Medical Negligence Claims

We naturally place a great deal of trust in medical professionals. However, they sometimes make mistakes or failings, resulting in devastating and life-changing consequences.

If you have suffered our expert solicitors are on hand to support you through a vast range of medical negligence claims.

Accident and Emergency claims

Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments are often your first point of call when a medical emergency arises, though they can be chaotic places. As the frontline of our National Health Service, they continue to deliver high standards of care for the most part.

However, we all know they can be incredibly busy and under immense pressure. This, in combination with a high volume of patients, can, unfortunately, lead to faults.

Amongst the errors which can lead to a compensation claim are:

• A patient being sent home without an underlying problem being properly treated.
• Signs or symptoms of serious conditions being missed (failure to diagnose).
• Failure to admit you to hospital due to poor judgement or bed shortages
• Failure to offer necessary diagnostics, such as x-rays, scans, and blood tests
• Misinterpreting results of diagnostic tests (misdiagnosis).

Misdiagnosis claims

Many of us do not have enough medical experience to properly evaluate our own health. Therefore, we are heavily reliant on medical professionals for crucial decisions including correct and timely diagnoses.

Missed or delayed diagnoses can have far-reaching consequences on your health and wellbeing, such as unpleasant side effects from the wrong medication or ineffective treatment.

Illnesses and conditions that have been misdiagnosed include:

• Cancer
• Fractures
• Meningitis
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Childhood Developmental Conditions
• Epilepsy
• Strokes
• Ectopic Pregnancies

Misdiagnosis can affect many different areas of your health and is often as infuriating as it is harmful, as you suffer without knowing why. These claims can be very complex, as the claimant must show that late (or missed diagnoses) has led to injury, suffering or financial strain.

General Practice and Community Health claims

GPs and community health care professionals are an essential part of the National Health Service, as they are the first port of call for most people. Importantly, they are often gatekeepers for further medical aid and command significant trust and authority.

As such, it can feel incredibly personal when they fail in their duty of care and cause health problems for you.

These services not only include general practice but also community health services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, district nursing and community midwifery to name a few.

Whilst these community services are invaluable for meeting your healthcare needs, they are open to human error which can have significant implications for your ongoing health.

You may receive incorrect advice, wrong treatment, misdiagnosis, or a failure to refer on.

Dental Negligence

Attending the dentist surgery can be a nerve-wracking experience at the best of times, even for a routine appointment. However, it is common for things to go wrong even whilst in the dental chair which can cause suffering due to dental negligence.

Whether it was due to incorrect advice, failure to diagnose a condition, incorrect tooth extraction or even the wrongful administration of anaesthetic, you are entitled to the same competent standard of care and treatment as you would from a GP or Hospital medical professional.

Ophthalmic claims

Losing your eyesight is extremely frightening. Your life changes considerably to the point where undertaking simple tasks become a major challenge.

When you seek advice relating to your eyesight from a GP or an optician you expect professional expertise. You depend upon their diagnosis, unfortunately, mistakes are sometimes made by medical professionals resulting in pain, heartache and frustration for victims and their families alike.

Clinical Negligence claims concerning ophthalmology can be based on any of the following:

• Cataract claims.
• Failure to diagnose children’s vision problems.
• Failure to diagnose conditions such as Retinal Detachment or Retinal Tears.
• Failure to diagnose diseases like Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration.
• Failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis of Malignancy.
• Glaucoma claims.
• Inappropriate or delayed ophthalmic treatment.
• Misdiagnosis of eye conditions.
• Paediatric Ophthalmology claims.
• Radial Keratotomy.
• Surgical accidents, including problems with cataract surgery and laser surgery.
• Toxic Optic Neuropathy.

Fatal Claims

If a loved one has died because of medical negligence, then you have the right to know what caused their death and why this happened. Finding this out can help a bereaved family start the long process of accepting their loved one’s death.

Relatives often report to us that the main motivation behind seeking a resolution of their concerns is the need to prevent the same mistakes from happening again in the future.

Negligence claims involving a fatal outcome can include:

• Wrongful diagnosis of a medical condition.
• Delays in diagnosis.
• Failures to identify and treat symptoms.
• Misinterpretation of scans or tests.
• Medical processes not being followed properly.
• Failures to identify underlying issues which cause further complications, E.g. Cardiac Arrest.

In many cases, the negligent act ultimately responsible for your loved one’s death can occur well before they have died, and you may not become aware of the negligence until after their death.

Contact us

If you think you have suffered as a result of medical negligence then please contact a member of the team on 0115 824 1700 for free advice about negligence claims. We operate on a No Win No Fee basis