GP negligence claims

What is medical negligence?

Medical negligence, also known as clinical negligence, is when your healthcare provider fails in their duty of care. A ‘duty of care’ is a legal obligation to act in the patient’s best interests. While the UK has high standards of medical care, mistakes can happen, leading to patient harm.

Medical negligence can be down to individuals or an organisational failure, for example, a GP failing to spot a symptom, or a hospital failing to keep a ward clean. The most common forms of GP negligence are:

GP misdiagnosis

GP misdiagnosis can happen if your GP fails to spot a key symptom or mistakes it for something less serious. In the worst-case scenario, this could lead to delayed treatment and avoidable health hazards, such as cancer spreading to other organs.

Failure to arrange basic tests

Failure to arrange basic tests such as blood tests could mean your GP misses vital information. This could lead to GP negligence compensation claims if your condition worsens.

Failure to refer to a specialist

Failure to refer patients to a specialist could result in delayed treatment. For example, you may need additional diagnostic tests for cancer that your GP cannot perform. If your GP fails to do this in time, your condition may worsen and could have long-term or devastating impacts on your life.

Treatment or diagnosis delays

If your GP delays your diagnosis or treatment, this could lead to progression of your condition. This is particularly dangerous if you’re suffering from cancer or an infection, and could lead to further damage.

Wrong prescriptions

The wrong prescription could lead to a range of outcomes, from overdose to allergic reactions or even death. If your GP has been negligent and prescribed the wrong medication, you could make a claim.

Wrong medical treatment

If you’ve been given the wrong medical treatment, your health may worsen. For example, your GP may have misdiagnosed cancer and recommended an invasive, unnecessary treatment. Our GP negligence solicitors can start your compensation claim, no matter how minor the physical harm you suffer.

Failure to follow up with patients

Following up with patients is just as important as the diagnosis, as doctors need to be aware of any developing symptoms. If your GP fails to follow up with you, they could miss a symptom which could be an indicator of something more serious. If your condition worsens as a result, you could make a no win, no fee claim.

How much can I claim for a GP negligence compensation case?

There are no set compensation amounts for GP negligence cases, but we will do everything we can to get you the largest settlement possible. When our GP negligence solicitors take on your case, they will look at three things:

1. General damages – the extent of your injury
2. Special damages – any money you’ve lost, such as payment for medical treatment
3. Any long-term effects on your life, such as rehabilitation.

While we can’t offer a specific amount for your case, there are historical figures for other GP negligence cases to be used as a guideline:

• Foot injuries: from £11,000 to £65,000
• Leg injuries: from £26,000 to £127,000
• Head injuries or brain damage: from £2,000 to £380,000.

How do I make a GP negligence claim?

To make a GP negligence claim, you should call our GP negligence solicitors for a free consultation. During this call, we will ask for evidence or guide you on how to find evidence including medical records, doctors’ notes, photographs and witness statements.

Once we have your evidence, we will send a letter of claim to your healthcare provider. While we are waiting for their response, we will come up with a proposed settlement figure.

If your healthcare provider accepts responsibility, you will receive your compensation minus our fees. If they do not, we will take it further and may have to represent you in court. It is very unlikely you will have to go to court, but we will support you if you do.

Our medical negligence solicitors work on a no win, no fee basis, so you’ll only pay if we win.

How to sue the NHS

If you’re suing the NHS, we will send a letter of claim to the relevant healthcare provider. The NHS has a minimum of four months to respond, so you should expect to wait for at least this amount of time before hearing back. Your compensation will come out of NHS Resolution.

What is NHS Resolution?

NHS Resolution is a government-funded scheme set up to protect the NHS for claims such as GP negligence claims. It is funded by individual NHS Trusts, which are paid for by the taxpayer, so there is no need to worry about taking money off the NHS when you make a GP negligence compensation claim.

How to sue a private GP

If your claim is against a private GP, we will send the letter of claim to their insurance provider. Private practices will have public liability insurance, so your claim will be paid out of this.

How long do GP negligence claims take?

GP negligence claims can take anything from a few months to a few years to settle. The more serious your injury, the longer the claim is likely to take. The NHS does not legally have to respond for four months, so you should expect your claim to take a minimum of four months.

Your claim may take longer if your healthcare provider disputes your claim. We are doing everything we can to get you the largest settlement possible, so please be mindful of this.

How much time do I have to make a GP negligence compensation claim?

You generally have three years from the date of your injury to make a GP negligence claim. However, as GP claims may not always result in immediate injuries, this three-year period can be from the date you discovered you were unwell – for example, the date of your diagnosis.

There are two exceptions to the time limits for GP compensation claims. If the patient was under 18 years old at the time, they can have a ‘litigation friend’ make a claim on their behalf up until their 18^th birthday. After this time, they have until the date of their 21^st birthday.

If the patient is ‘mentally incapacitated’, for example, if they suffered brain damage, then there is no time limit to make a GP negligence claim.

We generally advise that you speak to our GP negligence compensation solicitors as soon as possible. This helps us to gather the most accurate evidence to support your claim.

Choose Express – your trusted GP negligence compensation solicitors

At Express Solicitors, we understand how devastating GP negligence can be. The effects of a wrong diagnosis or delayed treatment can be life-changing for you and your loved ones. We offer more than 20 years’ experience settling medical negligence claims just like yours, and will go the extra mile to get you the compensation you deserve.

For no win, no fee compensation claims and a free consultation, contact Express Solicitors today.