A recent report by the Telegraph shows NHS Trusts across the country paid out a total of £4.5 billion over the last 5 years for medical negligence claims UK. When every medical negligence claim is accounted for, it’s costing the NHS £100 million more per year than it spends on chemotherapy. The same money would be enough to pay the ambulance service’s wages for two years, or cover the cost of treating patients with cystic fibrosis for more than 10 years. These figures were compiled from data supplied by the NHS Litigation Authority, and highlight the extremely high price the NHS pays for medical blunders.
The information is just for NHS Hospital Trusts. In addition to these there are the compensation claims made against private hospitals, GP’s, dentists, opticians and every other sort of medical professional. The total cost of settling all the medical malpractice claims must be enormous, and is money that could be much better spent on patient care.
Are Medical Professionals Making More Errors?
Over a decade, the amount of compensation paid out by hospital trusts rose from £287 million in 2003/4, to £1 billion in 2013/14. Does this mean medical professionals are making more errors, or are there other reasons contributing to the rise in medical negligence claims?
In 2003, the UK had a population of just over 59 million. By 2013 this figure had risen by 4 million people to just over 63 million. That is an extra 4 million potential hospital patients needing treatment. All those extra people have to mean the number of mistakes will rise, even if the percentage stays the same. More claims are being made because of increased patient awareness, people know more about their rights to compensation after their health has been badly affected by medical negligence. This combined with the introduction of no win no fee, which removes the financial concerns of using medical negligence lawyers, have all contributed to the rise in the number of compensation claims. Percentage wise, there is no evidence to show there is more instances of actual medical negligence UK.
Making Your Claim with The Best Medical Negligence Solicitors
If you are one of the unfortunate patients that has suffered because of substandard care, or a medical error, and are looking for medical negligence solicitors to help with your compensation claim, you should take a look at this website; www.the-medical-negligence-experts.co.uk and see how they can help you (you can fill in their quick form if you’re only looking for a quote). Medical negligence claims can be very complex and time consuming, and you need experts in your corner that will fight to make sure you have the best chance of success.
You would be doing yourself an injustice by trying to handle the claim on your own. Making a claim can be hard work and very stressful and research shows you are less likely to succeed when going it alone. If you are successful, there is a large chance you will be awarded a lower amount of compensation than if a solicitor handled it for you.
What Constitutes Medical Negligence?
Some people call it medical negligence, some refer to it as medical malpractice, while others call it clinical negligence – they all amount to the same thing. Simply put, it’s when you have been incorrectly diagnosed, an illness missed, or you have been wrongly treated or received care and attention that is below standard. It could also be because of a dentist getting your dental treatment wrong, a physiotherapist treating the wrong muscles, or an optician making your eyesight worse when you have laser eye surgery. In fact, anyone that comes under the many umbrellas of the health care profession has a duty of care towards their patients, and that includes care homes for the elderly, children and mentally ill. If a pharmacist dispenses the incorrect medication you could be made seriously ill, or if a practice nurse takes a smear test incorrectly the results could be flawed. These are just a few examples of medical negligence; there is a never-ending list of things that could potentially be performed incorrectly.
Whatever the specific mistake, you have to have suffered as a direct result or a claim cannot be made. Evidence has to be collected that shows if you had been treated differently you would not have suffered as much. If it shows the outcome would have been the same regardless, a claim cannot be made. If an expert in the particular medical field in question says they would have treated you in exactly the same way, a claim cannot be made.
You can see how complicated making a medical negligence claim can be, and that is why you will always need the help of medical negligence solicitors to have the best chance of making a successful claim. You only have three years from the error occurring to get your claim started. We all know how quickly time can pass, so make a start on your claim today.
