How to Make a Medical Negligence Claim
If you are reading this, then the chances are that you believe you have a claim. It is also likely that you have never made a claim before and are asking exactly how to make a medical negligence claim. Below, Tollers’ expert personal injury team has put together a list of the common steps claimants go through when claiming for clinical negligence.
First step for claiming medical negligence.
Before we assess a case, we will always ask potential clients to make a formal complaint to the hospital, GP or treating clinician, if they are unhappy with their care or treatment.
There are several reasons for this. First, your complaint helps us identify the main issues you are unhappy with. Secondly, the complaint response may also lead to admissions of failings within your care.
For your claim to succeed, a patient must prove two legal tests: breach of duty and causation.
- Breach of duty – means a patient has to show that their care fell below an acceptable standard, not supported by a responsible body of practitioners.
- Causation – means that you must show that any breach of duty ‘caused’ injury loss or damage.
If the Trust who will deal with in their complaint response makes any admissions, this helps us assess the prospects of achieving a successful outcome for your claim. Making a complaint can seem like a daunting process, but Tollers is here to guide you through it.
Guide to making a complaint.
The first port of call is usually PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) or a Practice Manager at a GP surgery. However, if you are unsure where to send your complaint, speak to our clinical negligence team, who can point you in the right direction.
What to include in your formal complaint:
- Place
- Explain where the treatment took place. If it was in a hospital, you should list the departments and/or wards where you were seen.
- Date
- State the date or the dates of the treatment or incident, or when you first became aware that something had gone wrong.
- What happened and a timeline of events
- Include as much information as possible regarding what happened. If you are unhappy with a course of treatment or sequence of events, you should explain things in date order.
- Try to remember the names of people that you saw, as well as their position within the Trust.
- Your complaint
- You should explain why you are unhappy with your treatment.
- If you have since been told that your treatment was incorrect, detail who has told you this.
- Include copies of any relevant documents that you hold
- Questions
- You should include a list of questions that you would like answered.
- This will be individual to each particular case, however, it is your opportunity to ask anything you would like to address. For example, if your treatment relates to failing to x-ray your arm which you later found to be broken, you should ask why an X-ray did not take place the first time you went to hospital.
- Acknowledgment
- Ask that your complaint be acknowledged and a timeline as to when you can expect a full response.
- Conclusion
- Conclude your complaint by providing your full name. If you are acting on behalf of somebody else (for example a child), state your relationship to the person.
- Copy
- Remember to keep a copy of your complaint for your records and ensure you send a copy too your solicitor. We always recommend that the complaint is sent via email or recorded delivery.
Acknowledgement:
You should receive an acknowledgement from the Trust within the timescale requested which allows for their investigation and states when you should receive a full response. If you have not heard within 14 days, you should telephone to check it was received.
It is probably best to put this deadline in your diary or calendar, as Trusts more often than not do not stick to their timescales. Chase them up as soon as the date passes.
They may ask for an extension which is usually given. Remember, to investigate properly they will need to speak to several staff and doctors before putting their response together.
During this time, your solicitor will remain in contact with them. At Tollers, we usually telephone or email every four weeks to see if you have received any response from the Trust.
How the complaint will be investigated.
The complaints department will usually review your medical records, meet with your treatment staff and respond to the questions you have raised within your complaint.
Once you have the formal written response, you should send this to your solicitor to review. It will give a good idea as to whether the claim has prospects or not. If your solicitor is unable to assist, they will write to you with advice and explain why.
As part of your complaint response, you may be offered a meeting with the complaints department and treating clinicians. You do not have to attend this and can ask for a formal written response instead. If you do attend the meeting, you should take somebody with you (such as a family member or friend) and ask for it to be recorded and to be given a copy.
If you are unhappy with your complaint response
If you do not feel as though the complaint response addresses your questions, you can normally revert back to the complaints department for a second time and outline your outstanding concerns. They can investigate again and hopefully give you further clarity.
If you are still unhappy with your response, you may be able to take the complaint to the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman.
What happens next?
After reviewing the complaint response, your solicitor will know if they can assist you with a claim. If they take the case on, they will take it on a No-Win, No-Fee basis with insurance in place to protect you from having to pay any costs at the end of the claim.
Expert Clinical Negligence Solicitors – Talk to Tollers
If you believe you have grounds for a medical negligence claim and would like expert assistance and advice… Talk to Tollers on 01604 258 558, where our experienced team is on hand to guide you through the process.
