We know that the majority of the time, doctors and nurses do a great job at caring for us, but unfortunately, there are times when human error brought on by pressure and limited resources can cause the care we receive to fall below a reasonable standard. When this happens it is called negligence and can lead to serious injury and financial loss for the victims: as a result many make negligence claims with the help of the relevant solicitor, such as Raleys Solicitors.  Some victims of medical negligence feel guilty about making a claim. There is no reason to: their suffering certainly warrants an apology and compensation.

Amongst the issues cited by Raleys solicitors as frequent factors in medical negligence claims are delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis and negligent performance of surgery or other procedures.

Those patients who believe they have been victims of negligence resulting in an injury should first use the NHS complaints procedure. This system was not devised to give compensation but it can give an explanation of what happened and how. Finding this out allows victims to make an informed decision about whether or not to make a claim.

This area of law is very complex and it is therefore important to contact an experienced solicitor. The first step is for the solicitor to liaise with an independent medical expert to establish whether or not you have a claim.

If it is established that you do have a claim it will then be down to you and your solicitor to show that the care you received was below the standard that should be expected of a competent medical professional. If the defendant can show that many other practitioners would have carried out your treatment in the same way or made the same decisions then they cannot be found guilty of negligence.

Then, in order for a claim to be successful it must be proven that the negligence was the direct cause of the negligence. That means showing that the injury would not have happened if it wasn’t for the negligence.