Liability In order to have the basis of a claim it has to be proved that someone was to blame for the accident - ie that the medical practitioner has been negligent. Whether the medical practitioner has been negligent will depend on whether the treatment you received was to a standard that could reasonably have been expected. The practitioner would have a defence to your claim if the treatment you received was in accordance with the views of a responsible body of medical opinion. In addition to proving that the medical practitioner acted negligently you also need to prove that your injuries would not have occurred if it were not for the negligence of the medical practitioner. In some cases injury may have come about in any event, for example due to the actual illness being treated. At some stage it will be necessary to obtain a medical report from a medical expert to advise on whether the treatment ws negligent and whether the injury would have occurred in any event. Compensation If you are successful in your injury claim you will usually be able to claim compensation for any pain or suffering you have suffered as a result of your injuries. You may also be able to claim for other losses you may have incurred as a result of your accident such as:-the cost of medical treatment or medication - damage to clothing
- loss of earnings
- travel expenses to and from your GP or Hospital for treatment
- care and assistance someone has had to give you because of your injuries
If you have suffered any financial losses as a result of medical negligence or a medical accident you should keep a record of them. You should also keep any receipts for those losses. Time Limits A person usually only has 3 years from the date they first knew, or could reasonably have been expected to know, that they have suffered an injury caused through the fault of a medical practitioner to issue Court Proceedings. This could be the date of the accident or some time later. If Court Proceedings are not issued within 3 years of that date you would usually be unable to pursue your claim further as it would be out of time and statute barred. The Courts can however waive this 3-year time limit if it can be shown that there was a valid reason why you did not pursue the claim sooner.
Clinical Negligence Claims | 
