Medical Negligence and
Clinical Negligence Claims
 Medical Negligence or more commonly referred to as
Clinical Negligence is a specialist area of law where patients can claim compensation for an injury caused by an act of negligence by healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses, midwives, opticians or dentists.
Whilst most people treated by the health professions in the UK receive a very high standard of care, occasionally this can fall below a reasonable standard which can affect an individual physically, mentally or both whether in the short term or long term.
Types of Clinical Negligence cases
There are many different types of clinical negligence cases in a range of areas in the medical profession. To give you an idea the list below details some examples of negligence including:
| GP mistakes |
- Inadequate examination
- Inappropriate drugs or treatment
- Misdiagnosis
- Failure to refer to appropriate specialist |
| Surgical errors |
- Failure to provide pre-operative checks
- Incorrect use of anaesthetic
- Errors made by surgical staff
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| Birth injuries |
- Injury to the mother
- Failure to detect abnormalities in the foetus at the 20-week s stage
- Cerebral Palsy
- Wrongful birth |
| Brain injuries |
- Failed or delayed diagnosis of brain haemorrhage
- Misdiagnosis of brain tumour
- Surgical errors during operation |
| Spinal injuries |
- Omissions to treat a spinal cord injury
- Mistakes during treating a spinal cord injury |
| Infectious diseases |
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Meningitis
- MRSA |
| Psychiatric injury |
- Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Clinical depression
- Nervous shock |
| Accident & Emergency |
- Failure to diagnose a complaint
- Misdiagnosis of a complaint
- Failure to carry out tests
- Misinterpretation of test results
- Inadequate cleaning of wounds |
| Gynaecology errors |
- Contraception issues
- Failed sterilisation
- Surgical errors |
| Dental mistreatment and accidents (Dental negligence) |
- Mistakes in providing dental anaesthesia
- Errors made during wisdom tooth removal
- Other dental accidents |
| Opticians |
- Mistakes in the procedure for laser eye treatment
- Failure to diagnose or treat Glaucoma
- Failure to diagnose or treat Diabetic Retinopathy |
| Cosmetic and plastic surgery |
- Lack of information about the nature and extent of the proposed surgery
- Unacceptable outcome following surgery
- Unexpected symptoms following cosmetic or plastic surgery
- Lack of aftercare |
 Clinical Negligence is a very complex area of law and is dealt with under a separate protocol to other types of personal injury claims and it is therefore important that you seek advice from a solicitor specialising in this field.
Making a claim
To make a successful clinical negligence claim, it must shown that the treatment received fell below a reasonable standard of that professionalism and as a result this caused you injury. This includes acts of omissions.
The firm of solicitors who we work with have their own specialist clinical negligence department and are members of the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Panel.
The solicitors have vast experience in dealing with these types of claims and are able to offer expert advice and excellent representation. Over the years they have successfully represented people in some very high profile clinical negligence cases giving them national reputation.
If you would like to discuss making a claim or for more information call us free on 0800 505 3397 to speak to one of our advisers or submit your claim online by completing our online claim form.
Please note that strict time limits apply for making a Personal Injury Claim. If you are considering making a claim, we advise that you pursue it as soon as possible. To read more about time limits click here.
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