Medical professionals have a duty to provide a reasonable standard of care to all patients. If they fail to give you an adequate standard of treatment, they’ve failed in their duty of care towards you.
For us to prove that medical negligence happened while you were in hospital, we’ll need to show the specific time you were in hospital caused a direct negative impact.
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.
In most medical negligence cases, you have three years to make a compensation claim, starting from the date your injury happened (or the date you first became aware that your injury was a result of negligence). For children, this three year period begins on their 18th birthday, so you have until you’re 21 to make a claim.
However, it’s important to contact us as soon as possible so that we can begin to investigate your claim. If you have questions or concerns about the time limits, please call us for free initial advice on 0800 121 6567.
Sometimes medical mistakes lead to fatalities, which can be devastating for the whole family. If a loved one has died because of hospital negligence, our lawyers can help you with:
- Recovering compensation for their pain and suffering, to account for financial losses caused by their death and to cover funeral expenses.
- Representing you at inquest
- Getting you the answers and apology you deserve from those responsible
Our lawyers could help you access a statutory bereavement award, which is separate to a claim for compensation in the event of a wrongful death. This is available if you’re the spouse, civil partner or parent (if they’re under 18) of the person who died.
If a loved one has passed away as a result of hospital negligence, please call us on 0800 121 6567 for more information about making a claim.
Yes, we can accept legal aid, but only for clinical negligence claims involving serious neurological birth injuries that happened within eight weeks of the child’s birth.
We’re one of a select group of law firms that can take on legal aid cases in medical negligence. To qualify for legal aid, there is a means test (based on any savings the baby has) and a merit test that simply requires that there’s enough reason for us to investigate the case.
If your claim qualifies, then you’ll receive funding for our initial investigation and you won’t have to pay anything yourself. After that, you’ll receive legal aid funding for full representation if your case proceeds.
Our specialist lawyers will talk you through the different funding options available to you.
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.
If you believe you received substandard medical care while in hospital, you could be eligible to make a claim for compensation.
Some of the most common incidents that constitute medical negligence in hospital include failure to:
- Correctly diagnose an illness or injury
- Examine the patient properly
- Refer the patient for the right tests
- Identify infection or illness after surgery
- Treat the patient on time.
If you experienced any of the above or a form of negligence not listed here, speak to us to discuss your circumstances. We’ll listen to what happened to you and advise you on whether you could make a claim for compensation.
Our medical negligence lawyers have the knowledge and experience to secure you the money you deserve.
The amount of compensation awarded in hospital negligence claims differs from case to case.
Compensation is awarded based on:
- A sum to recognise the extent of your avoidable pain and suffering, in line with previous cases and judicial guidelines
- The type of negligence you experienced
- Your long-term prognosis
- Any modifications you need making to your home as a result of the negligence
- Expenses, such as medical and travel to hospital appointments
- Loss of earnings.
To get an idea of how much your claim could be worth, get in touch with us. Once we know more about the circumstances around your case, we’ll be able to advise you on how much you could claim.
Because each claim is unique, we can’t give you a time frame of how long yours will take to settle.
How long a claim takes is largely dependent upon whether the hospital accepts blame for the negligence you experienced. Your claim will be settled much faster if the hospital accepts blame.
However, if they deny responsibility or disagree with the amount of compensation we feel you should have, we’ll need to prove it was their fault. This may involve starting court proceedings, which would mean your claim will take longer to settle.
If we need to take your claim to court, we’ll do all we can to make sure you’re as prepared and comfortable as possible. Even if trial dates have been set, we might still be able to settle your claim without needing to go to court.
Yes, we handle most of our medical negligence claims on a no win no fee basis.
If you’re eligible to make a no win no fee claim, you’ll have nothing to pay upfront and nothing to pay at all if your claim is unsuccessful. If your claim does succeed, most of our fees will be paid by your opponent.
To make a no win no fee claim, you’ll need to have a suitable insurance policy. We’ll talk to you about the finer points before we start working for you, including alternative funding options.
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.
Our medical negligence solicitors have decades of experience in hospital negligence cases and are nationally renowned for their expertise. With offices up and down the country, we’re recognised by independent legal guides as one of the UK’s best medical negligence departments.
For some people getting an apology and explanation for what’s happened is just as important as a compensation award. We campaign to ensure systems are put in place to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to somebody else.
