Gynaecological care is a vital component of women’s health services, with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) reporting that approximately 763,694 women with serious conditions are currently awaiting hospital services. In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about making a gynaecology medical negligence claim, from how this kind of negligence could impact you all the way up to how a solicitor could help you.
When you seek gynaecological care from a hospital, clinic, or other service provider, you expect to get the right treatment. Medical professionals go through years of education and training before they qualify for this very reason, but unfortunately, things can still go wrong.
If you were harmed by substandard care from a medical professional, you could be eligible to make a claim. Continue reading to learn more, or follow the details below to speak with one of our advisors.
Contact Us
To talk to a member of our team:
- Call us on 0113 460 1216
- Contact us online
Jump To A Section
- Who Can Make Gynaecology Negligence Claims?
- What Is Gynaecology Medical Negligence?
- The Impacts Of Negligent Gynaecological Care
- What Is The Average Compensation For Gynaecology Negligence
- How To Begin A Claim For Gynaecology Negligence
- Will You Need To Attend A Medical Examination?
- How Medical Negligence Claims Care Can Help You
- More Information
Who Can Make Gynaecology Negligence Claims?
Anyone can make a gynaecology claim, so long as they can prove that medical negligence occurred. But before we get into that, we need to talk about duty of care.
You are immediately owed a duty of care by every medical professional who treats you, from junior nurses to specialist surgeons. This means that no matter what they do, they need to make sure that the care they provide meets a minimum standard.
Different disciplines may need to take different steps to meet this goal; for example, a midwife likely would not have the same responsibilities as a reproductive surgeon. However, the duty of care remains the same.
So, what exactly is medical negligence? Essentially, medical and gynaecological negligence occurs when:
- A medical professional owes you a duty of care
- They breach this duty
- You suffer avoidable harm as a result
So, if you’ve suffered avoidable harm because you received substandard care, you could potentially make a gynaecology medical negligence claim.
Claiming On Behalf Of Someone Else
You could claim on behalf of someone else. To do this, you can apply to act as their litigation friend throughout the claims process. Litigation friends can claim on behalf of:
- Minors under the age of 18
- Those who lack the mental capacity to claim for themselves
For example, if your loved one was rendered comatose as a result of substandard medical care, you could potentially make a claim on their behalf.
If you’re interested in claiming as a litigation friend, a solicitor from our panel could help. Get in touch today to get started.
What Is Gynaecology Medical Negligence?
Gynaecology refers to medical treatment for the female reproductive system and its functions, including:
- Womb and ovary health
- Vaginal and vulval health
- Menopause
- Periods
- Pregnancy
- Contraception and fertility
- Some aspects of maternity care
- Sexual health
As such, negligence occurs when patients in these fields are harmed by substandard care. This can include:
- Surgical negligence
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
- Medication errors, like being wrongly prescribed antidepressants for a physical condition
Common Examples Of Gynaecology Negligence
Some common examples of gynaecology medical negligence can include:
- Failure to refer: For example, if you were to go to your GP multiple times with concerns about your periods, showing clear signs of endometriosis, but they disregarded your concerns and failed to refer you for further testing. This allows the endometriosis scarring to spread, causing irreparable damage to your reproductive organs.
- Surgical errors: For example, this could occur if you were scheduled to undergo a tubal ligation, but instead your surgeon performed a full hysterectomy. This unnecessary surgery causes permanent infertility and requires you to go through hormonal replacement therapy to cope with the effects.
- Misdiagnosis: For example, if your doctor were to review a scan of your ovaries that clearly showed the presence of multiple tumours, but they misdiagnosed these as endometrial scars. This causes your ovarian cancer to spread past the point of effective treatment.
Gynaecological negligence is a broad term that can cover a range of different types of care failures. If you think you’ve been a victim of medical negligence, get in touch with our team today.
The Impacts Of Negligent Gynaecological Care
Negligent gynaecological care can result in a wide range of negative consequences, and can sometimes result in death.
Mental Impacts
The mental impacts of gynaecological negligence can be severe and include conditions like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It can also exacerbate existing conditions with mental health effects, like premenstrual dysphoria disorder (PMDD).
Physical Impacts
We’ve discussed some of the physical impacts of poor gynaecological care, which can range from infertility to cancer, birth injuries, and even fatalities. But it can also result in infections like sepsis, permanent scarring, and chronic pain conditions.
Financial Impacts
Aside from your physical and mental health, medical negligence can also become a significant financial burden. For example, you may need to pay for private healthcare, prescriptions, IVF fees, and childcare costs, amongst other things.
Claiming compensation won’t undo the damage done by gynaecological negligence, but it can make it easier to cope with the changes you have to go through. Keep reading to learn more about compensation and what it could cover, or contact us today to get started.
What Is The Average Compensation For Gynaecology Negligence
According to data obtained under a Freedom of Information request, it was recently discovered that NHS trusts had awarded around £170,000,000 worth of compensation over more than 2,000 gynaecology claims in the past five years. This results in an approximate average payout of £85,000 for gynaecological medical negligence.
When you make a successful medical negligence claim, your compensation payout can contain two heads. The first is general damages, which cover the pain and suffering you have endured due to the substandard care. General damages apply to both mental injuries and physical injuries.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can be used to help calculate this heading because it contains guideline compensation amounts for a number of different injuries and illnesses. You can find some relevant examples below, but please keep in mind that these brackets aren’t guaranteed, and the first entry isn’t from the JCG.
| Harm | Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple types of severe harm plus special damages, encompassing financial losses like lost earnings. | Up to £250,000+ | The combined effects of severe gynaecological negligence and other instances of harm, plus financial losses, such as the cost of future IVF treatments or adoption fees, the cost of travel, or lost wages or lost earnings. |
| Female Reproductive Injuries (a) | £140,210 to £207,260 | Infertility, sexual dysfunction, scarring, pain and severe psychiatric effects all caused by injury or disease. The highest awards will be given to those with significant medical complications. |
| Female Reproductive Injuries (b) | £52,490 to £124,620 | Permanent sexual dysfunction with some medical conditions, affecting someone who either has kids or would never have had kids in any event. |
| Female Reproductive Injuries (c) | £68,440 to £87,070 | Infertility that comes with no sexual dysfunction or any aggravating features in a young person who doesn't already have kids. |
| Female Reproductive Injuries (d) | £21,920 to £44,840 | This bracket consider those who suffer from infertility with no other aggravating effects or sexual dysfunction, but they already have children. Significant psychological effects will be considered in the higher end of the bracket. |
| Female Reproductive Injuries (e) | £8,060 to £22,800 | Infertility in those too old to naturally conceive or who otherwise would not have had children in any event. |
| Female Reproductive Injuries (f) | £4,140 to £24,930 | This bracket considers those affected by a delayed diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy, resulting in no infertility. The award will depend on the extent of the pain, bleeding, psychological effects, and whether or not fallopian tubes are removed. |
| Female Reproductive Injuries (g) | In the region of £12,450 | This award is meant for those who have suffered an unwanted pregnancy as a result of failed sterilisation, with no serious psychological impacts. |
| Scarring With No Significant Internal Injury | In the region of £10,550 | The award in this bracket reflects an exploratory laparotomy that discovers no significant internal injury, as well as the scar it leaves. |
| 1 Noticeable Scar Or Multiple Superficial Scars | £2,890 to £9,560 | Minor cosmetic deficit caused by either one noticeable scar, or severe smaller scars. |
What Can Gynaecology Compensation Help With?
You can also claim back any financial losses you’ve endured because of gynaecology medical negligence under special damages. For example, under this heading, you could claim back the cost of:
- Future IVF treatments
- Adoption fees
- Cosmetic surgery for scarring
- Private healthcare
- Prescriptions
- Childcare
- Lost earnings
- Travel
- Home adjustments
However, it’s important to keep in mind that you’ll need evidence to prove these losses. For example, this could include invoices and bank statements.
If you choose to work with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel, then they can help you with this. Keep reading to learn more, or speak to one of our advisors to get started.
How To Begin A Claim For Gynaecology Negligence
To begin a gynaecology medical negligence claim, you should look into gathering evidence, checking the time limit, and potentially seeking legal advice.
- Gathering evidence is crucial because you need to be able to prove that medical negligence actually occurred. You can do this with things like medical records, photographs of visible scars, and obtaining any witnesses’ contact details so they can be approached for a statement at a later date.
- The time limit for starting a medical negligence claim is usually three years, starting on the date that the negligence occurred, as per the Limitation Act 1980. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, which our advisors can explain in more detail.
- Working with a solicitor isn’t mandatory, but we always recommend seeking legal advice before starting proceedings. Our team of advisors can give you free advice before you get started, and could connect you with a solicitor from our panel.
We are here to help. Get in touch with our team today if you’re ready to get started, or keep reading to learn more about the claims process.
Will You Need To Attend A Medical Examination?
You might be asked to attend a medical examination if you choose to make a claim. This is part of the evidence-gathering process, in which an independent medical examiner will form a report based on the harm you’ve suffered.
Don’t worry; if you choose to work with a solicitor from our panel, they can help to make sure that your appointment goes as smoothly as possible. They’ll do their best to make sure you see someone local and that you’re fully prepared before you go in.
Keep reading to learn more about how a solicitor from our panel could help you make a gynaecology medical negligence claim. Or, if you’re ready to get started, contact our helpful team today.
How Medical Negligence Claims Care Can Help You
At MNCC, we are dedicated to helping you pursue your right to medical negligence compensation. From start to finish, we’ll make sure that you have what you need to succeed, from a free consultation with one of our expert advisors all the way up to signing a contract with a solicitor from our panel.
We work with an extremely talented panel of expert medical negligence solicitors, all of whom work on a No Win No Fee basis. This is a term you might’ve heard used quite often in terms of compensation claims, but what does it actually mean?
Well, our panel of medical negligence experts use a kind of No Win No Fee agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA is a kind of contract that you can use to work with a solicitor, no matter what your financial situation is. This is because you don’t need to pay your solicitor’s fees:
- Upfront
- As the claim is ongoing
- At all if your claim fails
So, put short, if you don’t win, you don’t pay for your solicitor’s work. And if you do win, then they take their success fee from your compensation as a small percentage, which is subject to a legal cap. This cap helps to make sure that you keep the larger share of what you receive.
Contact Our Advisors
Are you ready to get started? Gynaecology medical negligence can have life-changing consequences, but no matter how much you’ve been affected, our advisors are here to help.
When you get in touch, you can start your free consultation, during which they can answer any questions you have about making a medical negligence claim, and they can tell you whether or not you could have a valid claim.
Talk to a member of our team today by:
- Calling us on 0113 460 1216
- Or, contact us online
More Information
To learn more about making a medical negligence claim:
- Get information on making a stillbirth negligence claim
- Find out how to claim for retained placenta negligence
- Learn how to make a claim for a missed wrist fracture
Or, to find further resources:
- Advice for claimants from NHS Resolution
- Information for the public from RCOG
- Information on women’s health from the NHS
Thank you for reading our guide on gynaecology medical negligence claims.