Clinical Negligence Claims

If patient care fails, client care becomes even more vital. Within the Compensation Division we have, over the past 15 years, developed a particular expertise in handling clinical negligence (the official term for what used to be known as medical negligence) claims.

When contemplating a claim it is important to recognise that your solicitor's sole aim is to obtain fair compensation for you.  Our responsibility is to ensuring both that medical care is efficient and that patients are recompensed for any failings.  The government has recognised  that it was in the national interest to have an effective compensation system and introduced Legal Aid franchises for clinical negligence because nearly half the 3,000 claims then being made each year ended without trial or settlement.

We know from our experience that financial recompense may not be your only objective; many victims of medical accidents are just as much concerned to find out what went wrong and why?  However, while the claim procedure may uncover the truth and, perhaps, produce an apology, they have to be seen as consequential to your solicitor's main objective of securing compensation. 

Specialist legal advice is needed because medical negligence claims are different from other types of compensation claim.  If you are injured in a road accident there is general agreement on what constitutes careless or dangerous driving, but it needs well-qualified and independent medical practitioners to advise on whether you have suffered injury at the hands of negligent health professionals.

So when you make a claim the first few months are taken up with the gathering of evidence. This will be in the form of Hospital records, GPs' notes, X-rays and other records. These, in turn, are collated and sent to expert, independent doctors for reports on whether or not the care you received fell below that expected by Law and what the consequences have been for you. Other experts can advise on all aspects of rehabilitation, from the degree of recovery, if any, that can be expected to the effect on lifestyle and the specialised accommodation or equipment that might be required.

Simon Ramshaw, partner in charge of the division, is a member of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel and Stamp Jackson and Procter is one of a small number of legal firms granted a Legal Aid Franchise by the Government's Community Legal Services Commission.

The firm is recognised as one of the leading claimant medical negligence practices in the North of England and has secured many £millions of compensation for the victims of medical accidents in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.

The key decision has to be made when the reports are returned at the end of the assessment. It is at that stage that your specialist solicitor will discuss the opinions with you and advise on the prospects of proceeding through the Courts.

If it is decided to take Court action your solicitor will guide you through the various heads under which you could seek compensation, depending upon the circumstances of your case.

The medical reports will indicate what you might seek to recover through physical and psychological injury caused by negligence. You could be entitled to loss of earnings, loss of profit or reduced earning power resulting from the injury.

Recoverable expenses can include medical expenses, the cost of care, prescription charges and additional transport costs.

If the claim relates to a death as a result of negligence then there may be a claim for loss of household income or loss of services to the household.

A range of funding options will be open to you and we will explain these and advise on the most appropriate.  The options include Legal Aid if your financial status meets certain criteria; legal fees insurance (which you might have as part of your home contents insurance policy); or a private arrangement for the payment of fees between ourselves, based on the individual circumstances of your case.

In some circumstances a ‘No Win No Fee’(subject to insurance) arrangement could be possible. As with any Stamp Jackson and Procter compensation claim, the process begins with a free initial consultation, more often than not at hospital or the client's home. The consultation needs to be as early as possible because of the record of after effects that needs to be built up.

Quite often the people we need to act for cannot speak for themselves. So if you are a carer, give us a call. You will find we care too.