No patient ever wants to be the recipient of clinical negligence compensation, but if you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation of receiving harmful treatment, the money that you can win could be a lifeline while you recover.
Before determining whether you or someone you know is eligible to receive medical negligence compensation, it is important to know why you should make a claim. Compensation is meant to cover the financial loss that a person may experience due to not being able to work with an injury. And in extreme cases that lead to the death of a patient, financial compensation may be awarded to the family of the deceased. To find out if you fit the bill for a successful compensation case, use this checklist.
Medical negligence compensation: Am I eligible?
Was your doctor negligent? In order to determine whether your doctor or healthcare provider was negligent in his or her duty to care for you, the actions taken during your treatment are compared to the expected standard of care for patients receiving similar treatment.
Did your medical treatment result in injury? No matter what injury or disability you end up with, it will be weighed against the treatment you received, and officials will explore the likelihood of this faulty treatment causing your disability or illness. This judgment also relies heavily on whether there are other conditions or actions present that could explain the injury.
Have you collected all the medical evidence necessary? Presenting a medical negligence claim is essentially a court procedure, which means that you will need to present a sufficient amount of evidence to shed light on what actually happened while you were in treatment. While many people begin to gather this evidence right away (you can start by requesting a copy of your hospital or clinical records from the facility), it is helpful to have your hired solicitor help you with this process because he or she knows precisely what to look for.
Have you adhered to statutory time limits? For adults, the statutory limit for filing a clinical negligence claim is three years from the time of the incident. If you are filing on behalf of a child, it is important to note that this time limit actually does not take effect until the child has reached adulthood, meaning that he or she can file a claim for negligence that occurred during his or her childhood until the age of 21.
It is worth reiterating that your claim process will go much more smoothly with a solicitor who can walk you through each of these steps. Filing a claim for clinical negligence is never easy, but it may be your first step on the path back to a normal life.
