Can You Sue The NHS For Compensation?
The short answer to this important question is: yes. Read on to discover when and how to make a compensation claim against the NHS.
The right to compensation
If negligent medical care causes either you or a loved one to suffer a worse long-term outcome than would have been the case with an appropriate level of medical care, you should be legally entitled to claim compensation.
A successful compensation claim will address not only the pain and suffering of the individual affected but also the consequences of the negligence.
For example, if negligent medical care causes a person to suffer a loss of income due to their symptoms, the associated financial losses can be incorporated into the claim.
Equally, if the impact of the negligence leaves a patient reliant on care or in need of alterations or adaptations to their home, such costs may be included in a claim.
Who you can sue
Everyone working in the Health Service is expected to provide a reasonable standard of care. If your surgeon or doctor provides treatment, or fails to diagnose a medical condition, which is below the expected standard of care this can amount to negligence.
This applies whether the medical professional is your local GP, a consultant at hospital, a professional working at NHS 111 or the Out-of-Hours service, or a practitioner in your Accident and Emergency facility.
When you can pursue a claim
You can pursue a claim when it is found both that an act of negligence or substandard care has occurred in the course of your medical care and that the negligence has caused you to suffer a poor outcome.
The nature of the negligence may vary considerably. It may be a failure to diagnose, a misdiagnosis, a failure of safety-netting, an error in surgery, a delay in making a referral or an error in medication amongst many other forms of negligence.
The key issue is that the negligence has caused a deterioration in your outcome.
Meeting the deadline
Compensation claims for medical negligence are associated with a three-year deadline from the date of the alleged negligence.
This means that a claim needs to be issued with a court by this deadline. An investigation into the quality of your medical care needs to be carried out prior to this deadline in order to ascertain whether or not you have been the victim of negligent care.
Talk to the specialists
If you or a loved one have been the victim of negligent medical care, contact us here at Glynns Solicitors.
Specialists in medical negligence law, we can offer a wealth of expertise and experience to ensure that you receive the best understanding, advice and support throughout the process of your claim.
Contact us today to talk to a solicitor, free of charge, about the possibility of making a claim.
Please call us free on 0800 234 3300 or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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