Medical Accidents and the Claims Procedure
If you have suffered due to medical or clinical negligence in the last three years then you could potentially make a medical accident claim. Medical negligence, according to Wikipedia , is “professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error.”
A treating doctor is required to inform a patient when treatment has gone wrong and this is a requirement of the General Medical Council so you are entitled to an explanation should a problem occur. If you’ve suffered due to poor medical treatment or clinical negligence and feel that the health professionals entrusted haven’t upheld their duty of care then you may be entitled to make a medical accident claim.
Making medical accident claims isn’t always a straightforward procedure as blame and fault can’t be as easily attributed in the way that a personal injury claim for a car crash can be for example. With medical accident claims you have to prove, through the evidence of medical experts, that the problems in the treatment or care were directly due to the poor professional care or incompetence of the health professional and that the injuries you sustained were as a direct result of that incompetence. Undergoing treatment can be an emotional time and unsuccessful operations or treatment can be a devastating blow but it’s important to establish whether that was due to the lack of care and competence of the professionals.
If you feel you have a case to make a medical accident claim then the first step would be to discuss your complaint with a solicitor . A reputable solicitor who is experienced in medical accident claims will be able to assess your case to see whether it’s worth investigating and taking further.
