Medical Negligence Compensation Claim
Author: Hunter Blyth

It doesn't matter if it happened in a private clinic or in a
facility run by the National Health Service. If your condition
worsened or you are faced with a new injury, you can claim for
medical negligence. Like in all other injury cases, you need to
show evidence that the medical or healthcare professional
attending to you neglected medical standards and thus caused you
further injury. Deciding on what constitutes medical negligence
is not always cut and dried, especially in the case of surgical
operations. This is because some operations have risks.

Although medical negligence claims are notorious for being hard
to win than other injury claims, there are no-win, no
compensation solicitors who specialize in this type of claim. Do
not be shy about shopping around for solicitors and asking if
they specialize in this type of claim.

Be prepared though. There are cases when your solicitor might
require a conditional fee or require you to pay fees upfront.
This is especially true for claims filed against the National
Health Service. But these are just for extreme cases, and it
only happens when a solicitor feels that the case has a slim
chance at winning (51%).

If you feel worse off after treatment, seek medical attention
immediately. Do not worry about evidence, since every hospital
admission is always documented. When you are feeling better,
seek out the advice of your solicitor. Under normal
circumstances, they would advise you to file an official
complaint before making a claim.

You can only make a medical negligence claim if you were
actually injured as a result of negligence on the part of the
healthcare professional. Do not cover cases of "almost had"
injuries. There are always prescription errors or of the wrong
limb being scheduled for surgery. But if these were corrected at
the last minute, then do not seek out compensation for a near
miss.

But if you have discovered a medical malpractice injury within
the last three years, you might be able to claim for damages. A
compensation claim must be settled or claims must be filed
within three years after the event that caused the injury.
However, judges have the right to extend the time limits based
on certain guidelines. You may file a claim for medical
negligence for loss of income, costs of care giving, medical
expenses and prescription medicine, pain and suffering, loss of
life's amenities, reduced prospects for employment, and legal
expenses.

Determining if you indeed are a victim of medical negligence is
often not that easy. Your solicitor will need to conduct an
initial investigation based on your written statement, your
medical records, and a medical report prepared by another
medical practitioner specifying if the medical practitioner who
allegedly caused the injury followed the standards of healthcare
in his field. After the initial investigation, your solicitor
will need to obtain evidence that the alleged medical negligence
caused the injury.

An investigation would normally take six to twelve months. This
is because most medical experts are not able to produce reports
until sometime after receiving a case because of their long
waiting lists.


About The Author: Hunter writes articles for Start2Claim and
Real Compensation No Win No Fee Personal Injury Compensation
Solicitors http://www.start2claim.com/
http://www.realcompensation.co.uk/