At Tees, we only instruct trusted independent experts and we have spent many years building contacts with recognised and leading medical professionals. All of our independent experts are experienced in medico-legal work and can review your medical care impartially. Their duty is to the Court and not to those who may instruct them, given that they remain impartial.
A medical negligence claim is a claim brought in circumstances where a medical professional has made a mistake or their care has fallen below the minimum acceptable standard, which has caused you injury or worsened your condition.
To make a successful medical negligence claim, you need to prove the medical care you received was negligent (the doctors or medical professionals did not do their jobs properly) and caused you injury or loss. Legally, this is known as proving breach of duty and causation.
To prove breach of duty, your medical negligence solicitor needs to prove that the care or treatment you received fell below the standard expected of a reasonably competent clinician.
To prove causation, your medical negligence solicitor needs to show that the breach of duty caused you harm or injury. This can often be difficult, particularly in situations where someone was already ill or suffering from a medical condition.
If you think you may have a medical negligence claim it is important to contact us as soon as possible. If, following our investigation, we consider that there is a strong enough case to bring a claim we will arrange a meeting with you to discuss funding the claim and to take a witness statement.
Once we have all the medical records, we will instruct independent experts to prepare detailed reports into the care you received; these will form the basis of the case. We will gather evidence as to the damage you have suffered and the impact this has already had on your life, and may continue to have into the future. We always seek to conclude cases without the need to go to Court where possible, in order to reduce the stress on you and the time taken to reach a resolution.
Preparing a medical negligence claim involves a great deal of work, including obtaining and reviewing medical records, instructing experts, reviewing their reports, gathering evidence as to any losses you have suffered and preparing detailed witness statements.
In straightforward cases we may be able to conclude your claim within 12-18 months, however in more complex cases the time taken to settle a claim can be significantly longer. The time taken is necessary to make sure your claim has the best chance of success and achieving the outcome you deserve. Your medical negligence lawyer will keep you regularly updated throughout the process.
During the course of your case you will receive regular progress updates. Usually, your involvement in the claim will include:
- giving a witness statement
- going to meetings with experts to discuss your case
- talking to your solicitor or barrister about any offers made by the Defendant
- attending appointments with experts to report on your condition, prognosis or future needs.
Yes, if travelling is difficult for you we are happy to meet you wherever is most convenient. We are able to visit several times, as needed, to give you time to tell us what happened, to take your witness statement and discuss the ongoing progress of your case.
Yes, your files will be kept confidential according to the General Data Protection Regulation. All Tees staff understand the need for strict confidentiality. Tees is a member of the Law Society and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and people from these organisations may occasionally inspect our files.
In most cases, there is a three year time limit for bringing a medical negligence claim. The three years begins from the date of the negligence or from the date that the patient should have known that the injury was or could reasonably be linked to the original negligence.
There are some exceptions to the three year rule:
- If the patient is incapable of managing his / her property or affairs and is a “protected party”, the three year time limit begins when they have capacity to bring the claim.
- For children, the three years begins on their 18th birthday, so claims must be made before they turn 21 in England
- If the patient has died, the three years begins from the date of death
Other dates may also apply, such as where incidents occur abroad, where there is a Human Rights Act claim, or a defective product and so early advice is needed as some time limits are 1 year only.
There is a great deal of investigation work involved in medical negligence claims, so it’s important to contact a solicitor as soon as you can.
If you think you have a medical negligence claim it is important to take legal advice from a specialist medical negligence solicitor as soon as possible. A medical negligence solicitor will assess your claim and support you, and your family, through the process.
The solicitor will talk to you about what happened. At this initial assessment stage they may ask for your medical records.
If the solicitor thinks you have a potential claim for compensation, they will arrange a meeting to discuss whether you’d like to look into this further. At this meeting they will advise on the funding options for your claim (for example, through a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement). If you want to proceed, the solicitor may take a witness statement from you and other potential witnesses. They will need to carefully review your medical records and if you have not already obtained these they can request them on your behalf. They will also review any complaints correspondence that you have had with the hospital Trust
At Tees we will advise you on options to conclude your case without the need to go to Court where possible, in order to reduce the stress on you and the time taken. If this is not possible we will support you through the litigation process, and go to Court if necessary, to achieve appropriate damages for you.
We understand your situation and our expert team are here to help
