Making Hosptial Negligence Claims?
Because medical negligence is notoriously difficult to prove, hospital negligence claims can be long and there is no guarantee of success. For this reason, it is helpful to take the advice of a hospital claims solicitor right away after you decide you wish to make a claim.
The process of making hospital negligence claims is so complex because it effectively involves the victim arguing against a medical expert that their care was not satisfactory. If you have been injured as a result of medical negligence then you shouldn’t be put off by the complexity of the process: you have every right to make hospital negligence claims for compensation. Even though the process is long, complex and often difficult, remember that it is the path to justice for you and it could prevent other patients being injured in the same way in future by forcing change to medical practice.
The negligence which forms the ground of hospital negligence claims could be in the form of a failure to diagnose a condition or making an erroneous diagnosis. Other forms of negligence include mistakes whilst carrying out a treatment or procedure, failing to obtain full consent for a procedure from a patient or failing to fully inform the patient of the risks involved with the treatment.
Many patients who believe that they have been the victim of negligence find that voicing their concerns with the medical professional concerned is the right way to start. Filing a formal complaint should be the next step if needed. Hopefully, the formal complaint should provide you with an apology, an explanation of what went wrong and should prevent the same happening to a future patient.
In the event that a formal complaint hasn’t given you the information or closure you hoped for, you should consult a hospital negligence claims solicitor. Your solicitor will ask a medical expert who is independent to review your medical records. If the solicitor believes you have grounds to make hospital negligence claims then they will advise you on how to proceed.
It is important to remember that hospital negligence claims are restricted by a time limit. They must be filed within three years of the injury, or within three years of it becoming apparent. If the victim is a minor then their three years begins on their 18th birthday.
For successful hospital claims, both negligence and causation must be proven. For negligence, this means demonstrating that the care you received fell below the expected standards of a competent medical professional. For causation, you must then also prove that the negligence directly caused the injury and that without the negligence it wouldn’t have occurred.
