Hastings Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence – No Win No Fee Claims
Going to a walk-in centre should be something that you do for a minor inconvenience, like a small injury or a non-serious illness. And being treated at a walk-in centre should cause the issue to pass like a minor illness. Medical negligence could cause a minor complaint to turn into something more harmful. Legal Expert has produced this guide to offer advice to those who may have suffered medical negligence at a medical walk-in centre. Please note, medical walk-in centres can be both NHS run and privately owned.
Hastings walk-in centre medical negligence claims guide
This guide will take you through when and how you could make a compensation claim if you have been the victim of medical negligence at a Hastings walk-in centre. If you finish reading it and you want more information, or you would like to talk to a medical negligence advisor, you can talk to our team on 0800 073 8804, or fill in this contact form.
Select A Section
1. A Guide To A Hastings Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claim
2. What Is Negligence At A Hastings Walk-In Centre?
3. Where To Find A Hastings NHS Walk-In Centre
4. What Can Be Treated At A Walk In Centre?
5. Minor Injury Clinical Negligence
6. Minor Infection Clinical Negligence
7. Sexual Health And STD Clinical Negligence
8. Prescription Error Clinical Negligence
9. Medical Negligence Compensation Calculator
10. No Win No Fee For A Hastings Walk-In Centre Negligence Claim
11. Discuss Your Case With Us
12. Do You Need More Help?
A Guide To A Hastings Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claim
We have put this guide together for people who believe that they have been the victim of medical negligence and believe that they might have grounds to bring a case against a walk-in centre in Hastings. We have intended it to be accessible and easy to understand.
The first thing to know is whether or not the situation you have been dealing with can be classed as medical negligence. We will go through a list of examples of circumstances that could be considered to be forms of medical negligence. If you are unsure about whether or not what you have experienced is grounds for a claim, or if you cannot see a description matching your circumstances listed here, please feel free to call us and speak one-on-one with a member of our team of advisors.
Additionally, this guide will also explain some important things about how the process of making a claim works. As well as things like how the amount of compensation you could claim will be worked out. Including what type of damages can be claimed for. And how making a No Win No Fee claim works. This guide is only an introduction. The next step is to call up our team of experts and have a chat with them.
What Is Negligence At A Hastings Walk-In Centre?
Medical negligence is a term which encompasses any situation where a medical professional has failed to carry out their job correctly and to uphold the standards expected of them. Clinical/medical negligence can be committed by anyone working in the healthcare sector, from doctors to nurses, both in the NHS and private practices. This type of neglect can have a serious effect on patients health and potentially can cause significant harm. Medical negligence can also take place in a walk-in centre of course, and the following few sections are going to detail how.
Where To Find A Hastings NHS Walk-In Centre
Walk-in centres were established to help ease the burden on Accident and Emergency departments at the hospitals. They allow patients to receive treatment quickly and very often without an appointment. Additionally, they can provide patients without access to a GP to receive medical treatment. Nevertheless, although many injuries and illnesses can be treated at these centres if you are suffering from a life-threatening condition you must go straight to an A and E department. The following walk-in centres are found in Hastings;
- Hastings Walk-In Centre
- Woodlands Centre For Acute Care (Urgent Care)
-
Urgent care – NHS East Sussex CCG (Urgent Care)
What Can Be Treated At A Walk In Centre?
Some walk-in centres are designed to offer people the services of a GP, or equivalent to is, without having to wait for a GP appointment or register for a GP. Not all walk-in centres will have a GP present. Others may just be nurse leads. They also, offer on the spot medical attention for people suffering from health complaints which need looking at as soon as possible but are too minor to be worth going to a hospital for treatment. Minor, non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries can be treated at walk-in centres. If you aren’t sure about whether you should go to a walk-in centre, you can consult this page or call 111. The next few sections will detail what kinds of services can be provided at a walk-in centre.
Minor Injury Clinical Negligence
Walk-in centres can be used to treat minor injuries, they are sometimes referred to as minor injury units. The ability to have your minor injuries treated at a walk-in centre can be handy. This is especially true if you aren’t registered with a GP near you. Or if you do not want to wait for an appointment. This also reduces the pressure on hospitals. More emergency and life-threatening situations could be dealt with more quickly.
Treating an injury correctly, even a minor one, is very important. If a doctor fails in their responsibilities to diagnose and treat the issue correctly, then the injury could turn into something severe. Even a minor injury or illness could become severe if left untreated. Therefore it is essential that medical practitioners do not allow their standards of care to fall. Head injuries in particular could be a sign of something serious. Sprains could actually turn out to be broken bones, chest infections could turn into pneumonia if antibiotics are not provided.
Therefore, failing to treat and diagnose a minor injury falls below the standards expected of a doctor. In certain circumstances, it could be classed as an example of medical negligence. If you have suffered harm to your health because of a minor injury that was exacerbated by medical negligence, you could be entitled to make a compensation claim.
Minor Infection Clinical Negligence
Minor health complaints, like non-serious illnesses and infections, can be brought to a walk-in centre. These are often not the type of health complaints which would require going to a hospital or calling an ambulance. However, these are still serious enough to require medical attention. Therefore, the kinds of infections and health complaints that you can take to a walk-in centre may include:
- Cold and flu symptoms
- Chest infection
- Eye infections
- Throat infection
- Eye and ear infections.
If you are suffering from an infection treatment will be needed to ensure you make a full recovery. If you attend a walk-in centre and you are misdiagnosed it could mean your illness is allowed to worsen. This could be because you have not been provided with the treatment you needed. In the case such as a negligent misdiagnosis, has caused your symptoms to worsen you may, therefore, be eligible for compensation. Additionally, this can be for the misdiagnosis of an illness or the misdiagnosis of an injury.
You could be entitled to claim compensation if misdiagnosis of an illness has led to you being harmed by any exacerbation or avoidable effects of an illness.
Sexual Health And STD Clinical Negligence
Walk-in centres could offer you drop in reproductive health services. This could range from the provision of contraceptive products, STD tests and treatment, to pregnancy-related treatment. The duty of care over the patient applies here as well. If your sexual or reproductive health is damaged by medical negligence at a walk-in centre, you could be entitled to make a compensation claim, and Legal Experts solicitors could help you to do it.
If a walk-in centre provides you with contraceptives they must be safe and functioning. Providing a walk-in centre service user with non-functioning or unsafe contraceptives could lead to them contracting STD’s or becoming pregnant. This would constitute medical negligence and could be grounds for making a claim.
Correctly diagnosing an STD is crucial. An incorrect diagnosis could cause an illness to worsen, and to spread to other parts of the body. Therefore causing unnecessary pain and harm to the patient. As could prescribing the wrong form of treatment. A claim could be made if an STD has caused harm that could and should have been prevented by the treatment you received at a walk-in centre.
Prescription Error Clinical Negligence
Walk-in centres can provide patients with prescriptions and medication, though not all have the authorisation to do so. Therefore, you should check online or over the phone beforehand if you are looking to use the walk-in you plan on attending for prescription services. Some walk-in centres are nurse lead. This means that being prescribed medication may not be possible. There are nurses who have the authority to prescribe in the absence of a doctor. Nevertheless not matter if a nurse is prescribing, a doctor is prescribing or a pharmacy is dispensing there is a duty of care that must be present.
Importantly, a prescription given to a patient by a doctor has to be appropriate for the patient’s needs. Clearly, it is not acceptable or permissible for a medical practitioner to make a mistake and gives a patient a prescription that proves to be ineffective. Or which harms their health. Hence they could be liable for a compensation claim for medical negligence. There are a number of different ways this could happen.
- Firstly, dispensing a medication that could overdose the patient
- Secondly, prescribing a medication that is too small a dose to effectively treat the patient
- Last but by no means least, Issuing a medication that causes the patient to suffer a medication reaction or an allergic reaction.
To find out more about how you could claim compensation for a prescription error, call our team for advice.
Medical Negligence Compensation Calculator
One of a lawyer’s jobs if you decide to appoint one is calculating the amount of compensation your claim will be demanding. Doing this means going through all of the effects that you have experienced as a result of medical negligence. These can include things like the amount of pain you have experienced. As well as whether or not you have yet to make a full recovery. And also how long it may take. Included will be the amount of disfigurement you have been left with and so on.
Therefore, because calculating your compensation means looking at different factors such as these, we can’t use this page to give you an estimate of how much your claim could be worth. But we can show you this compensation table. In particular, this shows what amounts of compensation could be awarded for different types of injuries or illnesses that could stem from medical negligence.
| Injury | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Failure to diagnose ectopic pregnancy resulting in infertility | £31,950 to £95,850 |
| Delay in diagnosing ectopic pregnancy | £3,180 to £19,170 |
| Amputation of little finger | £8,110 to £11,490 |
| Amputation of ring and little finger | In the region of £20,480 |
| Loss of thumb | £33,330 to £51,460 |
| Less serious wrist injuries with lasting pain and stiffness | £11,820 to £22,990 |
| Serious long lasting toxicosis | £36,060 to £49,270 |
| Stomach poisoning causing debilitation and pain for some weeks. | £860 to £3,710 |
| Injuries that heal within three months | £1,290 to £2,300 |
In addition, compensation can also be awarded for the financial costs of medical negligence as well. Having an illness could cause you to spend money on treatment, as well as transport to and from medical appointments. Not to mention lost wages. It should be noted that in very serious cases you could be left with a health problem that makes it impossible to return to your job and either remain unemployed or take lower-paying work. Compensation could be awarded to compensate you for any financial harm you have endured as a result of your injuries.
No Win No Fee For A Hastings Walk-In Centre Negligence Claim
Appointing a solicitor to help with your claim could be turned into a financial gamble by the cost of legal fees. If you make an unsuccessful claim after sinking your money into legal fees into hiring a lawyer you could be left with a major debt to pay off. This could be a deterrent to people on low incomes or who have had their financial situation harmed by the effects of medical negligence. However, this does not have to be the case. This could be avoided by hiring a solicitor that provides a Conditional Fee Agreement.
- Firstly, you would not have to pay anything to your solicitor upfront
- Secondly, you would not have to pay any fees to your solicitor while your case is ongoing
- Thirdly, if your case fails you do not have to cover your solicitor’s legal fees.
To conclude, in a No Win No Fee claim, your solicitor will receive payment for a successful claim in the form of taking a portion of your payment. A portion that will not exceed a capped percentage. If you would like to know more about how such claims work, you can consult this page on No Win No Fee claims.
Discuss Your Case With Us
Finally, if you want to go ahead with starting a claim, or if you want to make any enquiries about what you have read on this page, you can talk to our team on 0800 073 8804, or fill in this contact form. These are also the contact methods you should use if you are thinking of making a claim and you want to talk to one of our advisors.
Do You Need More Help?
Information from the Government.
How to resolve claims with the NHS
Our main guide to medical negligence claims
Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
This is our main guide to making a claim for medical negligence at a walk-in centre.
Cancer Misdiagnosis Compensation Claims
This is our guide on how to claim compensation for the misdiagnosis of cancer.
Birth Injury Compensation Claims
Learn more about making a claim for birth injuries.
Other Guides Available To Read
- Knee Surgery Gone Wrong Claims Guide
- Rotavirus Compensation Claims Explained
- Liverpool Walk-In Centre Medical Negligence Claims
- Spire Healthcare Negligence Claims Guide
Written By Yarlett
Edited By Melissa.
