Hospital treatment
We go into hospital trusting that we will receive the best care - from hygiene and cleanliness to staff care and medical treatment.
For the majority of patients, this is exactly the kind of treatment they receive. However, our experience shows us that sometimes these standards aren’t met which can sometimes have lasting medical consequences for the patient.
Negligent hospital care can lead to life-changing consequences for those affected. If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to such care, our team is here to help. We offer expert legal advice and guidance to ensure you get the answers you deserve.
Types of negligent hospital treatment
Negligent treatment in hospitals can take different forms:
- Errors during surgery
- Gallbladder negligence
- Misdiagnosis or delays in diagnosis
- Wrong medication being administered
- Failure to monitor and act upon observations
- Complications and failures in treatment
- Harm caused by faulty equipment
Each of these can cause serious harm and leave patients feeling let down by the care they have received. Whether you or someone you care about has received negligent care in a hospital, the consequences can be life changing.
Accident and Emergency
A & E departments are busy places, where medical decisions have to be made quickly and often under intense pressure. Medical staff deal with life-threatening situations every single day.
In recent years A&E departments have continued to get busier. They have faced increasing pressures due to rising patient numbers and limited resources. However, the level of care that patients receive should not be compromised.
Injuries which are missed or misdiagnosed can mean individuals suffer additional pain and damage or have to undergo further, and potentially avoidable, medical procedures.
Lengthy waiting times within the Emergency Department may mean that a serious injury is not detected and treated as quickly as it should have been, which can lead to patient harm. On occasions patients are discharged from the hospital when they should have been admitted. Sometimes their follow-up care is overlooked.
Hospital care
Many patients will require 24-hour medical attention or specific health, hygiene or dietary regimes during their stay in the hospital, but sometimes this care is not carried out properly.
As part of a medical professional’s duty they must regularly monitor and assess a patient’s condition. When monitoring a patient, professionals should assess any changes and act quickly and precisely if there are signs of the patient’s condition worsening. Failure to recognise and appropriately manage a deteriorating patient can lead to harm.
How to make a claim
Making a claim against the hospital might feel intimidating and confusing.
Where should you start? Who are you claiming against?
We have expert solicitors who can guide you and offer the best advice based on your situation.
The more information you can provide, the easier it is for us to advise you. If you would rather speak to someone directly about your circumstances then please get in touch with us.
Making an NHS complaint
In most cases it is helpful for you to seek an explanation and answers through the NHS complaints procedure. This helps clarify important aspects of your care and enables us to advise you more fully.
NHS Inform provides more information on making a complaint about your relevant NHS board and how to contact them for the NHS Complaints Handling Procedure.
Complaints should be made within six months of the injury and no later than 12 months after to ensure that they are fully investigated. It must be shown that the care provided fell below the standard expected.
Can I claim against a private hospital?
Yes you can but first you have to make a complaint to the hospital that you had your treatment with. They should have information on their website about their complaints process.
No win, no fee personal injury solicitors
The expression “No win, no fee” is often used in personal injury cases. It is used as a way of funding a compensation claim where the accident victim does not have the means to pay for the costs involved as the case progresses.
A number of solicitors are prepared to handle personal injury cases on a “No Win – No Fee” basis but very few are able to offer their clients complete protection if the case is unsuccessful.
In that event, the client could end up being liable for many thousands of pounds in legal expenses or the case won't be fully investigated and therefore likely to under-settle.
Compensate 'no win, no fee' funding
Digby Brown has its own funding company, Compensate, which provides the funding to allow the case to be fully investigated, employ the best experts surrounding the circumstances of the accident and/or injuries sustained and where and if necessary go to court.
If for whatever reason the case is unsuccessful, Compensate pays all your legal expenses and those of your opponent – you pay nothing.
On average our clients receive over 3 times the pre-litigation offer
Because of Compensate funding Digby Brown's success rate is extremely high and on average our clients receive three times the pre-litigation offer.
In the event the case is successful, a small percentage of your damages will be deducted with VAT to pay for this service. The percentage which Compensate will charge depends on the degree of risk involved. We believe that this is the fairest method of giving clients access to justice whilst ensuring their cases are fully investigated, prepared and funded.
Don’t take our word for it, just read many of the court decisions and case studies on our website.
Beware of compensation offers which may be too good
We know you will have seen many adverts offering 100% compensation or telling you that you will not lose any of your compensation, however we believe there are a number of problems with companies that do this.
- How do they make their money if they don’t charge you anything?
- If they aren’t taking any money from you, the client, what incentive do they have to ensure you receive the right level of compensation, appropriate to the injuries you have sustained?
- Fully preparing a case, finding out exactly what happened and what the consequences of your injuries may mean in the long term, is expensive, how do they do this properly?
- If they aren’t fully preparing these cases will they just accept the first offer they are given on your behalf by the Insurance company?
- It makes simple business sense, the less work they do the higher their profit margin is - they simply have no incentive to work harder on your behalf.
- These adverts in the main are from English firms on national television which operates in a different way and therefore wouldn’t apply to a Scottish person.
We know from the many client cases we mandate from other firms of solicitors (in the main at the request of the client who is extremely unsatisfied with the service received for the other firm) that many shortcuts are taken in preparation and that the first offer received is being recommended for acceptance, regardless of the value.
Getting something for nothing is usually the first sign of poor service.
Correct level of compensation with Digby Brown
Our experience and statistics show time and time again we will achieve the correct level of compensation which will be substantially more than the insurer is initially prepared to offer.
Even after we have deducted our percentage as a success fee you will gain considerably more than you would have achieved using a 100% compensation model.
Contact Digby Brown's personal injury solicitors
We have offices across Scotland in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Aberdeen and Ayr.
For further information about no win, no fee, or anything else, call us on 0333 200 5925 or fill in our enquiry form below and someone will get back in touch with you.
Contact our specialist clinical negligence solicitors
Hospital negligence claims can be complex but our clinical negligence department has many years of experience in this area.
Ruth Kelliher, Partner, leads our team and as a Law Society accredited specialist in clinical negligence, Ruth has widespread recognition including from both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 Guide. Why does this matter? This means we are recognised by other legal professionals as the best at what we do. Trish McFadden is our other Partner within the clinical negligence department, with a wealth of experience having also been recognised by Chambers & Partners.
Digby Brown is also a member of Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMa) with the majority of the department recognised as clinical negligence specialists by the Law Society of Scotland. Put simply, we know what we’re talking about and you can trust our advice.
Here to help
If you have suffered because of medical negligence in the hospital and would like to talk to a specialist about claiming personal injury compensation, please fill out our clinical negligence form giving as much information as possible.
Doing so will help us understand your unique set of circumstances and allow us to give the very best advice for what next steps should be taken in your case.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions to help you better understand hospital care negligence claims.
Can I claim on behalf of my child?
You can claim for clinical negligence on behalf of a child until they turn 16-years-old. After this, the standard timebar rule sets in and they have three years from the date of their 16th birthday to settle the claim or raise court proceedings.
How long do I have to make a claim?
You have three years from the date you could reasonably have become aware of the alleged negligence either to settle the claim or raise court proceedings. Getting in touch as early as possible is crucial to protect your legal right to compensation.
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