This is a guide on when you could claim for the harm caused by long term negligent treatment. Medical professionals, such as doctors and nurses, owe you a duty of care as their patient. They must provide you with care of the correct standard. If they fail to do this, and as a result, you suffer from avoidable harm, this is medical negligence, for which you may be eligible to bring forward a claim.
Long Term Negligent Treatment Claims Guide
As we move through this guide, we will discuss the time limits that apply to medical negligence claims. Also, we will explore the potential impacts that negligent treatment over a long time period could have. What’s more, we will also discuss the evidence you could provide to support your compensation claim.
Furthermore, this guide explains the two different types of medical negligence compensation that could be awarded for a successful claim. To conclude this guide, we will outline what it means to enter into a No Win No Fee agreement with a medical negligence solicitor.
Please keep reading our guide to learn more about when you could be eligible to pursue compensation. You can also speak to a member of our team if you would like to enquire about making a medical negligence claim. Our team of advisors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to give you free legal advice.
To contact our team, you can:
- Call 0800 652 3087
- Claim online
- Speak to an advisor using the live chat window below
Select A Section
- Long Term Negligent Treatment – Medical Negligence Claims Guide
- What Medical Conditions Could Be Harmed By Long Term Negligence?
- Evidence Needed To Prove Medical Negligence
- Payouts For Long Term Negligent Treatment
- How Do No Win No Fee Clinical Negligence Claims Work?
- Learn More About Claiming For Long Term Negligent Treatment
Long Term Negligent Treatment – Medical Negligence Claims Guide
Long term negligent treatment could cause serious avoidable harm, as illnesses that progressively worsen over time could go untreated. To pursue a medical negligence claim for this harm, your case must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty of care.
- This breach caused you to suffer avoidable harm. This may be physical, psychiatric, or both.
All of the eligibility requirements above must be met for a valid claim. Therefore, you cannot make a medical negligence claim if you sustained harm, but a medical professional did not breach their duty of care.
Time Limits On Claims For Long Term Negligent Treatment
The Limitation Act 1980 details how long you have to start a claim for medical negligence. Generally, you will have three years to begin your claim from the date that the medical negligence occurred or from the date of knowledge, which can be when you connected negligence to the harm you suffered.
Certain exceptions can be made to these time limits. Our team of advisors can provide more information regarding these exceptions in connection with your claim. They can also provide insight into the eligibility of your claim.
What Medical Conditions Could Be Harmed By Long Term Negligence?
If you have a chronic condition and do not receive the correct standard of care, it could worsen over time. It could also lead to a negative impact on the prognosis of the condition.
Examples of chronic conditions include:
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Lung disease
- Kidney disease
- Arthritis
Below we will provide examples of how long term negligent treatment could cause harm:
- If a patient has cancer and the medical team fail to provide the correct level of care and treatment by, for example, not providing CT or MRI scans to check for metastasis, the cancer could spread to other parts of the body undetected.
- Should a patient suffering from coronary heart disease receive long term inadequate care, for example, if they are not monitored at the times they are supposed to be, signs of deterioration could be missed resulting in heart failure.
- If a patient suffering from multiple reoccurring urinary tract infections (UTIs) is repeatedly sent away by a doctor without being referred for any test or scans to check for a kidney infection, this could lead to kidney failure.
If you would like to discuss your potential medical negligence claim with one of our advisors, please get in touch today. They can provide confidential legal advice on the steps you could take after suffering harm due to a negligent doctor.
Evidence Needed To Prove Medical Negligence
It is important that you can support your claim by providing evidence of the long term negligent treatment that caused you harm.
The evidence you could gather, includes:
- Copies of your medical records
- Treatment plans
- Copies of any test results or scans
- Prescriptions
- Witness contact details
Also, the Bolam test may be used to assess whether a medical professional provided you with the correct level of care. During this test, other relevantly trained medical professionals evaluate the level of care you were provided. If the findings of this test are in your favour, they could strengthen your claim.
Get in contact with a member of our team to discuss the evidence you could obtain to prove medical negligence.
Payouts For Long Term Negligent Treatment
There are up to two heads awarded for successful medical negligence claims: general and special damages. General damages account for the medical negligence.
As a resource to help them value the general damages head of a claim, solicitors can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Therefore, we have referred to this document for the guideline compensation brackets in the table below. These are only a guide and are not definite representations of what will be awarded for a successful medical negligence claim.
| Type of Harm | Notes | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Kidney (a) | Damage to both kidneys that is serious and permanent, or both kidneys are lost. | £169,400 to £210,400 |
| Kidney (b) | There is a significant risk of urinary tract infections in the future or other complete loss of natural kidney function. | Up to £63,980 |
| Kidney (c) | One kidney is lost but the other is not damaged. | £30,770 to £44,880 |
| Bowels (a) | This bracket covers cases that involve double incontinence, the total loss of natural bowel function and the total loss of urinary control and function, along with with other medical complications. | Up to £184,200 |
| Bowels (b) | The complete loss of natural bowel function and dependence on colostomy, depending on age. | Up to £150,110 |
| Lung Disease (a) | A person, who is young, with a serious disability. There will be a probability that progressive worsening could lead to premature death. | £100,670 to £135,920 |
| Lung Disease (b) | Lung cancer that causes severe pain, usually in a person who is older. There is an impairment of function and quality of life. | £70,030 to £97,330 |
| Lung Disease (c) | A disease, such as emphysema, that causes significant and worsening lung function and impairment of breathing, sleep disturbance and further problems. | £54,830 to £70,030 |
Special Damages
The second type of compensation you could be eligible to receive is special damages. This compensates you for the financial losses suffered due to the medical negligence. Examples include loss of earnings, care costs and transportation costs.
When claiming special damages, proof of any financial losses will be necessary. This can consist of payslips to show the impact on your earnings, invoices to show the cost of professional care, and documentation of your travel expenses, such as tickets.
If you would like a compensation estimate tailored to the details of your potential medical negligence claim, please speak to our team of advisors.
How Do No Win No Fee Clinical Negligence Claims Work?
You may choose to work with a solicitor under a No Win No Fee agreement when making a compensation claim for the harm caused by long term negligent treatment. They could offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is one of the types of No Win No Fee arrangements.
This would mean that you generally wouldn’t pay for the services of your solicitor upfront, for the ongoing duration of your case or if your claim has an unsuccessful outcome.
Alternatively, if your claim is a success, your No Win No Fee solicitor can take a small fee from the compensation. This is called a success fee. The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 provides a cap on the percentage that a solicitor can take as a success fee. Therefore, you will not be overcharged.
For more guidance on entering into a No Win No Fee agreement with a solicitor, please contact our team of advisors.
Speak To An Expert
Allow one of our advisors to assess your potential claim for the harm resulting from long term negligent treatment. If they find you may be eligible to pursue medical negligence compensation, they could place you in contact with one of the solicitors from our panel.
To contact our team, you can:
- Call 0800 652 3087
- Contact us via our website
- Speak to an advisor using the live chat window below
Learn More About Claiming For Long Term Negligent Treatment
For more information, please explore the guides below:
- Delayed Diagnosis Compensation Claims
- How To Report Medical Negligence By A GP, Doctor, Dentist Or Hospital
- How Long Does a Medical Negligence Claim Take?
For further information, please visit the pages linked:
- The NHS Constitution For England – GOV.UK
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – GOV.UK
- Good medical practice – The General Medical Council (GMC)
Thank you for reading our guide on when you could claim for the harm you have suffered due to long term negligent treatment.