What are Medical Claims?
Features to resize fonts are not available because JavaScript is either not supported or is disabled.
We receive medical treatment from a variety of different people including our local GP and the doctors and nurses in our hospitals. If you receive unacceptable treatment from them and this causes you an injury then you have a medical claim.
There are strict time limits for bringing medical claims. If you think you have a claim, then it is important you take action as soon as possible.
In order to be successful in these cases, you must first obtain evidence from an independent expert who is willing to confirm that the treatment you received was substandard. Unless you receive a favourable expert report you do not have a case.
The initial stages in these cases involve obtaining this evidence. As specialist solicitors our expertise includes finding the best expert and asking them the right questions. The typical stages are:
- Obtaining the medical records - this may take 1-2 months depending upon where they are kept and how many there are.
- Sorting the medical records - this may take 4-6 weeks. It is vital that the records are in a suitable order for the expert as this will make their job easier.
- Locating an expert - once we have the records we will approach a suitable expert and ask them if they are willing to be involved. If they agree to help, that does not mean that they agree to support the case when it comes to looking at the papers. It just means that they believe that the case falls within their area of expertise.
- Instructing an expert - we send all of the papers to the expert including the medical records and our client's statement. It may take the expert anything up to 4-5 months to produce their report.
- Putting the case to the defendants - if the expert is sure that substandard treatment took place, we will then need to put the allegations to the defendants. They normally have 3 months to investigate and reply. If the defendants admit that they were at fault we may be able to negotiate a settlement at this point.
- Starting court proceedings - if the defendants do not admit fault then we notify the court formally of the disagreement through the issue of court proceedings.
- Proceed to trial - the court will give us and the defendants a timetable of events in order to prepare for trial. A settlement can occur at any time, as most cases settle before the trial. Otherwise the trial will take place approximately 18 months after court proceedings have started. At the trial the judge will decide who has proven their case to his satisfaction.
