront, while your claim is ongoing or if your claim fails. Instead, they will take what’s called a ‘success fee’, which is subject to a legal cap, from your compensation.
Contact the advisers on our team for more information. They can provide further details about the help medical negligence solicitors could provide.
When Are You Eligible To Make A Medical Negligence Claim?
There are various different ways medical negligence could occur. For example:
- Your doctor ignores several symptoms you describe, leading them to the wrong conclusions about your illness. As a result, you experience a medical misdiagnosis causing your original health condition to worsen.
- During a C-section gone wrong, the surgeon cuts too deeply when performing the procedure causing you to sustain a perforated bowel. In these instances, you may be able to make a birth injury claim.
- A pharmacist could make a mistake when filling your prescription. As a result of the prescription error, you take the wrong medication causing you avoidable harm.
- A surgeon amputates the wrong limb. This is known as a never event.
- A midwife fails to monitor your baby correctly during the birthing process. As a result, they sustain brain damage due to a lack of oxygen resulting in them developing to cerebral palsy.
- You may experience medical negligence at birth as a result of the midwife using excessive force. This could cause you to sustain a fractured hip.
However, it’s important to note that not all instances of medical negligence will form the basis of a valid claim. As mentioned, you could be eligible to seek compensation if you can prove you experienced unnecessary harm as a result of a medical professional breaching the duty of care they owed you.
To learn more about when you could be eligible to claim, get in touch on the number above. An advisor can discuss whether our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors with medical negligence claims experience could help.
What Could You Receive When Claiming For Medical Negligence?
The payout you receive from a successful medical negligence claim may include up to two heads of claim. These heads of claim, known as general damages and special damages, are intended to reimburse you for different ways you have been impacted by the harm sustained due to medical negligence.
The first, general damages, is meant to compensate you for the pain and suffering you experienced as a result of the harm sustained due to medical negligence. In order to assess the value of this head of claim, a solicitor can turn to the Judicial College Guidelines.
This document contains guideline compensation figures corresponding to different types of harm. We have included examples of these in the table below. However, several factors will influence the settlement you receive. As such, you should only consider them as guidelines.
| Harm | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kidney (a) | £169,400 to £210,400 | Damage that is serious and permanent affecting both kidneys or the loss of both kidneys. |
| Kidney (b) | Up to £63,980 | There is a risk of future urinary tract infection that is significant or a complete loss of natural kidney function. |
| Bladder (a) | Up to £184,200 | Double incontinence involving complete loss of natural bowel function and urinary function and control alongside other medical complications. |
| Bladder (b) | Up to £140,660 | There is a total loss of function and control. |
| Bowels (b) | Up to £150,110 | A complete loss of natural function and dependence on colostomy. |
| Bowels (c) | In the region of £79,920 | Embarrassment and distress is caused by faecal urgency and passive incontinence after surgery. This usually follows an injury after giving birth. |
| Female Reproductive System (a) | £114,900 to £170,280 | Infertility due to injury or disease alongside other issues, such as sexual dysfunction or severe depression. |
| Male Reproductive System (c) | £43,010 to £88,750 | Permanent impotence or significant sexual dysfunction in an individual with children or who would not have had any. |
| Psychiatric Damage Generally (b) | £54,830 to £115,730 | Moderately severe: Cases in this bracket can involve a psychiatric injury following a negligent stillbirth or the traumatic birth of a child. |
| Spleen (a) | £20,800 to £26,290 | The spleen is lost and there is an ongoing risk of internal infection and disorders because of a damaged immune system. |
Special Damages In A Medical Negligence Claim
The second head of claim is called special damages. It is intended to reimburse you for financial losses resulting from the harm you sustained due to medical negligence. Examples include:
- Loss of earnings, past and future
- Medical costs
- Travel expenses
- Care costs
- The cost of adaptations to your home
You will need evidence to support these losses, such as receipts and payslips.
To find out more, get in touch using the number above.
How To Claim For Medical Negligence – What Evidence Is Important?
As part of the medical negligence claims process, there are certain steps you can take, such as gathering evidence. Examples of the evidence you could collect include:
- Doctor report
- Hospital report
- Prescriptions
- Letters of diagnosis
You may also be invited to attend an independent medical assessment. This can produce a report on the full extent of the harm you sustained. It can be used as evidence to support your case.
Furthermore, the Bolam test may be carried out by a group of relevantly trained medical professionals. They will assess whether you were provided care that met the correct standard. The findings from their assessment could be used to support your case.
Additionally, you must begin your claim within the relevant time limit. For medical negligence claims, this is generally three years from the date:
- The incident occurred
- You associated the harm you sustained with negligence.
However, there are exceptions to the three year time limit, such as when the incident involves a child or someone who lacks the mental capacity to claim. In these instances, a suitable adult can apply to the courts to act as a litigation friend and put forward the claim on the injured person’s behalf.
Get in touch with our advisers to learn more. They can also discuss hiring No Win No Fee solicitors for a medical negligence claim.
Contact Us To Learn About Hiring No Win No Fee Solicitors For A Medical Negligence Claim
We hope this guide on the benefits of hiring No Win No Fee solicitors for a medical negligence claim has helped.
However, we understand you may still have questions. If so, you can get in touch with our advisors to learn more about starting a potential claim.
You can reach them by:
- Calling 0113 460 1216
- Completing our contact form
- Chatting to us directly using live chat feature below.
Learn More About The Medical Negligence Claim Process
Below, we have provided some additional guides relating to medical negligence:
- How To Claim For Maternity Negligence
- Erbs Palsy Claims
- What Are Never Events And How Do I Claim Compensation?
Additionally, we have provided some external resources that you may find beneficial:
- General Medical Council – Good Medical Practice
- GOV – NHS Constitution for England
- Care Quality Commission – Report A Concern
We hope this guide has demonstrated how useful it could be to hire No Win No Fee solicitors for a medical negligence claim. If you would like to know more, get in touch using the details we have provided above.
Writer Morgan Filly
Editor Meg McGloughlin
