Why Hospital Negligence Claims Are So Complex
When making hospital negligence claims, there is no guarantee of success and the process is rarely quick and straightforward because proving medical negligence is notoriously difficult. 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.
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. Although it can seem a long road, it is the way to justice for you and might well save another patient’s life in the future by altering the way patients are treated.
Included in the definition of negligence claims for the purpose of hospital negligence claims are erroneous diagnosis of failure to diagnose. It could also result from mistakes made whilst carrying out a treatment or procedure, failure to get consent from a patient for a procedure or not fully informing a patient of the risks of a procedure.
Patients who feel they may have been victims of negligence should ideally begin by voicing their concerns with the medical professional responsible for their care. Filing a formal complaint should be the next step if needed. This should get you an explanation of what happened, an apology and hopefully some change to avoid the same problem happening to another 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 instruct an independent medical expert to review your medical records. Your solicitor will give advice on what to do next if they and the independent medical expert believe you have grounds for a claim.
It is important to remember that hospital negligence claims are restricted by a time limit. You must file you claim within three years of the injury, or within three years of it becoming apparent if it wasn’t immediately obvious. 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. In terms of causation this means proving that the injury was directly caused by the negligence and that it wouldn’t have otherwise occurred.