individual 

Medical negligence

Compensation specialists

Injury or illness can prove devastating to you and your family, and in cases where you may be entitled to compensation, you need a team who will provide you with the support, understanding and the expertise you need.

We want our clients to be able to depend on us not only to get a good result but also to explain the process involved so that clients fully understand what is happening at each step.

We have specialist expertise in dealing with medical negligence claims – also referred to as clinical negligence claims – gained over many years. Although these claims are often bracketed with other personal injury claims it is important to understand that medical negligence claims have their own particular challenges.

The first hurdle in any negligence claim is to establish negligence. Generally speaking, in any professional negligence claim – which include medical negligence claims – whether the actings of a professional person amount to negligence needs to be assessed by a fellow professional from the same discipline. So, for example, we would ask an independent orthopaedic surgeon to provide an opinion on negligence if a claim was directed against an orthopaedic surgeon.

It is important to understand that – because an independent expert opinion is generally needed to support a medical negligence claim – a solicitor cannot properly advise on prospects of a claim until an independent expert evidence has been obtained  (although our experience of these claims does often allow us to offer some kind of a view immediately)

It also has to be understood that when we speak about professional negligence we are not speaking about just not following best practice or doings things in a way which another professional might not have done. For there to be a finding of negligence, we need to go further and show that the medical treatment fell below an acceptable level of care.

The second hurdle is to establish causation – in other words, even if negligence is established, we also have to show that the negligence made a difference to the outcome. Unfortunately – because people who are victims of clinical negligence are often already injured or ill – causation is often the main battleground in clinical negligence claims. For that reason, we often also need to instruct further independent expert opinions addressing issues of causation.

Our compensation team specialises in claims for damages arising from medical negligence. We have established contacts with medical professionals in different disciplines, which often allow us to quickly determine if a claim has the necessary independent expert support in relation to issues of negligence and causation.

Once negligence and causation can be established, liability should follow and we need to be able to quantify your claim. The value of your claim is very specific to your circumstances – another person with the same injury or illness can have a very differently valued claim to you. We have years of experience in valuing claims which allows us to assess your particular situation and we know how to maximise any claim for damages.

Our compensation specialists understand how complex and stressful these cases can be and will guide you through the entire claims experience with compassion. Most of all we recognise that many of our cases involve acting for people who have been affected by life-changing incidents.

This is not a service we offer to consumers in England.

Our experience extends to all areas of medical negligence claims including:-

• Birth injuries
• Cerebral palsy
• Fatalities
• Brain injuries
• Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
• Surgical error
• Hospital treatment
• Consent to medical treatment

In some cases we offer a “no win no fee” service. In every case we try to find a funding solution that meets your needs, and we are able to offer Legal Aid in some circumstances.

Our Legal Director Ken Lauder is highly experienced in dealing with medical negligence claims.  He and other members of our Litigation team will work with you to achieve the best outcome for you if you have a claim.