Medical Negligence Solicitors Manchester – No Win No Fee

Medical negligence, also known as clinical negligence, refers to a situation where a healthcare professional fails to provide an appropriate standard of care to a patient, resulting in harm, injury, or even death.

We believe that the victims of clinical negligence deserve support and compensation for the pain and suffering they have experienced. Compensation will assist in covering the costs of future treatment or medical care. This can relieve the financial pressure which you may find yourself in due to the pain caused. Please get in touch with Beacon Law today to speak to our medical negligence solicitors in Manchester today.

Examples of medical negligence

Clinical negligence can manifest in various forms, as healthcare professionals can make errors or exhibit negligence in different aspects of patient care. There are many types of medical negligence, including the following:

• Misdiagnosis: A doctor fails to accurately diagnose a patient’s condition, leading to incorrect or delayed treatment. For instance, mistaking a heart attack for indigestion and prescribing antacids instead of providing immediate cardiac care, you may be entitled to make a misdiagnosis claim.
• Surgical Errors: During a surgical procedure, a surgeon makes a preventable mistake, such as operating on the wrong body part, leaving surgical instruments inside the patient’s body, or damaging surrounding tissues or organs. This can happen in any type of surgery, from emergency surgery to elective cosmetic surgery.
• Medication Errors: This can include prescribing the wrong medication, administering an incorrect dosage, or failing to consider potential drug interactions or allergies. For example, a nurse administers the wrong medication to a patient due to a mix-up with similar-looking medication packages.
• Birth Injuries: Negligence during childbirth can result in harm to the mother or the baby. This can include failure to monitor fetal distress, improper use of delivery instruments leading to brain injury and trauma, or delayed response to complications.
• Anesthesia Mistakes: Errors in administering anaesthesia can cause serious harm. For instance, administering an incorrect dosage, failing to monitor the patient’s vital signs during the procedure, or not considering the patient’s medical history when determining the appropriate anaesthesia.
• Lack of Informed Consent: If a healthcare professional fails to provide adequate information about the risks, benefits, and alternatives of a particular treatment or procedure, and the patient suffers harm as a result, it can be considered medical negligence.
• Failure to Provide Timely Treatment: When a healthcare provider fails to recognise and treat a condition in a timely manner, it can lead to worsened outcomes. For example, a doctor disregards a patient’s symptoms of a stroke, resulting in delayed treatment and increased damage.

It is important to note that not all mistakes made by healthcare professionals are considered medical negligence. In order to prove medical negligence, you will need to show that the healthcare professional’s actions fell below the standard of care that is expected of a reasonably competent healthcare professional in the same situation.

Who is eligible to make a no win, no fee medical negligence claim?

In order to make a medical negligence claim, certain criteria must be met. These include:

1. Duty of Care: It must be established that there was a doctor-patient relationship, where the healthcare professional had a legal obligation to provide appropriate care.
2. Breach of Duty: It must be proven that the healthcare professional failed to meet the standard of care expected in their particular field of practice. This involves comparing their actions or omissions to what a competent healthcare professional in the same field would have done in similar circumstances.
3. Causation: It must be shown that the breach of duty directly caused the harm or injury suffered by the patient. This requires establishing a link between the healthcare professional’s negligence and the resulting negative outcome.
4. Damages: The patient must have suffered medical negligence and had an injury as a result of it. This can include physical or emotional injuries, financial losses, or additional medical expenses as a direct result of the healthcare professional’s negligence.

Medical negligence cases can be complex and require thorough investigation, expert opinions, and gathering of evidence to establish liability. Seeking legal advice from experienced professionals specialising in these cases can help determine the viability of a claim and guide individuals through the legal process to seek compensation for the damages suffered.

What is the process of making a claim for medical negligence?

The process begins by contacting Beacon Law, where you will have an initial consultation. During this consultation, a member of the medical negligence solicitors Manchester team will ask you questions regarding the medical negligence and provide advice on the viability of your case. If your case is deemed to have merits, Beacon Law will accept your case and become your official legal representative. Access to your medical records will be necessary to identify the negligence and any relevant medical history.

Our experienced medical negligence solicitors in Manchester will work with independent medical experts in the field to obtain a report that comments on the level of negligence and breach of duty of care. This report will also assess the impact of negligence on your health. As your legal representatives, we will gather all necessary evidence to strengthen your case. This includes obtaining witness statements and gathering extensive medical evidence to support your claim for compensation.

Beacon Law will engage in negotiations with the medical professional or their legal representatives to seek the best possible compensation for you. The goal is to help you regain a similar quality of life to before the negligent treatment occurred. While financial compensation cannot fully alleviate the pain and suffering endured, it can assist in facilitating a return to normalcy. This compensation may cover lost income if you were unable to work and any expenses incurred for additional medical treatment to address the issues caused by the negligence.

Throughout the process, Beacon Law will handle all communication and interaction with the opposing party on your behalf. We will engage in discussions to establish liability or fault. In some cases, if liability is contested, the matter may need to proceed to court for the judge’s guidance on the case.

Although the court process can be lengthy, depending on the complexity of the case, it may not reach a settlement until trial. At trial, a judge will make a decision and issue an order based on the evidence presented.

How much compensation could you be entitled to?

The amount of compensation you could be entitled to for medical negligence can vary greatly depending on the specific circumstances of your case. Compensation in medical negligence cases is typically determined by assessing various factors, including:

• Pain and suffering: Compensation may be awarded for physical and emotional pain, trauma, and loss of enjoyment of life resulting from the negligence.
• Medical expenses: This includes costs incurred for medical treatments, surgeries, medications, rehabilitation, and ongoing care related to the negligence.
• Loss of earnings: If the negligence has caused you to miss work or has affected your ability to work in the future, you may be entitled to compensation for the income you have lost or will lose as a result.
• Future care and assistance: If the negligence has resulted in a long-term or permanent disability requiring ongoing care and assistance, compensation may be awarded to cover these future costs.
• Adaptations and equipment: If your living arrangements or the need for special equipment or adaptations to your home or vehicle arise due to the medical negligence, compensation may be provided for these expenses.

Our specialist medical negligence lawyers in Manchester can also advocate on our client’s behalf for interim compensation payments to cover any additional expenses they incur as a result of their injuries during the claims process itself.

How long do you have to make a claim?

The general time limit for bringing a clinical negligence claim is three years from the date of the incident or from the date when the negligence was discovered (also known as the “date of knowledge”).

However, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind:

1. Date of Knowledge: If the negligence is not immediately apparent, the three-year time limit starts from the date when the claimant first became aware (or should have become aware) that they suffered an injury or harm as a result of the negligence. This is known as the “date of knowledge.” It is important to note that the date of knowledge is not the same as the date when the negligence occurred.
2. Children: If the claimant was under the age of 18 at the time of the negligence, the three-year time limit does not begin until their 18th birthday. In other words, they have until their 21st birthday to bring a claim.
3. Mental Capacity: If the claimant lacks the mental capacity to make decisions regarding their legal affairs, there is no time limit for bringing a claim. The time limit will only start if the claimant regains mental capacity.
4. Extension of Time: In exceptional cases, the court has the discretion to extend the time limit if it is considered equitable to do so. This is typically rare and usually requires a strong justification.

Our Manchester medical negligence team can assist you with any queries surrounding making a claim for medical negligence and advise you on how much time you may have to make a claim.

How can our Medical Negligence Solicitors, Manchester, assist?

The personal injury lawyers in our law firm at Beacon Law hold vast experience in medical negligence claims and will deal with the claim in a professional manner.

Beacon Law can assist in bringing the medical negligence claim on your behalf and running the case from beginning to end.

Your medical negligence claim case at Beacon Law will be on a no win no fee basis, which vastly minimises the risk of incurring legal costs. Under this agreement, as long as you corporate through the process of the claim, you will not incur any costs, even if your case is unsuccessful.

There will be no upfront payment needed, and you will not need to worry about the risk of being in a worse financial situation should your claim not succeed. To find out about our no win, no fee funding and legal fees, and the success fee, have a look at the funding section on our website.

To make a compensation claim for negligent treatment with our Medical Negligence Solicitors, Manchester, at Beacon Law, or if you have further queries, please contact a specialist solicitor at Beacon Law on 0330 1332 857.