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Clinical Negligence Claims v Medical Negligence Claims

If you are looking for information about clinical negligence claims or medical negligence claims, you will often be confused. Some websites will refer to clinical negligence, others to medical negligence, and some to both. When all you are trying do discover is whether you might be able to make a claim, this can be very frustrating. This guide explains the important parts for you.

Medical Negligence Claims

We will use the term medical negligence claims in this guide. Strictly, there is no difference between the two descriptions. They both relate to exactly the same thing; that is "a breach of the duty of care that a medical profession owes to his patient, and that breach of duty causes the patient an injury that was foreseeable". In other words, if the treatment was irresponsible or unreasonable and you suffer pain as a result of the treatment or lack of treatment, you will be able to claim medical negligence compensation.

Been a Victim of Medical Negligence?

If you believe that you have been the victim of medical negligence, one of the first things you should do if you are still a patient in hospital is to speak to the Consultant in charge of your medical care. Make sure that the Consultant understands that you are making a complaint and that you expect to be given answers to your questions. If you are not satisfied by the response you receive you should complain to the Hospital Complaints manager.

If you are no longer in hospital then you should make a complaint in writing to the Complaints manager, you can discover their details from the hospital. Often an appointment will be arranged with the Consultant in charge of your care to discuss your complaint. You should make the complaint in writing. This, in any event, is a useful method of ensuring that you have raised all the questions that you wish to ask, and to ensure that you have received a response to each of the questions. This stage of the complaints process is called Local Resolution.

Time Limits for Making a Medical Negligence Complaint

You have 6 weeks to make a complaint about your treatment although the time limit may be extended in certain circumstances. If you make a complaint in writing the hospital must provide you with a full written response within 25 working days.

The health care provider will analyse your medical notes, discuss the core illness and provide you with a written report on your complaint with any recommendations for rectification.

Another alternative is to complain direct to the NHS Ombudsman. However, the Ombudsman investigates very few cases annually and will usually only accept cases in which they do not feel that the patients concerns have been adequately addressed by the NHS complaints procedure so this is always the starting point for your enquiry.

If the Ombudsman accepts your case a full investigation by a team of officers will take place which will include interviewing all of the relevant staff and the commissioning of independent reports on the standard of the care provided. A complaint must be made to the ombudsman within one year of the date when you became aware of the events leading to the alleged medical negligence.

Receiving Help with Your Medical Negligence Complaint

Legal Aid does not cover the cost of making a complaint. We strongly advise you to make early contact with Pearson Hinchliffe Solicitors so that one of our solicitors can guide you through the complaints process if it is necessary for your medical negligence claim.

Speak to Someone Today

To speak to a solicitor about any of the issues contained in this article, or to discuss your concerns about medical or clinical negligence, please use one of the contact methods provided below.