Gillingham Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence – No Win No Fee Claims

Gillingham Walk-In Centre Negligence, How Much Could I Claim?

By Edward Robinson. Last Updated 1st February 2021. Have you suffered harm following a medication error, misdiagnosis or negligent advice or treatment you’ve received at a Gillingham walk-in centre? If so, did you know you could claim compensation for Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence for the harm you’ve suffered, as well as the financial expenses caused by it?

Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence claims guide

As a law firm that offers free legal advice to those affected by Gillingham walk-in centre clinical negligence, we have created this guide to help you understand more about making such claims.

Included in the sections below is guidance on what constitutes medical negligence, and examples of the types of negligence you could suffer at the hands of a doctor nurse or healthcare worker that is supposed to provide you with safe, effective care.

We also discuss how compensation for Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence claims could be calculated, and how we at Legal Expert could provide you with solicitor without you having to pay any legal fees until your claim is settled.

If you’re ready to make a claim right now or would like to check your eligibility to claim for free, please call our medical negligence claims team on 0800 073 8804. We’d be happy to help you.

Select A Section

• A Guide To Gillingham Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
• What Is Gillingham Walk-In Medical Centre Negligence?
• Walk-In Clinical Services In Gillingham
• When You Can Go To A Walk-In Clinic
• Negligent Treatment Of Minor Injuries
• Negligent Treatment Of Minor Illnesses
• Negligent Sexual Health Treatment Services
• Negligent Use Of Medications And Prescriptions
• Compensation Calculator – Gillingham Walk In Centre Medical Negligence
• No Win No Fee Gillingham Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
• Talking To An Expert
• Related Claims Services

A Guide To Gillingham Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims

If you’ve sustained a minor injury or are suffering from symptoms of what you feel may be a minor illness, you may attempt to get an appointment with your local GP. But if you’re unable to get an appointment at a time to suit you or aren’t registered with a local doctor, you might choose instead to visit a walk-in centre.

Walk-in centres are largely staffed by nurses, but in some clinics, you may be able to access care from a doctor or another healthcare worker. But what happens if the treatment you receive makes your condition worse, not better because the treatment or advice you’ve been given has been negligent?

This guide aims to explain how you could go about making a claim for Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence if you’ve suffered harm because of it. In the section below, we’ll discuss what constitutes clinical negligence, and how you could suffer because of it. We’ll also explain how compensation payouts for Gillingham walk-in centre clinical negligence could be calculated and how one of our solicitors could help you begin your claim.

What Is Gillingham Walk-In Medical Centre Negligence?

Whether you’ve attended a walk-in clinic in Gillingham for sexual health advice, family planning advice or to get treatment for a minor injury or illness, the doctor, nurse or healthcare worker you see should offer you a standard of care that is safe and effective. This is their duty of care towards you.

If the treatment or advice you are given falls below the standard where care is considered safe and effective, this could constitute a duty of care breach, and if you are harmed by such a breach, this could constitute negligence.

What Is Duty Of Care?

According to the Royal College Of Nursing, in legal terms, if a nurse has assumed some kind of responsibility for a patient, they have a duty of care to ensure that the care provided does not cause ‘reasonably foreseeable’ harm to that patient.

If the care they provide causes reasonably foreseeable harm to the patient, this could constitute negligence. If you can prove that a breach of duty has caused you harm, then you could claim compensation not only for the loss of amenity, pain and suffering caused by the negligence but also for any financial expenses sustained as a result.

Is It Negligence?

Sometimes, things go wrong when it comes to patient care that do not constitute medical negligence. Some conditions could be very difficult to diagnose, and sometimes patients react in a way that cannot be foreseen. To work out whether patient care has been negligent, the Bolam test could be used.

This involves looking at what a body of experts would have considered acceptable practice at the time. If they believe the actions of the healthcare professional were not acceptable when measured against the actions they should have taken, this could constitute medical negligence.

Examples Of Gillingham Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence

There are many different examples of medical negligence that you could suffer harm from. Some examples include:

• A misdiagnosis
• A failure to refer you for further tests/treatment
• Negligent medical advice
• Negligent pregnancy or sexual health advice
• A medication error

We discuss some of these examples in more detail in the sections below.

Walk-In Clinical Services In Gillingham

There are various different services available to patients in the Gillingham area, including:

• Medicspot Clinic, Gillingham, Canterbury Street – This is a private medical centre offering walk-in services and GP access for minor conditions such as UTIs and minor infections.
• Medicspot Clinic, Gillingham, Sturdee Avenue – Another private clinic, you can visit this clinic with a same-day appointment or access a GP online.
• Medicspot Clinic, Gillingham Station – Another clinic offering access to private GPs. You can see a GP on the same day you book your appointment for a range of minor illnesses/injuries.
• Medway Medical Centre, Gillingham – The Medway Medical Centre on Malvern Road in Gillingham offers some nurse-led clinics such as cervical screening, contraception, NHS health checks, diabetes clinics and more.

When You Can Go To A Walk-In Clinic

Attending a walk-in clinic is something you could do if you need healthcare advice or treatment but your condition is not serious enough to warrant a visit to the local hospital. At a walk-in clinic, you could access healthcare advice and treatment for a number of minor illnesses or injuries such as:

• Throat infections
• Skin infections
• Cuts and wounds
• Animal bites
• STI testing
• Vomiting/diarrhoea
• Ear infections
• Burns/scalds
• Eye infections
• Stomach cramps

In some cases, you may be provided with advice on managing your condition, while in others you may be provided with medication.

If you visit a walk-in centre with symptoms of a more serious injury or illness that the staff there cannot treat, you should be directed elsewhere for further investigation, advice and treatment.

A failure to refer you when you should have been sent elsewhere could constitute Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence, though evidence will be necessary to prove this.

Negligent Treatment Of Minor Injuries

Minor injuries are those that are not serious enough to warrant treatment at Medway Maritime Hospital, but that require you to seek medical advice or treatment. Minor injuries that could be treated at a Medway walk-in centre could include:

• Insect or animal stings or bites
• Minor head injuries
• Scalds or burns
• Suspected broken bones
• Sprains or strains

Even if an injury is only minor, it is important that the patient receives treatment and advice about how to treat such an injury to ensure they recover properly. Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence in terms of minor injury care could include situations such as:

• An infection being caused due to negligent wound or dressing care
• Failure to refer a patient for further tests if a broken bone cannot be ruled out, causing them to heal improperly

Our medical negligence claims team could help assess your case if you can prove that you have suffered due to the negligent treatment or advice provided by a Gillingham walk-in centre.

Negligent Treatment Of Minor Illnesses

Even if you are suffering an illness that is relatively minor, it is important to get the appropriate advice and treatment in order for you to recover properly. There are a number of illnesses that you could visit a medical centre in Gillingham for, including:

• Stomach cramps/aches
• Diarrhoea
• A skin infection or rash
• An ear infection
• A throat infection
• Vomiting
• An eye infection

If you were to receive negligent medical advice or treatment from a walk-in clinic in Gillingham, this could cause an illness to become worse, and it could make your illness harder to treat.

If a walk-in centre worker is unable to give you a proper diagnosis, they should refer you to the appropriate services. Failure to refer you when they should have done could be considered Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence—if you can prove this was the case. If you’ve suffered due to such negligence, we could help you fight for the compensation you deserve.

Negligent Sexual Health Treatment Services

You may have visited a Gillingham walk-in doctor’s surgery to attend a sexual health clinic. Some walk-in clinics offer family planning advice and some offer STI testing and pregnancy advice too. It is essential that you receive appropriate advice and treatment as if you don’t, you could not only be harmed yourself, but others could be harmed too.

• Negligent sexual health advice or treatment, for example, a failure to test for an STI when you have symptoms, could cause an infection to become worse. It may make it harder to treat, or it could even cause a person to become infertile. Not only that, but if you have an undiagnosed or improperly treated STI, you could unknowingly pass it on to your partner.
• Negligent pregnancy advice or treatment could also cause harm to both you and someone else. If there is a failure to diagnose you correctly when you are suffering from an ectopic pregnancy, this could cause infertility. If you are pregnant and receive negligent advice or treatment at a walk-in clinic in Gillingham, it could cause harm to both you and your baby.

If you’re unsure as to whether the harm you’ve suffered is the result of Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence, you could call our team for free legal advice and an assessment of your case. If we believe you could have a claim, we could provide a Legal Expert lawyer to help you fight for the compensation you deserve.

Negligent Use Of Medications And Prescriptions

Many walk-in clinics are set up to prescribe medications to treat short-term minor illnesses and injuries. However, they must do so carefully and according to NICE guidelines.

It is essential for the proper treatment of an illness or injury that any medication prescribed is an appropriate one and that it is prescribed at the correct dosage. If a medication error or prescription error occurs due to negligence, it could cause:

• An allergic reaction – If you are known to be allergic to a medication, such as penicillin for example, and you are prescribed medication that contains it, you could suffer an allergic reaction.
• A drug interaction – Some drugs are known to interact with others. If you’ve informed a walk-in centre that you’re already taking medication and they prescribe you with a drug that interacts with it, you could suffer quite unpleasant symptoms.
• An overdose – As well as getting the right medication, you should receive the right dosage. If you are prescribed too high a dose of a medication, you could have an overdose.
• An under dose – If you aren’t prescribed a high enough dose of a medication, this may not treat your condition and your symptoms could worsen.

If you can prove that you’ve been the victim of Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence relating to a medication error or prescription error, we could help assess your case to see if you could have a valid claim for compensation.

Compensation Calculator – Gillingham Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence

Claiming compensation for Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence involves assessing all the evidence, facts and circumstances of each individual case. No two claims are exactly the same, so it stands to reason that it would not be possible to accurately predict how much compensation your case could be worth before all the evidence has been examined.

As part of a claim for Gillingham walk-in centre negligence, you’d have to have a medical examination with an independent medic, who would assess your injuries, read any relevant medical notes, and compile a report detailing their professional opinion on your injuries and prognosis. This vital piece of evidence could be used to hone in on a value for your claim.

Illustrative Compensation Amounts

To give you some insight into compensation payouts, we look to the Judicial College Guidelines, a publication that issues guideline payout brackets for various injuries claimants could sustain.

We’ve replicated some of these guideline payout brackets in the table below, so you could get an idea of how much certain injuries could be worth. If your injury isn’t included below, why not call our team; we’d be happy to give you further information on other injuries over the phone.

In addition to the amounts you could claim for the suffering and pain you’ve experienced, you could also claim compensation for financial losses that have arisen as a direct result of your injuries, such as:

• Medical costs – costs such as prescription fees and counselling costs could be recovered as part of your claim
• Care costs – if your injuries have led to someone having provided care for you, such costs could be claimed for
• Loss of income – if you’ve lost out on income as your injuries have meant you taking time off work, these losses could be claimed for
• Travel costs – any travel costs you incur as a result of your injuries, for example, transport to hospital or travel costs associated with visiting your lawyer, could also be claimed for.

It is crucial that you are able to provide evidence of any costs or losses you’re claiming for. Bank statements, payslips and bills could be useful in helping you do so. If you cannot evidence costs or losses, you would not be able to include them within your claim.

No Win No Fee Gillingham Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims

If you’d like to make a claim for Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence, you might be glad to learn that with Legal Expert you could do so on a No Win No Fee basis. What this means is that you could obtain assistance from a medical negligence lawyer from our team without paying any legal fees unless your claim is settled.

How Does It Work?

1. You’d receive a Conditional Fee Agreement (another name for a No Win No Fee agreement) to read and sign from your solicitor. This would set out the amount you’d pay them once they achieved a payout for you (the success fee). The fee would be a small percentage of your payout. It would also be legally capped.
2. Once you have read, signed and returned your agreement, your lawyer would get to work on your case, putting together the evidence and negotiating compensation on your behalf. Many cases do not go to court and are settled without the courts being involved but if your case were to go to court, your lawyer would be there with you.
3. Once a compensation payout has been agreed, the success fee would be deducted from it, with the rest being for your benefit.

What Happens If No Compensation Is Arranged?

If your case doesn’t end with a compensation payout, then you might be worried about paying your lawyer. Under No Win No Fee terms, this wouldn’t be the case. If your solicitor wasn’t able to achieve a payout for you, you wouldn’t pay the success fee. You would not be asked to cover your solicitor’s costs, either.

If you’d like more information on No Win No Fee claims, then this handy guide could be useful. If you’d like to ask us any questions about how these claims work, then we’d also be happy to answer them over the phone.

Talking To An Expert

Are you ready to talk to our expert advisors about starting a claim for Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence, or would you like us to check your eligibility over the phone? Perhaps you still have some questions about making a claim that we could answer. Either way, you can get in touch with us in a number of ways:

• By calling our freephone helpline on 0800 073 8804
• By sending an e-mail to info@legalexpert.co.uk
• By filling out the contact form so we can get back to you
• By using Live Chat to instantly connect with our team

Related Claims Services

Making Claims Against The NHS – This useful guide contains information about claiming against the NHS for malpractice.

Clinical Negligence Claims – This discusses clinical negligence in more general terms.

Reporting A GP For Negligence– If you’re considering making a complaint about GP negligence this guide could be useful.

Finding A Gillingham Walk-in Medical Centre – You can use the NHS website to find a medical centre in Gillingham that gives you access to a walk-in clinic.

When To Visit A Walk-in Medical Centre In Gillingham, Kent – Here, you can get guidance on whether you need to visit a hospital, GP or walk-in centre.

NHS Constitution For England – The NHS Constitution sets out the principles behind NHS care in England.

Other Medical Negligence Claims You Can Read

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• Warrington Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
• Grimsby Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
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Thank you for reading our guide to Gillingham walk-in centre medical negligence.

Guide by Jeffries

Edited by Billing