If you’re unfortunate enough to need to hire a medical negligence solicitor, you might be wondering where to find the best one to help you with your case. If this is true then this guide could be really useful for you. You might’ve found us because you were trying to answer questions like, “Can I sue the NHS for a misdiagnosis?”, or, “How do I claim for medical negligence?”, in which case this guide will certainly help you.
If you’re looking for medical negligence solicitors in Aberdeen, then we might be able to help you as our panel of medical negligence solicitors can cover the Aberdeen area. To discuss beginning a claim today, why not call us on 0800 652 3087?
If you’d rather find out more first, then continue reading this helpful article.
Choose A Section
- Selecting A Solicitor For A Scottish Medical Negligence Claim
- Do I Need To Claim With A Scottish Medical Negligence Solicitor?
- Could My Medical Exam Be Carried Out Close To Me?
- Testimonials Of A Solicitor Could Be Helpful, But Talk To Their Team Too
- Medical Negligence Claims In Scotland And Aberdeen Which You Could Make
- Surgical Negligence
- Injuries In Childbirth
- Negligent Hospital Care
- Nursing Home Resident Negligence
- Delayed Diagnosis Of Cancer
- Dental Negligence In Aberdeen
- Suffered From GP Negligence
- Clinical Negligence Statistics For NHS Grampain
- No Win No Fee Clinical Negligence Claims In Scotland
- Aberdeen Hospitals
- Contact Us
- Helpful Information And Services In Aberdeen
Selecting A Solicitor For A Scottish Medical Negligence Claim
When you start looking for clinical negligence solicitors in Aberdeen, there are a number of things you might try:
- Asking friends or colleagues for advice.
- Reading medical negligence solicitors reviews.
- Asking for recommendations from family members.
- Or seeking advice from social media.
If you’re lucky, you’ll find one of these might work but in case it doesn’t we are going to provide you with advice about what to look for and how else you could find a personal injury lawyer to take on your case.
You could simply avoid all of the hassle and speak with us today as our panel of medical negligence solicitors can cover the Aberdeen area so could help you by offering a no win no fee service.
Before making a personal injury claim, it is important that you can prove that you have a claim for medical negligence. To see if you have grounds to make a personal injury claim you need to prove;
- That you received a sub-standard level of treatment (or negligent care) from a medical professional (including nurses, care workers, doctors, surgeons, and dentists).
- And that, because of the treatment you were left with an injury, became ill or your existing condition got worse.
If you believe you meet both those criteria, and you’re within the allowed time limit, you could be eligible to bring a claim.
Do I Need To Claim With A Scottish Medical Negligence Solicitor?
Many people think that they need to use medical negligence solicitors in Scotland or say things like, “I need to use medical negligence solicitors in my area”, when in fact, that isn’t true.
It’s far better to make your choice based on the solicitor’s experience of medical and clinical negligence claims and how many cases they’ve taken on that are similar to yours.
There’s no legal requirement to stay close to home and it is not a necessity to meet your solicitor face to face as the majority of communication during your claim is carried out via the telephone and email. Therefore, where the solicitor is based doesn’t really matter.
Could My Medical Exam Be Carried Out Close To Me?
We like to make sure that any of our clients don’t have to travel far when undergoing the medical assessment that is required as part of a claim. That’s why we have a panel of doctors across the UK to perform the assessments.
Some of the specialists that we work with in the Aberdeen area include:
Mark Innes Burgin
The Aberdeen Clinic,
Regus House,
Berry Street,
Aberdeen, AB25 1HF.
The Abla Clinic,
148 Princess Street,
Dundee, DD4 6DG.
Testimonials Of A Solicitor Could Be Helpful, But Talk To Their Team Too
You could use independent medical negligence solicitor reviews as a starting point when making a personal injury claim. You will be able to find out things like how happy previous clients were with the level of updates and the amount of compensation that they received throughout the claims process.
However, nothing will really tell you how a solicitor could help you more than a telephone call to the solicitor or their team. You could find out how they will handle your case, what cases they’ve dealt with like your own and how much compensation they expect you to receive if you win the case.
Medical Negligence Claims In Scotland And Aberdeen Which You Could Make
To help you understand what could constitute medical negligence and lead to a successful claim, we’re going to provide some examples in the following sections.
If you’re not sure that your own case matches one of the examples, don’t worry, we could still help so give us a call and we’ll go through your circumstances with you.
Surgical Negligence
You might think that if a surgeon explains the risks to you prior to surgery and asks you to sign a consent form, then you couldn’t claim compensation against them if something goes wrong during surgery.
That’s not always the case though. If you suffer an injury or your condition is made worse because of a negligent act during surgery, you may be able to begin a claim.
Examples of surgical negligence could include:
- Suffering caused by inefficient suturing or faulty medical clips that require remedial surgery.
- Pain or suffering caused by surgical equipment being left inside you after surgery.
- If you wake up during surgery and suffer pain because of a mistake with your anaesthetic.
- Or if you sustain any injuries during surgery which are not related to your operation.
Injuries In Childbirth
Midwives, nurses and doctors involved in any stage of pregnancy and birth are trained for many years to provide them with the knowledge to deal with most types of birth, from the simple to the problematic.
If they fail to follow the training they’ve provided with, don’t follow the correct procedures, fail to spot a problem occurring or deal with a problem in the incorrect way, then a claim for compensation could be possible if the mother or baby suffers because of a negligent act. Examples of medical negligence during childbirth could be the failure to notice the baby struggling to breathe, resulting in Hypoxia, or Cerebral Palsy. If you would like to know more about childbirth injuries, please contact one of our legal advisors.
Negligent Hospital Care
All hospitals, whether NHS or private, have a duty of care towards their patient’s safety and wellbeing while in their care. This means that they should do all they can to protect them by following the correct procedures and guidelines throughout the treatment process.
If they fail to do so, and the patient suffers because of it, then it might mean a potential claim could be made against the hospital.
For instance:
- If a patient becomes ill because they’ve contracted MRSA while in the hospital.
- Any suffering caused by surgical mistakes.
- Suffering caused by a late or misdiagnosis leading to delayed treatment.
- Or if a patient suffers adverse side-effects because they were given the wrong medicine.
Nursing Home Resident Negligence
Because of the vulnerability of some residents and the fact that some require bespoke care plans, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides care homes with their own health and safety guidelines.
If the staff in a care home don’t follow the correct guidelines and a patient suffers because of this, then it might be possible to claim for care home negligence.
Some examples can include:
- Injuries caused by falls due to incorrect lifting procedures.
- Serious infections caused by bedsores due to a lack of movement.
- Illnesses caused by medication not being dispensed properly.
- Any suffering caused by care home abuse.
Delayed Diagnosis Of Cancer
With some illnesses, it doesn’t matter when they are diagnosed as the treatment will be the same. However, as cancer is progressive, it’s much better to catch it early so that treatment can begin as soon as possible.
In some cases, the prognosis for curing the cancer can be very good if the treatment begins early. However, if there is a delay in diagnosis, this can alter the effectiveness of the treatment altogether.
Therefore, if a patient suffers any pain, requires more aggressive treatment or becomes untreatable because a medical professional failed to spot the cancer when they should’ve done, then a claim to compensate for the suffering caused could be possible.
This could also be the case if a loved one lost their battle with cancer due to a delayed diagnosis so please get in touch if you require any help with making a claim.
Dental Negligence In Aberdeen
Dental negligence claims can be possible if a patient is injured or made ill when a dentist, hygienist or dental nurse fails to meet their duty of care towards the patient.
This could mean that the patient:
- Suffers broken teeth, damaged nerves or damaged gums due to a mistake during a procedure.
- Is caused pain when undergoing treatment which wasn’t required due to a misdiagnosis.
- Suffers pain unnecessarily because the anaesthetic dosage wasn’t high enough.
In these cases, and any other where a patient suffers due to negligence, a claim might be possible so please call so that we can assess whether you could be eligible to make a compensation claim.
Suffered From GP Negligence
We often find the first person we speak to when we have a medical concern is our local GP. They have a very broad range of medical knowledge and can diagnose a lot of conditions from the very basic, to very serious and life-threatening conditions.
In many cases they’ll do this within a minimal amount of time during the first appointment.
However, if they fail to spot a problem or diagnose it as something else, which causes the patient to suffer as their condition gets worse due to a delay in treatment, then the patient could be able to make a claim against the doctor for their pain and suffering.
Clinical Negligence Statistics For NHS Grampain
To demonstrate the number of claims made for NHS negligence in the Aberdeen area, we’ve included the table below. The data included came from this NHS article which refers to the year 2016-2017.
Healthcare Provider | Number of Payments | CNORIS Payments |
---|---|---|
NHS Grampian | 28 | £1,795,157 |
No Win No Fee Clinical Negligence Claims In Scotland
One thing that puts many off from making Scottish medical negligence claims is the cost of hiring a medical negligence lawyer. That’s why many, including our panel of expert medical negligence solicitors, offer a no win no fee service.
No win no fee means that:
- You don’t have to pay anything to start the case.
- There’s nothing at all to pay your solicitor if your case is unsuccessful.
- Your solicitor will deduct their fees from your compensation as per your conditional fee agreement.
Utilising a no win no fee agreement means that you can reduce the financial stress involved with making a compensation claim. Call us today to discuss all of the benefits of making a no win no fee agreement.
Aberdeen Hospitals
Below, we have listed some of the hospitals that our panel of medical negligence (who can cover Aberdeen) could assist you in making a claim against;
- Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
- Foresterhill Hospital.
- Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.
- Woodend Hospital.
- Aberdeen Community Health and Care Village.
- BMI Albyn Hospital.
- Blackberry Clinic Aberdeen.
If you would like to pursue any Scottish NHS medical negligence claims (or private claims) at these hospitals or other institutions, then we could help. Please get in touch to discuss your options.
Contact Us
If you’d like to discuss beginning a claim now that you’ve finished this guide, then you can get in touch with us simply by calling 0800 652 3087 or you could fill in an online claim form if you prefer. Our specialists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Helpful Information And Services In Aberdeen
Now that you’ve completed this guide about choosing medical negligence solicitors in Aberdeen, we’ve linked to some other useful resources and guides below:
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Foresterhill Road,
Aberdeen, AB25 2ZN
NHS Scotland – The latest news, guidance and information for health matters from NHS Scotland.
Aberdeen Care – Information to assess the requirement for care for residents of Aberdeen.
Claims Calculator – Explains what compensation payments could be made for different injuries. It could help you to work out NHS Scotland compensation payouts.
Surgical Negligence – A guide to surgical negligence and how you could be eligible for personal injury compensation.
Written by Brett.
Edited by Charlotte.