Health professionals are legally required to care for their patients- also known as “Duty of Care”. When a medical professional breaches that duty of care, it can result in very devastating consequences both for the individual and the family. In such a case you may consider suing the hospital for medical negligence.
What Does Suing A Hospital For Negligence Mean?
This simply refers to when an individual takes legal action against a hospital or a particular NHS Trust for negligence which has caused the individual harm, trauma or avoidable complications.
If mistakes were made during your treatment or visit to a hospital such as missed or delayed diagnosis, incorrect diagnosis, mistakes in drug prescription, surgical errors or other negligent care that have caused you complications, avoidable pain, or unnecessary injury, then you may be entitled to a hospital negligence claim.
We are partnered with specialist solicitors who are experts in hospital negligence claims and have helped many people over the years secure settlement payouts. We offer a free consultation to determine if you could have grounds for a valid claim. We then pass you onto our partnered law firm which will make a hospital negligence claim for you to get you the right amount of compensation which will be very vital for your recovery.
Reasons For Suing A Hospital For Medical Negligence
Hospital negligence can come in various forms and can cause harm to the patient. The following are some acts of negligent treatment which can cause you to sue a hospital.
- Errors in drug prescription such as prescribing the wrong drug or prescribing an incorrect dosage
- Incorrect diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose and treat
- Wrong hospital treatment
- Errors in the operating room such as unnecessary and avoidable injury to internal organs, operating on the wrong body site or forgetting surgical instrument inside the patient
- Childbirth negligence leading to complications to the mother and/or child
- Anaesthesia errors
- A failure or delay in referring a patient to a specialist
- Unnecessary delays in carrying out vital diagnostic tests
- Negligent delay in commencing treatment
- Pressure sores developing because of leaving a patient unattended to in one position for a long time
- Avoidable amputation
- Failing to properly monitor patient vitals which can lead to further complications
- Hospital-transmitted infections such as
- Bacterial infections e.g. MRSA and Clostridium difficile
- Viral infections e.g. norovirus
- Surgical wounds infection
- Urinary tract infections
- Infections to the skin and soft tissues
Reasons for which you may sue a hospital are not limited to the above-mentioned. Therefore, as long as you didn’t receive the right standard of care and you were harmed as a result, you may have grounds to make a claim. We are right here, we will stand by you and will do our very best to help you get justice for the wrong done to you.
Suing A Hospital For Medical Negligence Can Fall Under These Claims;
- Cancer Misdiagnosis claims
- Accident & Emergency claims
- Amputee claims
- Anaesthetic compensation claims
- Birth injury claims
- Surgical claims
- Care home neglect claims
- NHS negligence claims
- ENT negligence claims
- Doctor negligence claims
- Cosmetic surgery claims
If you’re not sure if you have strong grounds to make a hospital negligence claim, then you should come to us for a free assessment of your claim where our friendly and understanding team of hospital negligence experts will determine if you could have a valid claim. Our consultation sessions do not cost you a penny.
Statistics You Should Know About Suing A Hospital
According to the NHS in their 2019 report, there were over 10,000 clinical negligence claims made against it with the overall value of claims reaching about £83.4 billion.
To be exact, there were 10,678 clinical negligence claims reportedly received by the NHS and some of the departments that received the highest claims included;
- Emergency medicine
- Orthopaedic surgery (musculoskeletal related)
- Obstetrics (pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum related)
The report also stated the value of negligence claims in these different departments and the breakdown is as follows;
- Obstetrics (£2.5 billion)
- Emergency medicine (£422 million)
- Paediatrics (£333 million)
- Orthopaedic surgery (£216 million)
- Neurology (£147 million)
Sadly, when looking at Never Events which are events that should not have happened and can be totally avoided, an NHS report said the establishment recorded 205 Never Events between 6 months in 2020 (April to October).
The incidents mostly found under this category were;
- Surgeries performed on the wrong part of the body
- Retained objects in the body after surgery
- Wrong prosthesis and implants
- Misplaced gastric tubes which led to incorrectly administered foods
- Wrong route medication administration
Why Should I Sue A Hospital For Negligence?
There are various reasons why you should sue a hospital for medical negligence-
- Suing a hospital for medical negligence is your legal right if you have suffered from negligent treatment from your GP, Specialist doctor or any other medical professional.
- Making claims will ensure that the hospital you have made claims against whether a private establishment or the NHS takes proper measures to curb the recurrence of their negligence.
- Another reason why you should make a claim is to receive compensation for your pain and trauma. It is true that compensation will not reverse the incident, but it will go a long way to quicken your recovery. It will also ensure that you do not suffer financially as a result of your situation. Compensation amounts you receive will also help you access further medical assistance vital for your recovery.
Therefore, do not put off a chance to get justice for your suffering.
How To Prove Hospital Negligence?
Before you may think of how to file a lawsuit against a hospital, you need to be prepared to prove your claims. In other words, you should be prepared to show that indeed you suffered from hospital negligence and that is the cause of your present suffering and complications.
You should be prepared to establish that;
- The hospital was responsible to care for you (owed you a duty of care)
- The hospital failed in their duty of care to you
- The hospital’s failure in their duty of care to you has caused you pain, emotional distress, injury or complication
- You have also suffered financial losses and other damages as a result
There will be certain documents your hospital negligence solicitor will require from you to help you prove your claim. These documents are;
- Comprehensive statements of the events that transpired, dates of medical appointments, treatment you underwent, what type of negligence you suffered and the hospital staff involved
- Medical records, test and scan results
- Witness statements
- Evidence of financial losses incurred
- Photographs
Your solicitor may also secure for you a specialist independent medical expert, who after performing further medical examination on you will make a report on your state of health. This report is vital towards negotiating an appropriate compensation fee.
How To Sue A Hospital?
Our partnered negligence claims solicitors are specialists and have a record of representing people who have been victims of hospital negligence for several years and securing best possible compensation amounts for them. The process of suing a hospital for medical negligence can be daunting but you will receive support each step of the way.
The claims process involves the following;
- Contacting Your Medical Negligence Solicitor– for free legal advice and assessment of your claim
- Funding Your Claim- after it has been determined that you have a valid negligence claim
- Gathering Facts and Evidence– that will be used to prove your claim
- Proving Your Claim (Establishing Liability) –this will involve both written and verbal communications with the defendant.
- Negotiations between both- both parties will have to agree on several vital issues and if they are unable to do so, the claim will be registered to be tired by a judge
- Payment of Compensation Fee- when both parties reach an agreement, the compensation fee will be paid
Most medical negligence cases do not however get to a court trial. Our partnered negligence solicitors are here to secure your compensation as quickly as possible. In 2017/18, fewer than 1% of claims against NHS England went to full trial.
How Much Compensation For Hospital Negligence?
There are different compensation values for different hospital negligence cases. For instance, if you are suing the NHS for emotional distress, you will not receive the same compensation figure for a wrongful death claim. Even two persons who sue for emotional distress will not get the same settlement amount because the severity of emotional distress, other financial losses as well as future prognosis will differ and these factors among others will affect the amount an individual will get as compensation award.
There are two main kinds of damages you can claim for while making your hospital negligence claim;
General Damages: Which takes into account the type of injury suffered, location and severity of injury as determined by the Judicial College Guidelines.
Special Damages: Which varies from one individual to another and covers for financial losses such as loss of income, pension, out-of-pocket expenses, future prognosis, costs of further medical treatment, therapies, costs of assistive devices or mobility aids as well as housing adjustments where applicable.
How Long To Sue Hospital For Medical Negligence?
You have a maximum of three years according to the Limitation Act of 1980 to make a claim. This time frame begins from the date of the negligent treatment or the date you became aware of it. In a case where the victim of the negligent treatment is dead, this time limit begins to count from the date of death.
Children under 18 years of age will be allowed until their 21st birthday and physically or mentally incapacitated victims who will be allowed enough time until they are able to make claims are exempted from the Limitation Act.
A loved one can however make claims on behalf of these sets of people rather than wait until they are able to make claims by themselves. This is advisable as medical negligence claims are much better to be made when facts or events can easily be recalled and relevant documents easily assessed.
We are here to help and guide you to make claims for your loved one if you have concerns about this.
How We Help Clients Who Are Suing a Hospital?
We are a claims management company and receive payments from our partnered law firms for our service. If you qualify for a free claim assessment and that assessment is successful, you will be connected to an expert law firm to assist with your potential claim. Our service is completely free.
You can reach out to us today on 0800 644 4240 or fill out our online claims assessment form and we will be happy to discuss your claims at your earliest convenience.
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