Medical negligence Claim

[DixieRoy]

Looking for a recommendation for a good, hopefully local solicitor.

[Hamble]

Looking for a recommendation for a good, hopefully local solicitor.

Why not try a 'no win no fee' solicitor?

[said]

Looking for a recommendation for a good, hopefully local solicitor.

I would not use any of the local Solicitors, you would probably be shunted over to a clerk in training - There is a No Win No Fee Solicitors called Patient Claim line - Tel: 03300081283 for Free advice and you can take it from there. I have not used them but they do have a five star rating on their web page - if that means anything these days.

[melanieb]

I would not use any of the local Solicitors, you would probably be shunted over to a clerk in training - There is a No Win No Fee Solicitors called Patient Claim line - Tel: 03300081283 for Free advice and you can take it from there. I have not used them but they do have a five star rating on their web page - if that means anything these days.

Fletchers on Hoghton Street - best in the business and medical negligence is a speciality.

[DixieRoy]

thank you, much appreciated.

[said]

Fletchers on Hoghton Street - best in the business and medical negligence is a speciality.

Their reviews do not appear to agree with you. Just Saying!

[Albion102]

Go for it, strip the NHS of a few more resources to get your "compo".

[DixieRoy]

Go for it, strip the NHS of a few more resources to get your "compo".

How arrogant you are!
You have no idea of what has happened to a member of my family, and yet you choose to dismiss me as a scrounger, nly concerned with money.
You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Albion102]

How arrogant you are!
You have no idea of what has happened to a member of my family, and yet you choose to dismiss me as a scrounger, nly concerned with money.
You should be ashamed of yourself.

Did I ? I thought I was just reminding you that compensation is not free money, that every pound paid out to lawyers and disgruntled patients is a pound less for all the stretched NHS services that people can barely access.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...health-leaders

[Hamble]

One either has a claim or not.

Litigation pursuit is bad for the health of the well never mind the unwell.
Safer to go 'No win no fee route' first for the free advice.


Quote
"Where a duty of care is breached, liability for negligence may arise. Medical negligence is part of a branch of law called tort (delict in Scotland) derived from the Latin verb ‘tortere’=to hurt. The idea of hurt is an important consideration in establishing negligence, as the majority of tortious claims for medical negligence that do not succeed fail because they cannot establish that harm has occurred as a direct result of an act or a failure to act.

The negligence test

To determine negligence, a three-stage test must be satisfied. The procedure therefore relies on establishing fault on the part of the doctor, hospital, etc. The person making the claim (the claimant) must establish on the balance of probabilities that negligence has occurred by the hospital or doctor (the defendant). Compensation is paid in order to return the claimant to the position they would theoretically have been if the harm had not occurred. A monetary value will attach not just to actual expenses incurred (to include a loss of earnings) but additionally to the loss of amenity experienced and the pain and suffering endured in consequence of the injury. There are also more philosophical objectives of promoting accountability and ensuring that those at fault are deterred from future acts of carelessness by the need to pay compensation. This deterrent effect is somewhat reduced by a standard fee for professional indemnity for NHS-employed doctors unless the doctor is engaged in independent practice. The Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) does include such a deterrent element, since the premiums payable by a Trust to indemnify its activities can be reduced by having appropriate measures in place to reduce the likelihood of claims using a three-level rating system that takes account of the robustness of safety and governance processes in operation.4

i.A person is owed a duty of care.


ii.A breach if that duty of care is established.


iii.As a direct result of that breach, legally recognized harm has been caused.



https://academic.oup.com/bjaed/article/11/4/124/266921

….and past the Bolam Test.

A medical professional must be able to demonstrate that they acted in a manner in which a responsible body of medical professionals who work in the same field would deem to be acceptable. The Bolam test is basically a peer review system for medical professionals which is used to assess whether they were negligent in any way when administering treatment and care to a patient.

Due to the complex nature of modern medicine, it is possible that some doctors would behave differently to others depending on the given circumstances. The Bolam test isn’t necessarily concerned just with whether the medical professional delivered the same treatment that other doctors would have done, the key aspect is that a group of other medical professionals think that they acted in an acceptable and reasonable manner towards the patient.

[Little Londoner]

Did I ? I thought I was just reminding you that compensation is not free money, that every pound paid out to lawyers and disgruntled patients is a pound less for all the stretched NHS services that people can barely access.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...health-leaders

I am with you on this, unless it is a fairly obvious problem that the doctor misdiagnosed causing further pain and suffering or even worse, Doctors are actually Human and occasionally can make mistakes especially during the unprecedented pressure they are currently under.

I have had two instances that I suppose if I had been in that mindset I could have pursued them for compensation the first I was diagnosed with an illness that cost me my well paid job/seniority/competency/medical fitness only to discover some 4 years later after paying to see a Cardiologist that I did not have the problem diagnosed. I had to start at the bottom of my previous career ladder and start to climb back to my previous level but not in my chosen branch that I was capable of earning £10k more per annum than the salary I was on.

The second was attending A&E with excruciating back pain and virtual immobility, I was given a cursory examination by a Doctor and told it was a flare up of a previously scanned back problem and was sent home with pills. After paying once again to see a Specialist Spinal Consultant, who diagnosed the previous problem, after a quick examination he said I had a prolapsed disc and told me the vertebrae involved. He gave me a letter to take to A&E insisting I had another scan and it was confirmed the vertebrae he indicated had in fact prolapsed and it was nowhere near the previous problem.

The first incident I can see the Doctor looked on the worst side and made a diagnosis if he had said there was nothing and I did have a cardiac problem and the worst happened he would have been castigated.

The second was in my mind the worst for the Doctor "assuming" it was a result of a previous problem leaving me in excruciating pain and me having to pay for a proper diagnosis.


I was given lots of Barrack Room Lawyer advice to sue but other than drain money from the vital services it is needed for I would have put a stain on two Doctors careers who went to work those two days to help people not to harm them, as I said under the pressure in the NHS today anyone can make a mistake. Who on here does their job perfectly day in day out?

[Hamble]

There is a process in the nhs

First identifying specifically who is the complaint against?

Mediation.
Speak in person to the person the complaint is against. Misunderstandings and breaks in communication occur in times of stress particularly after a death.

Advice on if there is cause for a 'case'.

Understanding implications of a complaint.

A period to decide whether to escalate and proceed.

[said]

How arrogant you are!
You have no idea of what has happened to a member of my family, and yet you choose to dismiss me as a scrounger, nly concerned with money.
You should be ashamed of yourself.

The NHS have been facing an increasing number of malpractice claims over the years. The NHS does not pay directly for these claims as the NHS has insurance to cover the costs. The legal prosecutors have made huge amounts of money because of it, it is true - but they also argue that the NHS refuses to face up to situations as they occur - creating huge delays and increasing the legal costs. Claims have cost the NHS £1.1 Billion over the past five years!
There is no doubt that a large number of errors are factual, some leading to horrendous consequences and there does not seem to be any explanation as to why these are occurring so frequently, whereas it did not before. Our British Doctor's are given the same training as they always have been is one protest - but not quite, there has been for a number of years a 'fast track' training scheme for Doctors in the UK - has that made any difference? There are also a number of overseas Doctors who enter the profession not as a career, but as a personal honour to their families? Does that make any difference? One may say that pressure is the cause - this should not be an excuse for not applying due care and attention to patients. Whatever the reasons - it may be several reasons - but the situation must be investigated and sorted out immediately.
For all the money paid to higher management, just like every other large company - there should be an independent legal department to act immediately upon any complaint so that these can be dealt with efficiently for both the NHS and the victim.
The NHS cannot continue as it is - there needs to be a main control unit in each district and an overall unit at Parliamentary level. The District units should manage all Medical Staff matters, Financial accounting, Hospital maintenance and have a legal department. The hospitals should be run on a daily basis by Medical staff only whose priority is to patients only. There should not be any Private enterprise whatever in the NHS.
Until this is organised properly, any money granted to the NHS from Government sources will merely go slowly down the existing drain and be of no benefit to the NHS whatever.

[Albion102]

The NHS does not pay directly for these claims as the NHS has insurance to cover the costs.

You clearly have no idea how commercial insurance works. I don't actually know how the NHS covers its liability and professional indemnity costs, but I can guarantee there is not an insurance company with a magic money tree that is collecting a couple of million in premium each year and paying out £1.1Bn. Almost certainly insured via a central, captive fund - with each trust paying into a pot that they claim from.

[shippy]

https://www.roydswithyking.com/solic...ligence-guide/

It's not as easy as you believe.

Have a read of the pros and cons of suing.

Today, most Doctors have private insurance to cover themselves.