Medical Negligence Claims against Hospital Trusts

The basis of bringing a claim is very similar irrespective of the Defendant, albeit Hospital claims appear to be the most common.

Generally, when attending a Hospital, you would be hopeful to receive the best service and be treated for the problem you have attended the Hospital for. Sadly, this is not always the case, and things can go wrong.

Although the errors may not be intentional, as an individual, you are entitled to receive a reasonable standard of care and when this care falls below the reasonable standard required, you may be entitled to bring a claim against the Hospital Trust.

Medical Negligence claims are usually brought to try to put an individual back into the original position they would have been in had they received the proper care they should be expected to receive.

This may be by way of financial compensation together with a written apology from the Hospital Trust.

In short, no. When a claim is being brought against a Hospital Trust, the matter is generally referred to their insurers, NHS Resolution.

The clinicians involved in your care will not be busy dealing with claims.

If the treatment provided to you has caused an injury, generally, you can bring a claim. There are a variety of claims that can be brought, but are not limited to:

• Surgical claims
• amputations claims
• delay in diagnosis claims
• anaesthesia claims
• nursing claims
• cancer claims
• paediatric claims
• birth injury claims

A lot of people may be daunted at the potential costs of bringing a medical negligence case. However, there are a number of funding options available.

The first and most common is a No Win No Fee which is an agreement between a client and their solicitor that covers the costs of bringing a claim. Essentially, if the claim fails, you would not be charged for the work carried out. If a case is, however, successful, you may be entitled to pay our fees together with our success fee.

The second option is known as Legal Aid Funding. However, this option is limited to cases involving children who have suffered an injury from birth as a result of medical negligence.

The third option is known as legal expenses cover. This stems from your motor or home insurance policy and which covers you for medical negligence claims.

You may also wish to privately fund a case, which entails paying a solicitor for the work they carry out on your case.

The general rule of thumb is that there are 3 years from the date of knowledge/date of accident, by which time you must bring a claim.

There are some exclusions to this rule, which include claims for children who have until their 21st birthday to bring a claim.

If there are concerns about a patient’s capacity, the rule also changes.

Most medical negligence cases are settled out of Court with a settlement; however, there may be a chance you may need to go to Court, albeit it is minimal.

A claim can still be brought on behalf of a person that has died as part of their estate. If they have left a will, then the executor of the estate, with the assistance of a Grant of Probate, will be able to bring the claim.

If the deceased has not left a will, then the next of kin can bring a claim after applying for a Grant of Letters of Administration, which will allow them to bring a claim on behalf of the deceased as part of their estate.