Medical Negligence Explained

Medical negligence is where a health professional acted negligently. For instance if you have been diagnosed wrongly and went on to have an unnecessary operation, this would be classed as medical negligence. If you suffered as a result physically or even mentally then you should be entitled to claim damages from medical negligence.

Medical negligence covers many areas:

• A child is injured as a result of a difficult birth.
• Cerebral Palsy
• Still birth
• Meningitis
• HIV
• Breast Cancer
• Spinal injury
• Care for the elderly
• Orthopedics

You might have been prescribed the wrong medicine or received unnecessary treatment from a physician, or you may have just experienced poor care from staff at a health clinic. These are all cases of medical negligence and if it caused you physical or mental harm then you have the civil and legal right to sue for damages rather than just an apology.

The NHS may appear to be a free service but it is funded through taxes so therefore are due the same quality and respect as any privately funded heath care system. It is un-acceptable if a patients well being has been disregarded and the injured should be compensated the same as someone with a personal injury from a car accident that was not their fault for example.

Finding a solicitor which has experience with medical negligence is very important. With personal injury you can sign a no win no fee agreement to protect you from legal costs. This means you can find a really good experienced solicitor, someone who has been working in the personal injury industry for a number of years and be able to afford his or her services. Solicitors will only take on a case they believe they can win and even if there is a small chance they might loose there are insurance that can be taken out to cover any costs.

Making a claim is very straightforward these days; your solicitor will do all the work for you. Although you may have to find some costs for medical bills or other expenses that the ‘no win no fee’ agreements wont cover. These costs will be repaid back to you once the case is one. Although if you loose the case you will no be able to get those costs back. Your solicitor will be able to advice you on whether it is worth taking the chance.

There are hundreds of firms in the country all trying to get your personal injury claims. Solicitors can make quite a bit of money from a simple claim so it is worth their while pursuing these types of claims. You have to be aware that there are some solicitors that you might not be able to trust. Like all professions there are always some that like to bend the rules and act in a wrongful manor. Some solicitors might have ‘hidden costs’ that they don’t tell you about. The best solicitors are the ones that offer free advice and can give you a portfolio of successful cases. You want to find a solicitor that has years of experience working in personal injury.