Medical Negligence

Health professionals have a duty of care for their patients, which requires them to provide the best possible clinical service that they can. If they fall below this standard, and deliver inadequate treatment that leads to injury, pain, trauma or the worsening of an existing condition, this can be described as medical negligence. 

Medical negligence can occur at any point of the medical journey, whether it’s a GP visit, surgery or aftercare. Substandard care can be delivered by a medical practitioner in the form of a misdiagnosis, an incorrect treatment plan, a surgical mistake and many other unfortunate circumstances which we’ll discuss in the next section.

If you or a loved one have experienced harm or injury as a patient during a visit to the hospital, in a situation where a healthcare provider failed to meet the accepted standards of medical care, you may be eligible to claim hospital negligence compensation. 

Medical negligence in hospitals can take many forms, including:

• Misdiagnosis: A misdiagnosis resulting in harm to a patient due to a healthcare provider’s failure to accurately diagnose a condition can be considered medical negligence, such as a doctor diagnosing appendicitis as indigestion and not treating it, causing complications.
• Delayed diagnosis: If a healthcare provider fails to diagnose an illness or condition in a timely manner, it can cause harm to a patient. For example, a delayed cancer diagnosis can be medical negligence if tests are not ordered or symptoms are misread, leading to the spread of the disease.
• Surgical errors: A mistake made during a surgical procedure that causes harm to the patient can constitute medical negligence. For instance, if a surgeon operates on the wrong body part or leaves a foreign object inside the patient, resulting in significant harm and complications that could have been avoided.
• Substandard post-operative care: Failure to provide adequate care for a patient after a surgical procedure can be deemed medical negligence if they suffer adverse consequences as a result. For example, a patient might develop a preventable infection due to poor wound care if they are not properly monitored. 
• Failure to obtain informed consent: All patients should be made fully aware of the risks and benefits of a medical procedure before undergoing it. Failure to do so, such as a doctor performing a surgery without obtaining informed consent, may result in the doctor or medical body being liable.
• Birth injuries: Medical negligence can occur during the delivery process if improper care resulting in harm is provided to a mother or child in the hospital. For example, if a doctor fails to order a C-section soon enough when it is necessary and the child suffers a birth injury such as brain damage.
• Omission: Failure to take necessary actions is called omission, and it can often be a cause of medical negligence claims. For example, if the hospital does not call you back for follow-up treatment, or finds something concerning in a scan but forgets to inform you, you may have a case for clinical negligence.

Our specialist medical negligence team will help you to pursue a compensation claim that can cover the cost of ongoing care, remedial treatment, and loss of earnings.

Examples of medical negligence that could lead to a claim include, but are not limited to, a surgeon operating on the wrong body part, a doctor failing to diagnose a serious illness, or a hospital staff member administering the wrong medication. In each of these cases, the patient suffers harm or injury as a result of the healthcare provider’s actions or inaction.

Your family doctor has the same duty of care to protect you as any other medical professional. Errors or omissions made by a general practitioner (GP) that result in harm or injury to a patient constitute as medical negligence. Some common examples of GP negligence that would provide grounds for medical claim include:

• Misdiagnosis: If a GP fails to accurately diagnose a medical condition, this can result in harm or injury to the patient if the correct treatment is not received. For example, if a GP misdiagnoses cancer as a minor illness, this can result in a treatment delay and a poorer prognosis.
• Failure to refer: If a GP fails to refer a patient for further testing or specialist treatment when it is necessary, this may be considered to be GP negligence. For example, if a doctor fails to refer a patient with suspected heart problems to a cardiologist, this may result in a delay in diagnosis and essential treatment, potentially causing harm or injury.
• Inadequate treatment: If a GP provides inadequate treatment for a medical condition, this can result in harm or injury to the patient. For example, if a GP prescribes an incorrect medication or provides an insufficient dosage, this may cause the patient’s health to deteriorate.

Your local pharmacy will dispense the medication prescribed to you by your GP or the hospital. Sometimes they can make mistakes either by giving you another patients medication or providing the wrong dosage or simply dispensing the wrong medication. This can lead to the patient not only suffering from not having the correct medication to treat their condition, but then also suffering the consequences of ingesting incorrect medication which may result in injury and loss and delayed recovery.

Another instance where you may have grounds for a medical negligence claim is if you have suffered pain, injury or trauma through treatment in a dental surgery. Some of the ways in which a dentist may fail to provide appropriate care for their patients are as follows:

• Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis: If a dentist fails to accurately diagnose a condition such as tooth decay or gum disease, it can lead to further damage and the need for more extensive treatment.
• Improper treatment: A procedure such as a filling, crown, or extraction may be carried out improperly, leading to pain, discomfort or further complications.
• Lack of sterilisation: Failure to follow the correct sterilisation procedures can put patients at risk of harmful infections.

Like any surgery, cosmetic procedures bring with them a certain level of risk, and you should always be informed of this potential prior to their treatment. If you experience injury, avoidable complications or an adverse outcome that is significantly worse than expected as a result of cosmetic surgery, it may be considered as medical negligence.

A cosmetic surgeon may be liable for a clinical negligence case if they display incompetence that directly harms or affects their patient in a negative way. Here are some examples of how this might occur:

• Botox injections: Failing to properly administer the injections could lead to serious injury or disfigurement.
• Liposuction: Neglecting to properly care for the incision site or using an excessive amount of suction could result in severe pain, disfigurement, or other complications.
• Breast augmentation: Improper implant placement or neglecting to diagnose and treat post-operative complications could result in nerve damage or other serious injury.
• Chemical peels: Incorrectly administering chemical peels could lead to chemical burns, scarring, or other disfigurement.
• Rhinoplasty: Using improper surgical technique could result in disfigurement and breathing difficulties.

Not every adverse outcome in cosmetic surgery is a result of medical negligence. However, if you believe that you have suffered harm as a result of poor care, get in touch with us today and your case will be assessed by a specialist medical negligence solicitor with a No Win No Fee guarantee.

At Ross Aldridge Solicitors we have extensive experience of acting for victims of medical negligence. The following are two of our recent clinical negligence cases that had compensation awarded:

The Claimant had suffered with longstanding problems with her eyes and had attended her optician due to a one-week history of sudden onset deterioration of vision in her left eye. The Claimant had been referred for urgent investigation to the defendant Hospital’s Eye Unit with a suspected left-sided detached retina.

The Hospital indicated that follow-up treatment would then be arranged within four weeks; however no such arrangements were subsequently made, despite steps taken by the Claimant to contact the Defendant to chase this up. Unfortunately, due to the delay, the claimant suffered irreversible damage to her vision in the affected eye and the claim was settled for £29,000.

We accepted instructions to act for the Claimant who was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had undergone a radical hysterectomy. The surgery appeared uneventful and the Claimant was discharged but soon after presented with urine leaking. A CT scan suggested a fistula and she underwent a cystoscopy and attempted stenting. This was unsuccessful but the Defendant did not insert a nephrostomy drain. The Defendant attempted a further repair, but this was unsuccessful because the urethra was necrotic and unsalvageable.

The Claimant underwent a laparotomy. The Defendant queried the need for nephrostomy but then subsequently implanted one. Unfortunately, it was too late by this juncture and the Claimant underwent nephrostomy and developed a pneumothorax as a result. After further suffering and discomfort the Claimant was discharged from the hospital with deeply unpleasant ongoing problems.

The Claimant sustained a pulmonary embolism as a result of the procedure and experienced significant ongoing urethra related symptoms including urinating at least twenty times a day and sometimes losing control of her bladder. The Claimant had further suffered from an incisional hernia which left her with pain and swelling in her lower central abdomen and unable to eat substantial meals and suffering from chronic constipation.

As a result, the Claimant suffered from extreme psychiatric symptoms including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Claimant subsequently had an aversion to further surgery and had been unable to undergo further radiotherapy for the original cancer.

We sent a letter of claim to the Defendant clearly setting out the reason why fault was alleged. It was denied by the defendant that the initial ureteric injury was negligent and it was also submitted that the pneumothorax was a non-negligent consequence of the nephrectomy. The Defendant maintained that the Claimant would have needed surgery anyway. The Defendant eventually advanced an offer of £30,000. The claimant accepted our advice to reject this. A later offer of £100,000 was made, and then £125,000, and following further negotiations the case was settled for £136,000.