By Danielle Graves. Last updated 28th April 2023. Welcome to our medical negligence claims guide. We cover different types of medical negligence cases, including those for hospital negligence, dental negligence and pharmacy wrong medication claims.
How To Claim For Medical Negligence
You may like to know how medical negligence claims could be made and whether you are eligible to make one.
In a medical setting, you are owed a duty of care by any medical professional involved in your treatment. This means that the professional, such as a doctor, nurse or dentist, must provide you with a minimum standard of care.
For example, if your medical records state you have an allergy to a particular antibiotic, you should not be prescribed it. If you are prescribed a medication that you have a known allergy to, it is considered a breach of duty.
Medical negligence occurs when there is a breach in this duty and you suffer harm unnecessarily as a result. You might be eligible to make a claim for the avoidable harm you have suffered if you can demonstrate medical negligence occurred.
Evidence For Medical Negligence
Claims for medical negligence can be supported with evidence. It can help show that a breach in duty occurred, and this caused you avoidable harm.
Examples of evidence that may be helpful include:
- A copy of any scans. For example, if you are claiming for a delayed fracture diagnosis, X-rays or scans taken to diagnose you could show that the fracture was missed and you received treatment late as a result.
- Your medical records. These could show what date you first sought treatment if you are claiming for a delayed diagnosis.
- A diary containing details of the mental and physical harm you have experienced. You could document your symptoms and what impact they are having on your life.
Get in touch with our advisors using the details at the top of the page to learn more about how to claim for medical negligence. If you have an eligible case, they could put you in touch with one of the No Win No Fee lawyers from our panel.
What Is The Time Limit For Medical Negligence Claims?
In addition to proving you suffered avoidable harm due to a medical professional breaching their duty of care; you must start your claim for medical negligence within the time limit. This is generally three years from the date of the incident. Alternatively, this could be three years from the date of knowledge. This is the date you first realised that the harm you suffered was caused by medical negligence.
The Limitation Act 1980 sets this time limit. However, there are time limit exceptions. These include claims made for:
- Those under the age of 18. The limitation period is paused until their 18th Prior to this point, a litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf. However, once they turn 18, if a claim hasn’t been made for them, they will have three years to start their own claim.
- Those who lack the mental capacity to make a claim for themselves. The time limit is suspended indefinitely. However, a litigation friend could be appointed to claim on their behalf. Should the harmed party regain capacity, they will have three years from that date to start a claim, provided one has not already been made for them.
Contact our advisors to discuss starting a clinical negligence claim. They can advise on whether you have enough time to start the process.