Whilst all types of surgery involves an element of risk, as a patient, you have the right to receive a certain standard of care. In most cases, the standard of care provided is exceptional and the outcomes are positive. However, not all types of surgery may go as planned and sometimes it can result in an injury.
Surgical negligence covers a variety of cases. It may occur when the medical team fails to provide the appropriate standard of care either before, during, or after surgery. If this has resulted in an injury, then you may be able to make a claim against the hospital. Our medical negligence solicitors can help you to investigate whether or not this is the case.
If you think that you might have been the victim of surgical negligence, then it’s important to act as soon as possible. The details of the case will be clear in your mind and the records may be easier to find. Generally speaking, there is also a three-year time limit for most types of personal injury claims. However, there are also exceptions to this time limit for children under the age of 18 and patients who are unable to claim on their own due to their capacity and/or disability.
In order to be successful in bringing a claim, you will need to prove that the surgery you received fell below a reasonable standard and that you have suffered an illness or injury because of this. These types of claims can be quite complex as the details of your medical treatment may be debated by different experts.
To increase your chances of making a successful case, your solicitor will need to gather as many details as possible and they will also need to use medical experts to show that the surgery performed was negligent and resulted in causing your illness or injury.
It is open to you where you think you may have been a victim of surgical negligence to make an official complaint. Making a complaint may be helpful when it comes to building your case and it won’t affect any future legal action.
Once you have submitted a formal complaint, you should expect to receive a reply either by written means or verbally within three working days. The reply should include an agreement to meet and to talk about how your complaint will be handled and how long it is likely to take.
When investigating your case, your solicitor will need to gather information about your illness or injury in order to decide what the best way of moving forward with your claim is. As an example, here are some of the details that your solicitor will try to get:
To help support your claim, your solicitor will find an independent medical expert with the right knowledge and experience to be involved in your case. Although the medical expert may be referred to as part of your ‘team’, the medical expert will have a duty to provide an independent and honest opinion to the Court.
Your medical negligence solicitor will choose the medical expert that knows the area of medicine relating to your case and will be able to present their findings in court.
We understand how upsetting it can be to talk about what has happened and how overwhelming the consequences of negligence are. At BTTJ Medical Negligence, we have a team of legal professionals and medical negligence specialists who are exceptionally experienced at handling these types of cases. All advice and information are treated with total confidentiality, compassion, and care.
If you have suffered due to medical negligence and you would like to discuss your surgical negligence claim, then please get in touch with us to see how we can help.
You can call us on 0800 032 2474 or you can send us an email here.
