Hemel Hempstead Medical Negligence Solicitors – No Win No Fee Claims Lawyers Guide

Medical negligence Hemel Hempstead

Medical negligence Hemel Hempstead

When making any form of personal injury claim, having the right solicitor working for you can improve your chances of having a successful case.  It could impact on the amount of compensation you’re awarded, or it could even mean the difference between winning or losing the case.  When choosing a medical negligence lawyer, it could be even more important due to the complexity of some claims.  If you’ve been searching for medical negligence solicitors in Hemel Hempstead, then this guide will provide you with information about how to select the best solicitor for you.

If you’re ready to discuss your case, speak with one of our advisors today on 0800 652 3087 but if you’d like to know more about choosing a medical lawyer first, then please carry on reading.

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Our Guide To Choosing The Right Medical Solicitor Covering Hemel Hempstead

You might be looking for a medical negligence solicitor but are you sure you’re able to make a claim?  A good definition of medical negligence is when you have been injured, become ill or your existing condition was made worse because of substandard care provided by a medical professional.

Medical negligence claims might be possible if nurses, doctors, surgeons, dentists, care workers, paediatricians and any other medical professional allows their standard of care to fall below what is expected and in turn provides a service that is negligent which causes a patient harm.  Claims can be bought against the NHS or a private hospital while receiving treatment or undergoing cosmetic surgery that is deemed careless or inadvertent which directly leads a patient to suffer unnecessarily .

In this guide, we’ll provide information on what you should do when selecting a personal injury solicitor, provide examples of medical negligence cases which could lead to a claim and explain how our panel of expert medical negligence solicitors might be the right choice to help with your claim.

Something you should be aware of is the medical negligence claims time limit that exists for all UK medical negligence claims.  It’s a 3-year time limit which starts from the date you were injured or from when the injury or illness was diagnosed by a doctor. There are exceptions to find out more please call our advisors the number is at the bottom of the guide.

Give your solicitor plenty of time though by contacting them as soon as possible because, even though 3 years seems like a long time, the solicitor will want to prepare and collate evidence including medical reports which can take a while to complete.

Is There An Advantage To Using A Local Solicitor?

A common thought is that, “I need to use medical negligence solicitors in my area”, but in reality, there is not a legal requirement.  It’s much better to choose a solicitor based on their experience and specialisms rather than where they’re based.

If you think about it logically, a solicitor who has the experience your case needs may not be based in your local area. A solicitor could communicate with you over the phone, email and sometime use the postal service. Therefore, their office location may not be an important factor when choosing who to use.

Our panel of medical negligence solicitors can cover the Hemel Hempstead area and have experience in most types of negligence claims.  They could help with medical negligence by a GP, dental medical negligence claims, clinical negligence cancer misdiagnosis claims, and surgery negligence claims as well as any other form of negligence by a medical professional.

Injuries May Be Assessed By Our Medical Expert Panel

If you do require a medical assessment as part of your claim, we can put you in touch with local specialists including these:

QF Mirza
Treatment Room,
Sportspace,
Park Road,
Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1JS.

Afolake Oyinloy
Hemel Hempstead Beta Health Clinic,
67 Marlowes,
Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1LE.

Ketan Bhatt
Regus Building,
Breakspear Way,
Hemel Hempstead, HP2 4TZ.

Medical Malpractice Solicitors Reviews

One thing some people do is to read medical negligence solicitor reviews.   We think they offer a good place to start and can help you narrow down your choice.  Have a look at how happy previous clients have been but then we’d recommend picking up the phone and speaking with the solicitor.   This is the best way to get a feel for how well you’ll work together during your claim, which could take many months or longer to resolve.

Examples Of Claims Medical Solicitors Could Help You Make

The next 7 sections of this guide will provide examples of the different types of medical or clinical negligence. In order to be eligible to make a claim your medical negligence solicitor will want to ensure that the treatment you received was of course negligent and that as a result you suffered harm. If your type isn’t listed, don’t worry, you can still give us a call and discuss the negligence you think has caused you an injury or illness.

Medical Negligence At A Hospital

In normal circumstances, your expectation of a visit to the hospital is that you’ll receive any required treatment and it will cure your condition (or it will be managed properly).  You wouldn’t expect to sustain a new injury, illness or for your existing condition to be made worse through negligent and substandard care. If standards at hospitals are not always maintained to the expected level and are allowed to slip unnecessary harm may occur and result in avoidable injuries or illnesses through negligence.

Examples of hospital negligence could potentially include:

  • Injuries sustained during surgery due to surgical errors.
  • Illnesses contracted because of super bugs like MRSA due to unhygienic practices.
  • The late or misdiagnosis of a condition causing you to suffer because of a lack of treatment.
  • If you’re made ill because you were prescribed incorrect medicines.

Surgery Negligence And Errors

While it’s common practice for patients to be informed of risks associated with surgery, including for cosmetic surgery, there is a clear line between what is considered an associated risk of a surgical procedure and an injury caused through a negligent surgical procedure.

Some examples of negligent acts during surgery which could lead to a claim include:

  • If you suffer pain during surgery because of a mistake with administering the anaesthetic.
  • If items of surgical equipment are left inside you such as clamps, swabs, sponges and surgical implements.
  • If you suffer injuries such as perforation of healthy organs.
  • If surgery is done on the wrong part of the body.

Nursing Home Negligence Claims

When you leave a love one in a care home, you’re placing complete trust in the professionals that they’ll look after them and care for them within the industry guidelines.   Any negligence in a nursing home which results in a patient being injured could mean a compensation claim is possible.   Here are some examples of care home negligence:

  • Any form of abuse in a care or nursing home.
  • Injuries sustained during a fall because an incorrect lifting or moving technique was attempted as staff were not trained.
  • If the patient becomes ill because of delay with dispensing their prescribed medicines.
  • Or when the patient suffers because of bed sores or pressure sores caused by a lack of movement.

As the patient may be unable to claim for themselves, it is possible for a loved one to help.  Please get in touch with one of our advisors to discuss making a claim.

Dentistry Medical Negligence Claims

If you’ve suffered because a dentist, hygienist or dental nurse has made a mistake, failed to follow the correct procedures or was negligent in some other way, you might be able to claim compensation for your suffering.

Examples of possible dental negligence cases could include:

  • If the dentist performed a procedure that wasn’t required which caused you to suffer.
  • Or if you suffered an injury or damage to other teeth during a procedure.
  • Wrong tooth extraction.

Clinical Negligence In Cancer Diagnosis And Treatment

Being told you have cancer can be one of the most harrowing experiences that a you’ll ever go through.  It can be a lot worse if you find out that it could’ve been spotted earlier.   When a GP or cancer specialist makes a mistake, which causes a delay in treatment, the effect of the patient can be more pain and suffering, or it could lead to the cancer spreading so much that it can’t be treated.

If you believe that you, or  a loved one, has suffered because cancer was misdiagnosed or the diagnosis was received much later than it could’ve been and this led you suffering in any way, then please contact us to discuss your case.

Medical Negligence By A GP

GP’s are often the front line of defence for the NHS.  They’re the first place patients turn to if they’re suffering with any medical complaint.  While doctors might struggle because they’re overwhelmed with the number of patients they have to deal with, if they do make a mistake, such as fail to diagnose an illness it could mean that a patient may suffer unnecessarily due to a condition worsening.

Medical negligence due to GP error could include:

  • Causing the patient to suffer because of a late diagnosis of a condition.
  • Prescribing the wrong medicine or dosage which leads to complications.
  • Failing to refer the patient to a specialist when needed and their condition worsens.
  • Misdiagnosing a condition meaning the incorrect treatment is given and their health deteriorates.

Birth Injury Negligence

Any parent might be apprehensive at the time of the birth of their baby but should be put at ease by the professionalism of the staff in a maternity ward.  Doctors, midwives and nurses are all trained thoroughly to help deliver babies in the safest conditions, react to difficulties and to spot potential problems early.  If mistakes are made when delivering a baby such as not correctly monitoring a baby’s heart beat and the baby goes into distress, if the baby or expectant mother is harmed by this it maybe considered negligent.

Examples of birth injury negligence, the list is not exhaustive so if you have any questions at all do not hesitate to contact our advisors the number is located at the bottom of the guide:

  • Erb’s Palsy
  • Performing incorrect episiotomy.
  • Broken bones due to traumatic delivery.
  • Asphyxiation leading to conditions including Cerebral Palsy.

If you believe you or your baby suffered because of a negligent act, then speak to our team in a free consultation to find out if you have a valid case for birth injury negligence.

Data And Statistics For Medical Claims Against NHS Trusts In This Area

In the table below, we’ve provided information on compensation paid following NHS negligence during 2017-2018 for the NHS trusts in the Hemel Hempstead and surrounding areas.  The table has come from this NHS resource.

Healthcare ProviderClaims in 2017/2018Number of Incidents 2017/2018Damages Payments
East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust4711£13,697,201
Hertfordshire Community Services NHS Trust*0£71,433
Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust*6£94,957
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust427£23,157,197

Hemel Hempstead Hospitals

Here are some of the hospitals that provide services to residents of Hemel Hempstead.  The list includes NHS and private hospitals.

  • Hemel Hempstead hospital.
  • Amersham hospital.
  • Watford general hospital.
  • One Hatfield (private hospital).
  • Spire Harpenden (private hospital).

We have a panel of medical negligence solicitors who can cover the Hemel Hempstead area and so might be able to help you if you think you have a claim against any of the above hospitals.

No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Claims In Hemel Hempstead

The main benefit of no win no fee claims is that you don’t have to find the funds to pay your solicitor for their service, whatever happens.

This is because:

  • You don’t pay the solicitor up front.
  • They don’t get paid at all if they fail to win the case.
  • If they do win the case, their success fee is taken directly from your compensation (limited to 25% but may be less).

Our panel of expert medical negligence solicitors all offer no win no fee services for all cases that they take on.  This, we believe, is the most stress-free and risk-free way of making a claim.

Contact A Medical Solicitor Today

To get in touch today, you can call our team on 0800 652 3087 or fill in a simple online form.  We’ll assess your claim for free, provide free legal advice and, if we think you have a valid case, we could introduce you to our panel of medical negligence solicitors who can cover the Hemel Hempstead area.

Helpful References

To help you further, please read these guides below which you might find useful.

East and North Hertfordshire Trust Inspection Report – by the Care Quality Commission.

Cancer Guide – Information from the NHS regarding signs and symptoms of different types of cancer.

Find A GP – A useful website from the NHS which you can use to locate GP services in your area.

Wrongful Death Claims – Provides a detailed look at what constitutes wrongful death and when you can claim.

Misdiagnosis Claims – Information on when and why you might be able to claim for the misdiagnosis of an illness.

Hemel Hempstead Hospital – Hillfield Road , Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4AD.

Edited by Melis.