Making Hospital Negligence Claims?
Hospital negligence claims can go on over a long time period with no guarantees of a successful outcome because medical negligence is notoriously difficult to prove. This is why seeking the advice of a hospital claims solicitor is vital as soon as you decide you want to make a claim.
Because the very process of making hospital negligence claims normally involves the patient, a layperson, arguing against a medical professional that the care received wasn’t of the right standard, the claims are very complex. Don’t be discouraged though, if you truly have been injured as a result of medical negligence then you have the right to fight for compensation in hospital negligence claims. The process can seem like a never ending, winding road but it is the road to justice for you and any changes to the way treatment is administered could save a fellow patient’s life in the future.
Included in the definition of negligence claims for the purpose of hospital negligence claims are erroneous diagnosis of failure to diagnose. Negligence could also arise when errors are made whilst performing a procedure or treatment, failing to obtain full informed consent from a patient or neglecting to inform a patient of the full risks of a procedure.
If you think that you have been the victim of negligence whilst in hospital, you should first try to raise your concerns with the professional caring for you. You should file a formal complaint if necessary. 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. The solicitor will obtain your medical records and have them reviewed by an independent medical expert. If the solicitor believes you have grounds to make hospital negligence claims then they will advise you on how to proceed.
Don’t forget that hospital negligence claims are subject to a time limit. Victims must being their claim within three years of the injury, or within three years of it being noticed. If the victim is a child then the three years begins on their eighteenth birthday.
In order for hospital negligence claims to be successful, you must be able to prove both the negligence and causation. In terms of negligence this means proving that the quality of the care you received was below what would reasonably be expected of a competent practitioner. To prove causation you must demonstrate that it was the negligence which directly caused your injury and that the injury wouldn’t have otherwise occurred.