Cambridge Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence – No Win No Fee Claims
Have you visited a walk-in centre in Cambridge for treatment? Did the care you were provided fall below the standard expected? As a result, were you caused harm that you would not have experienced if your care had been of an acceptable level? If so, our guide on claims for a Cambridge walk-in centre medical negligence incident could help.
How To Claim For Medical Negligence At A Walk In Centre In Cambridge
Everyone who seeks medical attention has the right to expect the right standard of care. This is set out in the NHS Constitution.
Cambridge walk-in centre medical negligence claims guide
But what if a healthcare provider was to provide you with treatment that fell outside their professional standards causing harm that could have been avoided, is this considered medical negligence?
Medical negligence could cause you avoidable harm or a worsening of your condition. And if you experience pain and suffering that you wouldn’t have experienced if you’d received the correct standard of care, could you claim compensation? This is what we will discuss in this guide.
To speak to a Legal Expert adviser about making a claim, please get in touch on the following telephone number 0800 073 8804. You can also use our online form or speak to us using the live chat feature to the bottom right of this screen.
Select A Section
- A Guide To Claims For Cambridge Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence
- What Is Negligence At A Cambridge Walk-In Clinic?
- How To Find Cambridge Walk-In Centre Services
- What Services Do Walk-in Centres Provide?
- Negligence In Treating Minor Injuries
- Infection Care Negligence
- Negligence In Sexual Health Care
- Medication And Adverse Drug Errors
- Calculating Settlements For A Cambridge Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Incident
- No Win No Fee Claims For Medical Negligence At A Cambridge Walk-In Centre
- Our Team Is Here To Listen
- Learn More About Medical Negligence
A Guide To Claims For Cambridge Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence
In this guide, we will examine the process of making a compensation claim if harm was caused to you by medical negligence at a Cambridge walk-in centre. We will begin by looking at what constitutes medical negligence and how a patient can be harmed by this breach in duty of care.
Then we shall look at where walk-in centres are in Cambridge. Walk-in centres can be both NHS run and privately run. We will go on to describe the services that walk-in centres provide the general public. Furthermore, we will examine how if standards of health care in walk-in centres were to fall how this could have a knock-on effect on the care patients receive.
You may be wondering, “how much compensation could I be owed for harm caused by medical negligence?”. We will look at the different kinds of damages that could be available to you in a medical negligence claim. We’ll also look at the evidence that might be required to support it.
Finally, we will explain to you what a No Win No Fee agreement is and how it could help you fund legal representation for your claim. To conclude, we will provide you with some useful external resources about claims of this nature.
What Is Negligence At A Cambridge Walk-In Clinic?
Clinical negligence on the part of a medical professional is when professional standards are not adhered to. This can happen during treatment, care or when prescribing medication. To hold any type of medical negligence claim the onus is on you to prove that you suffered more than you would have.
A walk-in centre is a healthcare facility that specialises in treating minor injuries and illnesses that aren’t serious enough to require a visit to Accident and Emergency. You might visit a walk-in centre with similar conditions that you would see your GP for; however, you don’t need an appointment to be treated at a walk-in centre.
Walk-in centres can help with a wide range of illnesses and injuries. These include:
- Cuts and grazes
- Minor burns
- Stings or bites
- Minor head injuries
- Sprained joints
The Bolam Test
Determining whether or not a medical professional has been negligent in their treatment of you can be complex. The fact that you have been caused further harm after seeking treatment is not an indicator that negligence has occurred.
For instance, you may have suffered a badly broken leg and seek medical attention for your injuries, but your leg is so badly broken that it requires amputation because it cannot be saved. Even though this treatment causes further injury and impacts your quality of life, it’s within the medical professional’s duty of care to amputate your leg. Because of this, you would not be able to claim.
Furthermore, you may have a disease that is missed or misdiagnosed by the professional treating you, causing it to worsen to a point where you become seriously ill. However, the doctor missing the disease does not automatically mean that they were in breach of their duty of care. Sometimes the circumstances can mean that a doctor fails to diagnose a condition even when they have done all in their power to do so.
To determine whether or not the healthcare professional was negligent or not, the courts will usually administer something called the Bolam test. This is where a panel of medical professionals are asked whether the care administered was of an acceptable level. If not, the doctor could be considered negligent.
How To Find Cambridge Walk-In Centre Services
If you suffer a minor injury, or you develop a minor infection/illness you can visit a walk-in centre. That said it is always best to ring ahead before visiting a walk-in centre. This is because some walk-in centres are nurse-led and do not have a doctor present. You could visit the following centres, which are located in Cambridge:
The City Centre Medical Practice
28 Petty Cury
Cambridge
CB2 3ND
Bridge Street Medical Centre
2 All Saints Passage (Off Bridge Street)
Cambridge
CB2 3LS
MedicSpot Clinic Cambridge Fitzwilliam
28-30 Trumpington St
Cambridge
CB2 1QZ
You can also find an urgent care centre using the NHS website.
What Services Do Walk-in Centres Provide?
As we’ve already mentioned, you don’t need to make an appointment to visit a walk-in centre. You can simply show up if you are ill or injured and wait to be seen.
Walk-in centres are only equipped to deal with certain ailments, however. You should understand when to go to A&E to make sure you get the treatment you need.
A walk-in centre may be able to:
- Prescribe you antibiotics for an ear infection
- Clean and apply a dressing to a burn injury
- Give you emergency contraception
- Advise you to visit your GP if you need a referral to a specialist department
Negligence In Treating Minor Injuries
Walk-in centres are equipped and staffed to treat minor injuries or illnesses that require attention but are not life-threatening. While many people who are treated by medical practitioners in these centres receive the right standard of care, what could happen if a doctor acted negligently when treating a patient?
If you received care that fell below professional standard, this could mean that the injury you seek attention for is not treated. As a consequence, your recovery could take a lot longer than it otherwise would have.
Examples of errors that could occur at a walk-in centre include:
- A healthcare professional failing to spot the signs of infection on a cut, meaning that antibiotics are not prescribed. This could cause the infection to worsen without treatment.
- The incorrect medication is prescribed, or the wrong dosage is prescribed. This could cause you to become ill from taking medication that isn’t appropriate for your condition. Furthermore, it could mean that your condition is left untreated.
- Failure to advise you to go to the hospital if your injury needs treatment at A&E. For instance, a broken arm that needs surgery to heal.
For more information and to speak to an adviser about making a clinical negligence claim, please call a member of the Legal Expert team today.
Infection Care Negligence
As with minor injuries, if you develop a minor infection that needs medical attention, you can visit a walk-in centre to receive the necessary treatment and care provided by a licensed medical practitioner.
It could be that you are suffering from a chest infection or a minor ear infection. You are able to visit a walk-in centre for these to be diagnosed, and the doctor who treats you can prescribe you antibiotics. That said it is always best to ring ahead before visiting a walk-in centre. This is because some walk-in centres are nurse-led and do not have a doctor present.
Below, we have included some examples of what could happen as a result of medical negligence:
- A failure to recognise the seriousness of an infection
- The wrong medication is prescribed
- You’re told to take the incorrect dosage of the medication prescribed to you
For a medical negligence claim to be successful it is not enough for a patient just to have suffered a poor standard of care. In fact, the patient must be able to show through proof that they suffered harm that they would not have suffered had the treatment been correct.
To speak to one of our advisers and to find out if you have grounds to make a medical negligence claim, please get in touch today.
Negligence In Sexual Health Care
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) may be treated by medical professionals in walk-in centres. They could also give out emergency contraception. Not all walk-in centres offer the same service, though.
If a mistake is made, whether in diagnosing an STD or giving out emergency contraception, this can cause you harm that you would not have experienced otherwise. For instance, when left untreated, chlamydia can result in infertility.
The type of medical errors which could be made when you are treated in a walk-in centre include the following:
- A nurse failing to check your blood pressure before prescribing the combined pill, which can cause increases in blood pressure.
- Failure to recognise conditions like herpes, chlamydia, genital warts, and gonorrhoea, despite the fact that you were showing clear symptoms of them. The lack of treatment could affect your fertility down the line.
- You contracted an infection during an examination on your genitals because the nurse failed to change their gloves between patients.
Medication And Adverse Drug Errors
When you visit a Cambridge walk-in centre to receive immediate attention for a minor health issue, you may be prescribed medication to aid your recovery. If an error is made, this could cause your health to worsen and may mean that your initial condition is left untreated as a result.
Examples of medication errors that could cause your health to worsen might include:
- A healthcare provider telling you the wrong dosage of medication to take daily. This could mean that it’s ineffective, causing your condition to worsen as a result.
- Being prescribed medication that you’re not able to take because of a medication you are already on, where your medical records mean that this should be clear.
- Being prescribed the wrong medication entirely. However, if the pharmacy gives you the wrong medication but the doctor’s prescription was correct, then the doctor would not be held liable for any harm caused to you.
To find out if your claim is valid, please get in touch with a member of the Legal Expert team today.
Calculating Settlements For A Cambridge Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Incident
Our table below provides information on the amount of compensation you could be awarded in a claim for medical negligence. The amounts provided are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines and cover general damages. General damages are the part of your claim that compensates you for the pain and suffering caused to you by the negligence you experienced.
| Type health issue | Severity | Details | General Damages Awarded based on the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illness or damage from a non-traumatic injury | (i) | Serious acute pain, vomiting, fever and diarrhoea. The injured person will be admitted to hospital for days or weeks and will be left with, for example, continuing incontinence or irritable bowel syndrome. | £36,060 to £49,270 |
| Illness or damage from a non-traumatic injury | (ii) | Where the symptoms (such as diarrhoea and vomiting) are serious but short-lived. The symptoms will diminish over two to four weeks but some discomfort and bowel function disturbance will persist over a few years or more. | £8,950 to £18,020 |
| Illness or damage from a non-traumatic injury | (iii) | Symptoms may include stomach cramps, tiredness, nausea, or a fever. Recovery possible the main symptoms within several weeks. Recovery may take up to 2 years | £3,710 to £8,950 |
| Illness or damage from a non-traumatic injury | (vi) | Minor health issues where symptoms involve discomfort. Recovery expected in a few days or weeks |
£860 to £3,710 |
| Impotence | (i) | Where a young man has experienced a complete loss of sexual function and sterility. | Up to £139,210 |
| Impotence | (ii) | This bracket will be appropriate where permanent impotence has affected a middle-aged man who already has children. | £40,370 to £73,580 |
| Male Sterility | Without impotence. Compensation could take into account claimant’s age and how life is negatively impacted | £52,620 to £66,970 | |
| Female infertility | Compensation could take into account factor depression, anxiety, stress. pain and scarring | £107,810 to £158,970 | |
| Female infertility | Where the failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy results in infertility. | £31,950 to £95,850 |
Special damages, on the other hand, compensate you for the financial impact that your injuries have had on you. You must provide proof of any losses and expenses in the form of relevant documents and receipts to support your claim for special damages.
The losses and expenses you could claim back include the following:
- Care costs – if you had assistance around the home with daily chores during your recovery
- Loss of earnings – for the time you were off work recovering
- Medical costs – this covers prescription costs, the cost of private treatment, therapy, and rehabilitation
- Travel costs – this includes parking fees at a hospital or another medical facility, as well as the cost of getting there and back.
- Vehicle or home adaptations
What can be included in medical negligence claims?
You should bear in mind that with medical negligence claims, you will only be compensated for the part of your pain and suffering that you would not have experienced if you had received the correct standard of care.
For instance, you may have broken your finger and sought medical attention at a walk-in centre where the fracture was missed. As a result, you may require surgery. However, it’s likely that you would have experienced some pain during recovery even if the fracture had been spotted straight away. Therefore, you will only be compensated for the additional suffering caused to you by the negligence.
For a more accurate idea of how much your own unique clinical negligence claim could be worth, please contact a member of the Legal Expert team today.
No Win No Fee Claims For Medical Negligence At A Cambridge Walk-In Centre
There is no legal obligation for you to have a solicitor work on your behalf when making a claim for compensation. However, you may find that their guidance and expertise makes the process of claiming smoother and quicker.
You may be wondering, “how can I fund legal representation in a medical negligence claim?”. A No Win No Fee agreement can help.
Sometimes referred to as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), a No Win No Fee agreement sets out the terms that your solicitor needs to meet before they ask you to pay them. It means that:
- You will not have to pay an upfront fee
- There will be no ongoing fees to pay as your claim progresses
- The only time you pay a No Win No Fee lawyer is when you receive clinical negligence compensation. A success fee is taken from the money you are awarded to cover your solicitor’s costs
- If you lose your case, you would not have to pay a No Win No Fee lawyer anything at all.
For more information on how Legal Expert can be of assistance when making a clinical negligence claim, please speak to an adviser today. If one of our advisors feels that your claim has a good chance of success, they could connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
Our Team Is Here To Listen
For more information on whether you have a valid medical negligence claim or to start your claim today, please get in touch with a Legal Expert adviser today. You can get in touch with us by:
- Calling on 0800 073 8804 – our lines are open 7 days a week
- Chat with an online adviser to the bottom right of this screen
- Fill out our online contact form
Learn More About Medical Negligence
Duties of a doctor- General Medical Council
Health and Social Care Act 2012 Explained
Our guide to clinical and medical negligence claims
Lack of consent medical negligence claims
Other Medical Negligence Claim Guides That May Be Helpful
- Gillingham Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
- Birkenhead Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
- Blackburn Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
- Crawley Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
Thank you for reading our guide on claims for a Cambridge walk-in centre medical negligence incident.
Guide by Wood
Checked by Stocks
