There are many people who have suffered injuries because of the treatment provided by the medical health care professionals. The hospital staff may not have acted properly and as a result failed to correctly diagnose a condition, delayed the diagnosis or treatment, ignored the important symptoms or administered the incorrect treatment. In order to receive compensation for the medical error, a patient must make a medical negligence compensation claim. This compensation for medical negligence aims to recompense any suffering and put the claimant into the same set of financial circumstances prior to the injury.
When can you make a claim?
If you or a loved one are victims of carelessness or incompetence, you are entitled to make a claim. Although medical negligence compensation claims need time for proper investigation from legal experts, patients can receive even 7 figure settlements, depending on the severity of the injury. Clinical negligence applies to doctors, nurses, surgeons and even to dentists, physiotherapists and opticians who have broken the duty of care. Any suffering resulting from this breach of duty is a potential medical negligence compensation claim. Regardless the medical domain where the doctor who has harmed you operates, you can still ask for compensation, as long as you can prove their negligence and fault. For instance, if you have used the services of a dentist, but although the results should have lasted at least some years, your teeth started to deteriorate after a few months, you can exercise your rights and ask for compensation. The amount may not be huge, but at least you will be able to use the money to have a reputable dentist take care of your teeth. Some cases are more straightforward that others, but eventually it all comes down to trying to prove whether the actions of the medical staff were reasonable in those specific circumstances. Because medicine is a complex area and opinions are often different, it is essential to use an experience medical negligence solicitor if you wish to pursue a medical negligence compensation.
Types of compensation
The medical negligence compensation includes four main types of loss and expense patients are entitled to claim. General damages involve money payouts that are used to compensate psychological suffering and physical injuries. Special damages are payouts meant to cover any past financial expenses caused by the accident, such as medical expenses and lost income. Most of the time receipts are needed to prove the amount. An individual can also claim interest for any financial losses, pain and suffering. The last type of loss involves the legal costs such as court fees, medical negligence solicitor fees, official searches, accident report fees, traveling expenses and experts’ fees. As you can see, it is not very easy to claim for medical negligence, which is why you need to find a good solicitor who can provide you with all the information you need to know. How you prepare your case and document your injuries and damages is extremely important and is a delicate process, and without the proper legal support, chances for your claim for medical negligence are too low.
How much medical negligence compensation can you claim?
Most of the times, the medical negligence solicitor is able to calculate how much medical negligence compensation you can claim by looking at the average compensation payouts awarded in the past by courts for similar cases. If the lawsuit took place some years ago, the inflation will be taken into consideration and the sum increased. The medical negligence compensation will also be calculated according to the past and future financial loss, as well as the pain and suffering caused. Furthermore, the interest accumulated from the date of the accident until the present day will be taken into consideration. Another important factor of the equation is the severity of the injury based upon specialist reports and medical evidence. Additional damages are awarded for dependents in case of a fatality, including funeral expenses and compensation for living relatives.
