Hospital Negligence Compensation

How to claim compensation for hospital negligence

When someone goes to the hospital; a certain standard of care is expected of the healthcare professionals. If the standards of care are not met, then there is a possibility that negligence can occur, and that person could suffer serious long-term consequences.

Your best chance of success in a hospital claim is to contact specialist medical solicitors, who can advise you on your claim, and how much compensation you could be entitled to. Our initial advice is free, and we take all our hospital negligence compensation claims on a no-win no fee agreement.

If you believe that you have suffered because of negligent medical care in a hospital, then you could be entitled to make a compensation claim. Simply fill out our contact form, and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss your potential claim.

Types of Hospitals Claims

In a hospital, there are many areas where someone could experience negligent care. These include, but are not limited to:

• Pressure sores (bed sores) – These occur when medical staff do not move patients, particularly those who are bed-bound, often enough and are, in most instances, wholly avoidable.
• Anaesthesia Negligence – Negligence when applying anaesthetic can be catastrophic. It can cause permanent brain or nerve damage.
• Never Events – An incident that is wholly preventable and should never happen if the healthcare provider is following safety guidelines.
• Serious Incidents – Any event where someone has come to harm due to an avoidable event. This can include the death of a patient.
• Patient Safety Incidents – Any event where a patient could have, or did come to harm.
• Infections – Hospitals should have policies, procedures, and training in place to minimise the risk of patients developing infections whilst in the hospital. Where these processes were not followed and an infection developed as a result there may have been negligence.
• Failing to refer you to a specialist – If you are assessed, and your condition or symptoms are such that you should see a specialist in the field, but you are not referred or the referral is delayed, you may be entitled to compensation.
• Falls – Suffering an injury because of a preventable fall in a hospital could mean you or a loved one are entitled to compensation.

Hospital Negligence Cases

Blackwater Law has successfully secured compensation for a variety of clients who suffered negligence in the hospital.

One such client was Mr Shaw, who had to have his arm amputated after a serious infection was wrongly diagnosed as tendonitis after visiting the hospital.

In another hospital negligence case, Blackwater Law were able to secure compensation for our client whose husband suffered a stroke in the hospital and was given sedatives instead of treatment. Our client’s husband sadly died in hospital.

How much compensation could I receive for hospital negligence?

In a hospital setting, medical negligence could occur in a range of ways and with varying degrees of severity when it comes to the long-term impacts a person could suffer. This means that it is not possible to provide an exact figure for how much hospital negligence compensation you could receive.

The amount of compensation awarded is calculated by considering many factors, such as the injury that has occurred, the damage that it has caused, and what effect this will have on a person’s life in the future.

If for example, you are no longer able to work due to the injuries you have suffered, then the compensation awarded could be significantly more than if you are able to continue working as you did before the incident.

Read more about compensation awards in our article about how medical negligence compensation is calculated.

Can I claim compensation from a private hospital?

Yes, you are able to make a claim against a private hospital just as you are able to make a claim against the NHS.

All healthcare providers either private or operated by the NHS must provide a good standard of care and are all overseen by the General Medical Council.

Claims against a private hospital will work slightly differently from those against an NHS hospital, so it is important that you inform your solicitor who your negligent treatment was provided by when beginning your hospital claim.

Hospital Negligence Claim time limits.

In cases of hospital negligence, you will generally have 3 years from the negligent act, or when you became aware of the negligent act to make your claim. The reason for this is that a claim will have a much better chance of success if documents, records, and witness statements are still relatively recent.

If you are trying to make a claim for an incident that happened more than 3 years ago, it is very unlikely that your claim will be successful or even able to begin.

There are some exceptions to the limit. If the person who suffered from the negligence is under the age of 18, then the 3-year time limit will only begin once they turn 18.

There is also an exception for the time limit if the person who suffered from the negligence lacks the mental capacity to make a claim.

Choosing the right hospital negligence solicitors

Blackwater Law medical negligence solicitors have a team of specialist lawyers that is independently recognised as being one of the leading teams of medical negligence solicitors in the country. This recognition comes from the Legal 500, an independent directory of the UK’s leading law firms.

This independent recognition of our team’s specialist expertise and experience in medical negligence claims means you can be confident that when you approach Blackwater Law for legal advice and guidance in relation to claiming compensation, you know you will be getting some of the best legal advice available.