This article will look at your potential options following negligent diabetes treatment. Diabetes is a condition that causes blood sugar levels to become too high. It can result in a range of complications, including ulcers and infections which can lead to the loss of lower limbs in some cases. However, proper management and monitoring can help prevent these.
How To Make A Claim For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
This guide looks at the duty of care that is owed to you by medical professionals, including those overseeing your diabetes management. We explain when you might have a valid medical negligence compensation claim should this duty be breached causing you avoidable harm. Additionally, we look at some of the potential consequences of failing to correctly monitor and manage diabetes.
Should you have a valid case, you may also wish to know how compensation could be awarded. We’ll take a look at what medical negligence settlements could include.
Additionally, we explain how a No Win No Fee solicitor can help support your claim should you have valid grounds to make one.
One of our advisors can help answer any questions. The advice they give is free. To speak with an advisor:
- Call 0800 652 3087
- Fill out our ‘claim online’ form and a team member will call you.
- Connect using our webchat.
Select A Section
- How To Make A Claim For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
- How Could Negligent Diabetes Treatment Impact You?
- Evidence Which Can Help You Claim
- Diabetes Negligence Compensation Payouts
- Why Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
- Related Information On Negligent Diabetes Treatment
How To Make A Claim For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
In order to have valid grounds to make a medical negligence claim for negligent diabetes treatment, you must meet specific eligibility criteria. When a medical professional agrees to provide you with treatment, they automatically owe you a duty of care. This means that they must give you care that meets the correct standard. If you suffer avoidable harm because the correct standard of care was not met, you might wonder whether you’re eligible to seek compensation.
However, to begin a medical negligence claim you will need to prove that:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- You experienced harm that could have been avoided because of this breach.
There are many ways a patient could experience avoidable harm due to negligent diabetes treatment. For example, one patient may experience complications due to poorly managed diabetes because of bad monitoring from a healthcare professional. However, another patient could experience a diabetes misdiagnosis and may suffer delayed treatment due to this.
Time Limits
You also must file your medical negligence claim within the time limit set by the Limitation Act 1980. This is generally 3 years from the date of the incident or 3 years from the date that you first realised (or would have been expected to realise) that the harm you suffered was the result of a medical professional breaching their duty of care.
However, there are exceptions for some cases. These include:
- Children under the age of 18 have the limitation period frozen until they turn 18. Before this date, a litigation friend that has been appointed by the courts, can start legal proceedings their behalf. However, if they turn 18 without a claim having been started, they will have 3 years from the date of their 18th birthday to begin legal proceedings.
- Those without the mental capacity to file their own claim will have an indefinite time limit suspension that lasts for as long as they are unable to initiate proceedings themselves. During this period, an appointed litigation friend can claim for them. However, if they regain the capacity to claim and one was not already filed, they will have 3 years from that date to begin the process.
To learn more about the eligibility criteria and time limits for medical negligence claims, please contact an advisor on the number above.
How Could Negligent Diabetes Treatment Impact You?
As diabetes can lead to lots of different complications, it needs to be closely monitored. This can help avoid certain complications or prevent them from becoming worse.
Here are a few complications associated with diabetes:
- Eye problems.
- Foot problems. Sores and cuts can take longer to heal. This may lead to amputations of your toes or entire foot if left untreated.
- Heart attack and stroke can occur if blood sugar is raised for a period of time leading to damaged blood vessels.
- Kidney problems.
- Nerve damage.
If you would like to discuss the negligent diabetes treatment you received and the complications you suffered as a result, speak with one of our team members. They can assess whether you’re eligible to begin a medical negligence claim.
Evidence Which Can Help You Claim
You will need to obtain sufficient evidence if you would like to claim for negligent diabetes treatment. It will need to prove that you suffered unnecessary harm because a healthcare professional breached their duty of care.
Here are a few examples of evidence that could be helpful in supporting a medical negligence claim:
- A copy of your medical records with details of your diabetes and any treatment you required for complications.
- Correspondence between yourself and the medical practitioners involved in your treatment. For example, a referral letter from your GP for further treatment.
- Photographs if you have suffered visible harm, such as a sore on your foot becoming worse due to a lack of timely treatment.
- Witness contact information. If someone attended appointments with you they can be contacted for a statement at a later date.
Diabetes Negligence Compensation Payouts
If you make a successful medical negligence claim for negligent diabetes treatment, your settlement may consist of two heads of claim: general and special damages.
Under general damages, compensation is awarded for the physical pain and mental suffering that has been caused by the medical negligence.
In our table below, we provide guideline compensation brackets corresponding to different types of harm. We’ve taken these figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) 16th edition. Legal professionals use this document when assigning value to medical negligence claims.
Compensation Table
Please use the following figures as a guide because settlements are calculated on an individual basis.
| Type of Harm | Details | Guideline Award Brackets |
|---|---|---|
| Injuries Affecting Sight (b) | The person will suffer total blindness. | In the region of £268,720 |
| Injuries Affecting Sight (g) | This bracket includes minor but permanent vision impairments in one or both eyes. | £9,110 to £20,980 |
| Kidney (a) | The person suffers damage to both kidneys which is serious and permanent or loss of both kidneys. | £169,400 to £210,400 |
| Kidney (b) | In this bracket, the patient experiences a total loss of their kidney's natural function. | Up to £63,980 |
| Foot - Amputation (b) | One foot is amputated. | £83,960 to £109,650 |
| Toe - Amputation (a) | In this bracket, all toes are amputated. | £36,520 to £56,080 |
| Toe - Amputation (b) | In this bracket, the great toe needs to be amputated. | In the region of £31,310 |
| Brain Damage - Less Severe (d) | The person will have made a good recovery but may still have persisting problems such as poor concentration. | £15,320 to £43,060 |
Find Out About Special Damages
Under special damages, you could receive compensation to recover any financial losses that have been caused by the medical negligence. Here are some examples of the losses you might be able to claim for:
- Medical expenses, such as specialist bandages or crutches.
- Loss of earnings for time spent off work.
- Travel costs, such as taxi expenses to attend appointments.
If you are claiming special damages, you should submit proof of your expenses, such as receipts and wage slips.
To discuss the value of your potential claim for negligent diabetes treatment, speak with one of our advisors.
Why Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
If you are eligible to seek compensation for negligent diabetes treatment, you may wish to do so with the support of a solicitor. If so, one of our medical negligence solicitors could work on your claim. They usually offer to work on your case using a kind of No Win No Fee arrangement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
If your solicitor represents you using a CFA, they usually won’t ask for any upfront or ongoing payments for their work on your case. Should your claim prove successful, your solicitor will take a success fee from your settlement. This amount is taken as a percentage limited by the law. However, if your claim is not successful, you won’t be asked to pay this fee.
Start Your Claim Now
If you have any questions about seeking compensation for negligent diabetes treatment, or if you would like to find out if your case is valid, one of our team members could help you. If an advisor thinks you have a valid case, they can connect you to one of our solicitors.
To speak with an advisor:
- Call 0800 652 3087
- Fill out our ‘claim online’ form and a team member will call you.
- Connect using our webchat.
Related Information On Negligent Diabetes Treatment
Additional articles:
- Guidance on what steps you could take to claim for the harm caused by long term negligent treatment.
- Information about what you can do following medication errors.
- A guide about how to claim for the failure to treat a stroke.
External links that might be helpful:
- Information on how to raise a concern about your doctor from the General Medical Council.
- Diabetic eye screening guidance from the NHS.
- National Institute for Healthcare and Care Excellence (NICE) guide on the prevention and management of diabetic foot problems.
If you need any further help with your potential steps following negligent diabetes treatment, please get in touch. An advisor could assess whether you’re eligible to make a medical negligence claim.
Guide by Danielle
Edited by Meg