If you are thinking of making a claim for hospital negligence, the first thing to do is recognise that it can be time consuming and expensive. There are many factors that need to be considered, including what happened and when (was it your fault, or theirs?), whether any other people have been affected as well as you, and whether or not the NHS Litigation Authority will accept liability for the actions of their employee or contractor.
You need to show that the hospital or doctor was negligent
You need to show that the hospital or doctor was negligent. It’s not enough to say that you think they were negligent, or even be completely sure about it. You must be able to prove it with evidence.
You need to show that their actions were unreasonable and caused you harm. For example, if a surgeon left a sponge in your abdomen during surgery, this would be considered negligent because there was no reasonable chance of them avoiding harm if they had followed proper procedure (e.g., checking all internal organs).
The NHS Litigation Authority will be the defendant
The NHS Litigation Authority is a government body that will be the defendant in your case. They’re responsible for paying out compensation to people who have been injured by negligent doctors or nurses, as well as those who have suffered from poor care in hospitals and other NHS facilities.
If you’ve been injured by medical negligence, it’s likely that the person responsible is no longer working at your local hospital or clinic. But if this isn’t true (for example, if they are still employed there), then they may need to be named on your claim form as well as their employer–the NHS Litigation Authority
You should get a solicitor
If you want to make a claim for hospital negligence, it is highly recommended that you get a solicitor. A lawyer will help you to make the claim and get the best result possible. They can also help with dealing with the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA).
If your case is successful, they may also be able to recover costs from the NHSLA on your behalf. This means that the money awarded by the court will include any fees charged by solicitors during their work on your case as well as any damages awarded by judges or juries in courtrooms across England Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively
It can be expensive and take time, so start as soon as possible.
You should start your claim as soon as possible. There are several reasons for this:
- It’s better to act sooner rather than later. If you take too long, it may be harder (or even impossible) to prove that the hospital was at fault.
- How long it will take to get a result varies from case to case and depends on how complex your case is, but in general it could take anywhere between 6 months and 2 years before you get a compensation payment from us or the NHS Trust responsible for your treatment.
- How much it will cost also depends on many factors including how complicated your personal injury claim is, what type of injuries have been sustained and whether any other parties such as employers might also need paying under their workplace injury compensation schemes such as ACAS or Partnership Insurance Limited (PIL).
It’s important to act quickly when you suspect negligence by a doctor or hospital.
The statute of limitations is the amount of time you have to make a claim for negligence. It can be different for each type of case, but it’s important to act quickly when you suspect negligence by a doctor or hospital.
If you think that your child has suffered harm as a result of medical treatment during their birth, it’s vital that you take legal advice as soon as possible so that they don’t lose out on compensation later down the line. The number one rule when making claims against hospitals is never wait until after the expiry date; if this happens then there won’t be anything we can do for them because there won’t be any evidence left behind which proves wrongdoing took place at all!
Conclusion
The medical profession has a duty to provide high quality care to its patients. If you suspect that hospital negligence has caused you harm, it’s important that you don’t delay in seeking legal advice. You should get in touch with a solicitor as soon as possible so they can help guide you through the process and make sure that everything goes smoothly from start to finish.
