Scunthorpe Medical Negligence Solicitors – No Win No Fee Claims Lawyers Guide

By Daniel Boimler. Last updated 16th December 2022. If you’ve suffered an avoidable injury caused by the negligent actions of a doctor, dentist, surgeon or any other medical professional, and you’re looking for medical negligence solicitors in Scunthorpe, then this guide could help you by providing information on how to choose the right one.   Picking an experienced medical negligence lawyer could help you get the right level of compensation for your injuries or could be the difference between winning or losing the case.

Medical negligence Scunthorpe

Medical negligence Scunthorpe

Our panel of medical negligence solicitors can cover the Scunthorpe area so could help you make a claim.   As you’ll find out reading this guide, it could be far more beneficial to choose an experienced medical negligence solicitor rather than picking one just because they are local to you.

If you’d like to discuss beginning a claim today, please call us on 0800 652 3087. If you’d like to know more first, then please carry on reading.

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How Do I Choose A Solicitor For My Medical Claim?

One thing people do when looking for a personal injury lawyer to help them is to ask friends and family for a recommendation.  Another is to read reviews of the solicitor.  These are both really good starting points, but you should look in more detail about how often the solicitor will keep you up to date, how happy previous clients were with their compensation awards and what cases the solicitor has recently won that were similar to yours.

To be able to claim compensation for medical negligence, your solicitor would seek to prove that you suffered an avoidable illness, injury or your existing condition was made worse because of substandard treatment carried out by a medical professional.

In this guide we’ll provide examples of negligence including NHS negligence, nursing home negligence, dentistry negligence and midwifery negligence.

We can’t answer the question “Who are the best medical negligence solicitors in the UK?” as it would be impossible to prove such a claim but we can offer advice throughout this guide on information on how to choose the best solicitor for your case.

You should make a note of the fact that there is a 3-year medical negligence claims time limit for medical negligence claims. There are exceptions for more information please call our advisors. Our panel of expert medical negligence solicitors sometimes require complex medical evidence to support a claim which can take time to collate.  Therefore, you should contact us as soon as possible rather than leaving your claim to the last minute.

Read Impartial Reviews Of Medical Claims Solicitors

Reading reviews of solicitors can be a helpful tool to narrow down your search, but it shouldn’t be all you base your decision on.  Choosing the best lawyer for your medical negligence claim can be helped by speaking to the solicitor directly.  This will allow you time to ask any questions, find out what the solicitor is offering to do and find out whether you feel comfortable with the particular solicitor.  After all, you may be working with them for some time.

Solicitors In Scunthorpe – Do I Have To Stay Local?

There are no advantages to hiring local solicitors. Scunthorpe may have lawyers based in the area, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the best choice for you. Various factors can mean that lawyers from other parts of the country could better suit your needs.

To give an example, some Scunthorpe solicitors may specialise in a different area of law altogether. For instance, you may be trying to claim for a workplace injury, but the law firm handles mainly medical negligence claims. As such, physical location is not the most important consideration when hiring a lawyer.

We can connect you with a solicitor for the Scunthorpe area. Whilst they may be located elsewhere in the country, conveniences such as video chatting and email can facilitate the processes needed to make a claim.

Get in touch if you have any further questions.

Medical Assessments Could Be Carried Out In Scunthorpe By Our Panel Of Doctors

Here is a sample of medical specialists that are based locally and could carry out a medical assessment for you:

Sayeed Naeem
Scunthorpe General Hospital,
Private Patient Reception,
Scunthorpe, DN15 7BH.

Marta Vinaras Molinero
Rowland Road,
Scunthorpe, DN16 1SU

Types Of Medical Malpractice Claims Our Panel Of Experts Could Handle

Over the next few sections we’re going to look at some examples of cases that a personal injury solicitor might take on as a medical negligence claim.

Negligence By A General Practice Doctor

GP’s are often the first place patients visit with any medical concerns.  Even though they are often limited to short appointment times, they often diagnose a problem, provide a treatment plan or refer to a specialist during the first appointment.

In some cases, though, if a GP makes a mistake which causes the patient to suffer more than they would have done had the negligent error not been made a claim for compensation might be possible.  Some examples include:

  • When the GP diagnoses the wrong condition. This could mean the patient suffers side effects from the incorrect medication or their symptoms worsen because they’ve not received treatment.
  • If the patient is prescribed the wrong medicine or dosage which leads to a new illness or side-effects.
  • Or if the GP does diagnose a problem but only after the patient has made multiple trips to the surgery. A claim might be possible if the patient has suffered due to the delay in diagnosis. It must be proven that the GP could have diagnosed the condition much earlier in order to have grounds to claim.

Negligent Oncology And Cancer Treatment

Any delay in diagnosing cancer could cause excess suffering for the patient which could lead to more invasive treatment needed.  Cancer’s are generally graded in stages (1 – 4).   Many stage 1 cancers are treatable to the point of curing the patient of all symptoms.

Therefore, if a cancer isn’t spotted for a long time or has been diagnosed as something else, it could spread and become much more advanced by the time it is diagnosed.

It is not always clear whether a patient is suffering from cancer but if at any time a patient presents any symptoms that reflect the illness all should be done to eliminate the possibility. Failure not to refer a patient for special testing when cancer like symptoms are present could mean that a patients suffers a lot more than they needed to, if it turns out that they are suffering with the illness and it has been allowed to worsen due to lack of diagnosis and treatment plan it can be devastating for the person in question.

Negligent Pregnancy And Birth Care

Negligence by a nurse, doctor or midwife during labour could lead to serious injuries for the mother or baby which might be short-term but potentially could also be life changing.

Staff in maternity units are trained to ensure they know the correct procedures to follow and know what to do if something doesn’t go according to plan. If they fail to follow these procedures, it could be deemed a negligent act and if it causes a preventable injury to either patient the possibility of claiming damages may exist.

Examples of childbirth injuries suffered by babies include:

  • Oxygen deprivation leading to Cerebral Palsy.
  • Bruising caused by forceps.
  • Bell’s Palsy (nerve damage to the face) caused by forceps.
  • Fractures and Brachial Plexus injury.

Examples of injuries the mother may suffer include:

  • Tears (first degree to fourth degree tears).
  • Retention of placenta.
  • Post-partum haemorrhage (PPH).
  • A ruptured uterus.

It is important to note that some injuries that happen during childbirth could have not been prevented regardless of what procedures could have been used. Just because a person is injured during childbirth does not necessarily mean that a claim for damages could be made. It must be proven that a medical practitioner of the same standing would have not caused the same harm given the same conditions.

Negligent Surgery

Any type of surgery, whether for treatment of a condition or cosmetic, can be risky.  Even though a surgeon might explain some risks associated with surgery, a patient could still claim compensation for surgical negligence and malpractice in cases where the surgeon or operating theatre staff failed to follow correct procedures which caused the patient to suffer unnecessarily through negligence.

Examples of surgical negligence which could lead to a personal injury claim could include:

  • If a patient suffers pain and requires further treatment because surgical equipment is left inside them.
  • Any pain caused by damage to unrelated internal organs following surgery.
  • Pain and suffering caused by ineffective surgical clips or suturing.
  • Surgery performed on the incorrect part of the body.

Negligent Dental Care

All dentists, dental nurses and hygienists have a duty of care to ensure their patients are safe while undergoing treatment and the recommended guidelines are followed wherever possible.

In cases where the patient suffers because of a negligent act, they might be able claim compensation against the dentist or dental practice. For example:

  • If they’ve suffered preventable damage to healthy teeth, nerves or gums following treatment.
  • If a patient under goes treatment that was not necessary due to misdiagnosis.
  • If the patient suffers with an infection, caused by poor hygiene, following a procedure.

Hospital Medical Negligence

You could be eligible to make a hospital negligence claim if you suffer an avoidable injury, become unnecessarily ill or your previous condition is made worse because of substandard negligent treatment within a hospital environment.

Hospitals, similar to other medical facilities, have a duty of care to treat patients within recommended guidelines and procedures. If any medical professional fails to work within these guidelines breaching their duty of care which leads to preventable harm it maybe deemed as hospital negligence.

Some examples of hospital negligence may include:

  • Patients becoming ill with conditions like pneumonia because they contracted super bugs like MRSA due to poor hygiene practices.
  • If a condition is misdiagnosed or the diagnosis is later than it could’ve been causing the patients symptoms to worsen due to lack of treatment.
  • If the wrong medicine is prescribed leading to suffering because of side-effects or an allergic reaction to the medicine.
  • Surgical injuries caused by surgical gross misconduct.

Hospitals In Scunthorpe

For your information, here are some of the larger hospitals that treat residents of the Scunthorpe area:

  • Scunthorpe General.
  • Goole and District Hospital.
  • Spire Methley Park.
  • Kinvara Private Hospital.

Our panel of medical negligence solicitors can cover the Scunthorpe area so if you need any advice at all in regards to injuries you may have suffered due to medical negligence why not give our advisors a call to have your case assessed.

Nursing Home Negligence

Placing a loved one in a nursing home requires a lot of faith being placed in the care home staff.  Because patients are sometimes very vulnerable, extra care needs to be taken and health and safety procedures should be followed at all times to protect the patient’s well being.

Some examples of care home negligence cases could include:

  • If a patient suffers from bed sores because they’ve not been moved regularly.
  • Any injury caused by a fall due to moving or lifting being carried out incorrectly by untrained staff.
  • A patient becoming ill because their medication wasn’t dispensed at the correct intervals.

NHS Data For Reported Medical Negligence Cases And Payments In This Area

The table below outlines compensation payments made by the NHS trust in the Scunthorpe area during 2017-2018 (source).

Healthcare ProviderClaims in 2017/2018Number of Incidents 2017/2018Damages Payments
Northern Lincolnshire & Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust848£5,686,381

No Win No Fee Claims For Medical Negligence In Scunthorpe

Our panel of expert medical negligence solicitors all offer a no win no fee service for claims they take on. No Win No Fee is beneficial for several reasons including;

  • No payment is made to the solicitor up front.
  • If the solicitor fails to win the case, no fee is paid by the client to them.
  • And if the solicitor wins the case, the client doesn’t need to find funds to pay the solicitor as they collect their success fee directly from any compensation award. Success fees are limited by law to 25% of the compensation but might be less.

Contact Us

If you’d like to discuss beginning your claim today, please call our team of specialist advisors on 0800 652 3087 or, if you’d rather, fill in this online form and let a member of our team call you back.

References

To help you further, we’ve included some useful resources that might help you.

Scunthorpe General Hospital
Cliff Gardens,
Scunthorpe,
North Lincolnshire, DN15 7BH.

Web: www.nlg.nhs.uk/hospitals/scunthorpe

Inspection Report – The latest report from the Care Quality Commission.

Cancer Support – A useful tool, created by the NHS, which helps you locate cancer support services in your area.

Medical Negligence Injury Compensation Calculator – If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What is the average payout for negligence”, then this article could help you.

Cerebral Palsy Claims – A more detailed look at when you could claim compensation for Cerebral Palsy.

Edited by LisM.