If you have been injured or harmed due to medical negligence, it’s important to know that you’re not alone.
We understand that cases of medical negligence can be scary and isolating — especially when you’ve put your medical care into someone else’s hands with the best intentions. It can also have a profound impact on your daily life.
At Hay & Kilner, our no-win, no-fee medical negligence solicitors are here to guide you through every step of the claims process. With our team by your side, you will receive tailored legal advice and empathetic, confidential support from enquiry to compensation.
Here’s everything you need to know about medical negligence claims.
Medical negligence occurs when a healthcare professional breaches (fails to uphold) their duty of care and provides substandard care, resulting in unnecessary and avoidable harm, injury, or suffering.
Medical negligence can present itself in many different ways:
Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis: Failing to identify a serious condition despite being presented with sufficient evidence, or in a timely manner.
Surgical errors: Performing the wrong medical procedure, operating on the wrong body part, or leaving surgical instruments inside the body. This would warrant a surgical negligence compensation claim.
Medication mistakes: Prescribing the wrong medication and/or dosage.
Birth injuries: Harming the mother or baby during childbirth.
Failure to obtain full consent: Neglecting to explain the full risks of an upcoming treatment or operation before proceeding.
Aftercare neglect: Failing to provide adequate monitoring or follow-ups after medical care.
Signs of sepsis were missed after childbirth, leading to life-threatening complications. In response, the family filed a sepsis negligence claim, alleging that the hospital breached its duty of care and failed to act.
A care home resident was given the wrong medication and unfortunately died after staff failed to notice their mistake. Her family made a fatal accident claim since the loss was preventable.
A surgical error occurred during a routine knee operation, resulting in the loss of a patient’s leg. She filed an amputation claim to seek justice and compensation.
A man visited his GP about persistent back pain, but his complaints were dismissed, leading to a delayed diagnosis of a serious type of nerve syndrome. He made a spinal injury claim after being left with permanent nerve damage.
Yes, you may be eligible to claim for medical negligence if you’ve suffered from avoidable harm due to the substandard care delivered by a medical professional.
To make a valid medical negligence claim, it must be proven that:
The medical professional owed you a duty of care.
That this duty was breached (because the care you received fell below the expected medical standards).
That the breach in duty caused you harm, injury or suffering, either physical, emotional, or financial.
This is exactly what our medical negligence solicitors are qualified to handle. We have a long-established reputation in our field and are proud of our proven track record of supporting successful medical negligence claims.
If you’re ready to make a medical negligence claim, here are the steps to take. Rest assured that our friendly solicitors will be there for you throughout the entire process:
Once you get in touch with our team, we will arrange your free initial consultation. This is where we’ll discuss your case and assess whether you have a valid medical negligence claim.
If we believe you have a valid claim, we will assess any evidence you may already have and help you source more to support your claim. This can include medical records, expert evidence, witness statements, photographs, videos, and more.
When we are confident that we can prove liability, we will send a formal letter of claim to the offending party and outlining the negligence, harm caused.
At this stage, the defendant will either admit or deny liability. If they admit liability, a settlement can be reached via negotiation (which we will handle for you). If they deny liability, your case may require court proceedings, in which case our medical negligence solicitors will represent you with confidence.
When making a medical negligence claim, it’s important to note that there is a limitation period to adhere to. Claims are only valid when made within three years of the incident, or from when you were aware that the incident caused you harm.
However, there are some exceptions to the three-year limitation period, such as if you lacked mental capacity at the time to make a claim, or if you were a minor when your case of medical negligence occurred.
If you were under 18 when you experienced medical negligence, you have until your 21st birthday to start the claims process.
Our solicitors will help you decide on a justifiable and realistic compensation amount by claiming for:
General damages: Awarded for pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life.
Special damages: Awarded for financial losses, such as medical bills, lost income, travel expenses, care costs, and future treatment costs.
All pain, suffering, harm, and losses caused by your incident will be taken into account when determining your medical negligence compensation amount.
At Hay & Kilner, we believe that all victims of medical negligence deserve the chance to seek justice. We act as no-win, no-fee solicitors, delivering personalised legal services tailored to each unique case. Whilst proudly local to the North East, our team of friendly solicitors are able to assist with all medical negligence claims irrespective of where you live or where treatment is received in the country.
You won’t have to pay a single penny to start your medical negligence claim with us — you will only pay if we win your case. And even then, our fees are limited to a percentage of your damages and are recouped from your final compensation amount, so you’re never out of pocket.
Although some other firms take a ‘shortfall’ where they deduct a sum of money from your compensation to cover their unrecovered costs, at Hay & Kilner we do not deduct a shortfall from your compensation except in exceptional circumstances, which we would discuss with you in detail.
Rest assured that when you file a medical negligence claim with us, you’ll have the support of an empathetic, experienced team with your best interests at heart.
To book your free, no-obligation initial consultation, contact our team today. Call 0191 232 8345, fill in our online contact form, or email us at info@hay-kilner.co.uk.
We’ll be happy to help you start your medical negligence claim and get the justice you deserve.
Our regular Clinical Negligence updates keep you up to date with all the latest legal developments you need to know about.
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