We trust our GPs to make the right decisions. But when your doctor makes a mistake there can be long-term, serious consequences. These consequences can affect you physically, emotionally, and financially.
If you’ve experienced injury or illness that could’ve been prevented by a better standard of care by your GP, you could be entitled to sue them for compensation.
We’re experienced at investigating these errors, working out exactly what happened and how it should've been prevented.
Any error in medical care can have profound effects for both you and your family. That's why it’s important the medical professionals in question are held to account. Our solicitors can help you do this, getting compensation and answers from the organisation responsible.
After you’ve contacted us, we’ll set up a free initial consultation to discuss your case and whether you have a legal claim. We’ll discuss what funding options are available to you to pay for your claim, including No Win No Fee agreements*.
We’ll then get in touch with those responsible for your negligent treatment at an early stage to see if they accept the blame for your illness. If they accept responsibility, we’ll try to secure interim compensation payments which can fund private medical care and ongoing expenses, before your claim fully settles. Any interim payments will be taken out of your final compensation award.
Our experts will look into your case in detail, gathering evidence from independent medical professionals. These experts evaluate what care you should have received and can determine any future implications to your health. They’ll also advise us on the care you’ll need in the future.
We’ll always try and negotiate claims out of court, keeping the claim process as short as we can. However, if your opponent doesn’t accept responsibility or doesn’t agree with the amount of compensation we feel you need, we’ll start court proceedings.
Even when trial dates have been set, claims are still often settled before reaching court. If your claim does need to go to court, we’ll be there to help you every step of the way, talking you through what will happen so you feel as comfortable as possible.
Like all medical professionals, your GP has a duty of care to ensure you get a reasonable standard of care. Any time they fail to give you a reasonable standard of care, they’ve breached their duty to you.
Our solicitors can help if your GP has failed to:
- Correctly diagnose a condition
- Refer you to a specialist
- Take your medical history into account
- Conduct an adequate examination
- Prescribe the right medicine or treatment
- Refer you for investigations or tests.
The main evidence we’ll need to prove you were treated negligently by a medical professional includes:
- Medical records, documenting appointments and treatment
- Financial evidence, showing any loss of earnings or avoidable expenses you’ve incurred
- Witness statements.
If needed, we’ll also use independent medical experts who can give evidence to support your claim. This might mean you’ll need a medical examination to prove your injury or illness was caused by medical negligence.
In most medical negligence cases, you have three years to make a compensation claim, starting from the date your GP made a mistake or you became aware of that mistake. For children, this three year period begins on their 18th birthday, so you have until they’re 21 to make a claim.
If you have questions or concerns about the time limits, please call us for free initial advice on 0800 121 6567.
Many of our cases are funded with a No Win No Fee agreement. This means that there’s no financial risk* to you when making a compensation claim.
At the start of your case we’ll discuss funding options with you, advising you which we think is most suitable. If you have legal expenses insurance (LEI) or are covered by a trade union policy, these may be best for you. Legal expenses insurance is included in many household insurance policies, so it’s always worth checking whether you’re already covered.
If we think you’re best supported by a No Win No Fee agreement, we’ll explain the process clearly. This involves setting up an insurance policy that will protect you, at no cost to you. You’ll only have to pay anything when your claim is successful – your opponent will pay most of our fees.
Please visit our No Win No Fee page for more information on how it works.
To get an idea of how much your GP negligence claim could be worth, speak to our lawyers. The amount of compensation awarded in each claim varies depending on the circumstances, so we can’t value your claim until we know more about it.
Your compensation amount will be based on:
- Your pain and suffering
- Expenses you’ve incurred, such as medical expenses or travel expenses to hospital
- Any loss of earnings you’ve had through the negligence you experienced
- The prognosis of your health in the future
- Any specialist treatment or equipment you may need.
There’s a three-year time limit to most medical negligence claims, which starts from the date you experienced the negligence. If you later learned that you’d been treated by a negligent doctor, the time limit will start from the date you learned this.
This time limit doesn’t apply to children under 18 and to people without mental capacity to make their own decisions.
In any event, we always encourage you to start making a claim as soon as possible. This is because the details are fresher in your mind and evidence is easier to collect.
Because we’re a full-service law firm, we also have a number of other in-house teams with specialist knowledge in areas such as rehabilitation, Wills and asset management.
Rehabilitation
We see rehabilitation as key and will make sure that you can access the care and support services you need to lead the best life possible. Our support and rehabilitation coordinators can provide support and information to you and your family, helping you with many of the other problems you may face, such as employment and benefit issues.
Public Law & Human Rights
Our Public Law & Human Rights department can offer advice on Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. The Act made sweeping reforms to child welfare legislation, affecting young people with special education needs under the age of 25. It replaced statements of special educational needs and learning difficulty assessments with a combined Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC plan).
Please follow this link for more information on the Children and Families Act, along with factsheets and template letters.
Asset Management
Our Asset Management team can provide advice on how your compensation could be best invested. We also have Court of Protection lawyers who can set up personal injury trusts and make sure you have access to the benefits you’re entitled to.
As the largest medical negligence department in the country, our solicitors are highly rated by independent legal guides.
We have years of experience in securing compensation for those who’ve suffered as a consequence of medical errors. Our solicitors are aware that every claim is different and we make sure that we understand the care and support you need.
Getting an apology and explanation for what’s happened can be just as important as the compensation award. We’ll take the necessary steps to help you make a complaint and will campaign to ensure systems are put in place to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to somebody else.
Meet the team
