How To File Clinical Negligence Claims

Written By: David Halbert on July 15, 2010 No Comment

We go to a doctor when we are not feeling well, and we expect that the treatment will help us feel better. Most of the times things happen as we expect them to but unfortunately things do go wrong too in medical procedures. A person in any profession is expected to make mistakes and most of the time mistakes are ignored and people are given a second chance. Doctors cannot be given second chances, because a single mistake made by them can effect someone’s life forever.

If this happens, and the patient suffers an injury or discomfort then the patient has the right to file a claim for compensation.

A clinical negligence claim usually has two opposing parties: the claimant or patient and the defendant or the doctor who supposedly failed to follow the standards of his/her profession. If clinical negligence results in the death of the patient, then the patients’ survivors have the right to put up a case on behalf of the deceased.

Filing a claim for compensation against a health care expert can be a lengthy, drawn out and a very complicated process. Due to the difficulties involved in making such a claim, the plaintiff needs to hire the services of an expert clinical negligence solicitor to help them to take the claim forward.

Negligence claims are not very easy to prove. If you are about to file a complaint, you should make sure you have all the medical records with you in order to prove your statement. You should also consult other good doctors to further prove your statement. You have all the right to ask for all your medical records from the hospital’s authority.

Your lawyer will guide you step by step regarding filing a complaint. The first thing that you need to do is after hiring a lawyer and collecting your medical record is to file your complaint with the NHS organization. Always keep in mind that you can file a complaint within 12 months of the incident. After a year, most complaints are not entertained. However, exceptions are always there.

Once an appropriate solicitor has been hired, the long claim process starts with the solicitor initially gathering all the accessible evidence. This will definitely centre on the medical records of the plaintiff including the names of the physicians, the name of the hospital or the clinic, the type of treatment given, the type of surgery performed, the medication given to the patient, the tests taken etc.

All these are very important for the solicitor to be able to win a case of clinical negligence. The clinical negligence solicitor will then forward complete evidence of the claim to their own health care specialist for a review, as to the extent of the malpractice. This specialist will give an opinion to the solicitor if there was clinical negligence on the part of the offending health care practitioner or not. Finally, the solicitor will suggest a settlement figure with the health care specialist. However, if the health care professional disputes the details of the case, or considers the proposed settlement figure to be too high, then it will be essential for the claim to be settled in a court of law.

Clinical Negligence experts providing legal help and advice to people who have suffered as a result of medical or clinical negligence.