Aug 22 Medical negligence what you need to know

Today we are celebrating that Erin’s hip is stable after her most recent surgery.  We still don’t know the long term future for her and we know better than most that the NHS is a wonderful thing but it is not without its faults as we ourselves learnt the hard way.  This post gives a starting point of what you need to do if a negligence occurs.

medical negligence what you need to know

Every time that we visit the doctor we put our health in someone else’s hands. It’s a big responsibility that medical professionals have, but on the whole, they do a great job. However, sometimes the unthinkable can happen and a medical professional can make mistake. And when a medical professional makes a mistake, it as simple as inputting the wrong data into a spread sheet, the effects of medical mistake can be devastating and far reaching.

Medical negligence

Sometime a medical professional makes a mistake and there is no harm is done, however, if, for instance, a doctor makes a critical error that causes harm to their patient this is what is known as medical negligence. According to the National Health Service Litigation Authority, the 13 years from 1997 to 2010 saw 8,000 medical negligence claims for patient death, and it was said that the NHS faces a £15.7bn bill for clinical negligence claims.

What to do if you think you have a claim for medical negligence

Although, in general, doctors do a fine job, cases against them are far from rare. In the UK, there were 565,153 patient-safety incidents between October 2010 and March 2011, an 8.5 percent increase on the previous figures, and 31 percent of these problems resulted in harm to the patient making them potential lawsuits.

If you feel as though you were the victim of medical negligence, then you may also wish to make a case for medical negligence compensation. If you want to claim, the first thing that you need to do is to contact specialist lawyers.

A clinical negligence solicitor has the experience and know how to help you through the legal processes of making a claim against a medical professional. The first thing that they will try to identify is whether you have a legitimate claim for compensation or not.

Making your case

For a medical negligence claim to be successful, you will need to prove causation. This is proof that you were harmed by the actions, or failure to act, by a medical professional. It is very important that you can prove that you were harmed; otherwise you don’t have a case.

Strong indicators of harm are death and permanent brain damage. However, even some severe injuries, such as an injured internal organ, can be harder to prove. To help your case, it can be useful to keep a diary after you’ve suffered medical negligence.

You should detail any injury or condition that started or worsened following a medical procedure carried out by a doctor or other medical professional. You should also include details of any costs you’ve had to meet because of the injury, such as treatment, as well as any days you’ve had to take off work.

Medical negligence claims are serious and often end up in court, if your case goes as far as this, you’ll need an expert lawyer to speak on your behalf, however, your specialist lawyers should sort this out for you.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.