If you have suffered an injury as a result of poor medical treatment by your doctor or another health professional, you may be considering a claim for medical negligence (sometimes called clinical negligence). Medical negligence may have occurred if you have experienced a poor standard of care by a doctor, surgeon, dentist or other type of medical staff, and suffered harm and injury as a direct consequence.

It is important to remember that medical negligence claims must usually begin within three years of the treatment being undertaken or from when you first realised that something had gone wrong. It is worth noting that these type of cases can be complex and may take a long time to progress. The important issue is to contact a solicitor promptly if you think you have a claim for medical negligence.

Common types of medical negligence claims include: the misdiagnosis of particular medical problems, the prescription of the wrong medication and surgical error. If the injury occurred during the course of private medical treatment, then there may also be a valid claim for breach of contract.

What exactly will I have to prove?

When treating patients, medical professionals must act in a way which is accepted as good and proper practice by reputable professionals who specialise in the same field.

Expert medical evidence will be crucial to support your claim and your solicitor will advise you on how a medical report can be carried out. In addition medical documentation such as your GP’s notes and hospital records will need to be obtained so that a full picture of the circumstances of the treatment can be determined.

If you are considering a medical negligence claim, you should contact a solicitor who can advise you of the likelihood of success in taking action and what you may claim. To make a successful claim you would have to prove that the individual concerned did not exercise the standard of care you would reasonably expect, and that you have suffered injury (or your medical condition has deteriorated) as a direct result. It is important to remember that a disappointing outcome of your treatment does not necessarily mean your treatment was substandard or negligence.