The Medical Negligence Solicitors

Guide to Medical Negligence Claims

Our guide to medical negligence claims explains how you can make a claim for compensation.

Establishing a claim

Medical negligence is an extremely complicated area of law. Even to explain the basic requirements to make a claim is difficult, but put in their simplest form you may be entitled to make a claim if you have received advice or treatment (or no treatment when you should have been given treatment) which does not meet certain standards.

Where do I start?

Due to medical negligence law being so complicated, urgent and early professional advice is required from a specialist medical negligence solicitor. They will know exactly what to ask and will be able to assess the possible strengths or weaknesses of any claim. Ensure you find a solicitor who is an approved of member of The Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel which proves expertise in clinical negligence (medical negligence) cases. You should also ensure that they can offer you Legal Aid. This shows their expertise in this area of law. (The Medical Negligence Solicitors can answer yes to both of these questions).

When you speak to the solicitor they will ask you for the following details:

The date or dates of the incident
The details of the medical professional who provided (or failed to provide) the advice or treatment
The details of the medical centre

After contacting your solicitor

Once you have been in touch with your solicitor they will start to assess your claim. They will examine all available funding methods from legal aid to conditional fee agreements (No Win No Fee Agreements). They will advise you how the claim will proceed and the compensation you might be entitled to. They will also discuss how long your claim is likely to last.

How the claim proceeds?

After you have seen your solicitor they will guide you through the rest of the claims process making it as easy as possible for you:

A medical expert is then asked to review these notes and to examine you so that they can provide their opinion on the treatment received.
If the expert supports your claim, the solicitor will proceed to contact the medical professional concerned and notify them of your potential claim. Their insurance company will then handle the claim on their behalf.
All evidence is obtained by your solicitor to support your claim and the losses and expenses.
The medical professional's insurance company may obtain their own evidence on your claim.
Once all the evidence is obtained either a negotiated settlement is reached (often the case) or if not the court is asked to decide if the claim is valid and if yes, how much compensation you will receive.

How much compensation will I receive?

Not only will your claim include compensation for your pain and suffering, but also any losses and expenses you have incurred as a result of the medical negligence including:

Lost earnings
Medical expenses (any further treatment, medication etc)
Travel expenses
Any expenses for nursing care
Any other losses or expenses