Dartmouth Medical Negligence Solicitors No Win No Fee Claims Guide
By Meg Granger. Last updated 24th November 2021. Welcome to our guide, which aims to guide you through finding the best medical negligence solicitors for Dartmouth. When claiming clinical negligence, having a solicitor with experience handling similar cases to your own can be helpful. Our guide could help you find suitable legal representation to get the compensation you deserve.
Have you have suffered further or avoidable harm in the form of an injury or illness? If so, and it was caused by a trained medical professional failing to give you the correct standard of care, you may wish to seek compensation.
In this guide, you will find information on the medical negligence claim procedure. For instance, the evidence you will need to provide in support of your case.
Furthermore, we’ll look at the compensation you may receive as part of your overall settlement figure.
Most importantly, we will explore the options you have available with regard to finding the best solicitor to work on your case. For instance, if you’re concerned about the costs often associated with legal representation, using a No Win No Fee solicitor could help. We’ll explore this throughout our guide.
Additionally, our expert team of advisors are on hand to provide you with the help and information you need to understand whether you could put forward a medical negligence claim. So if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our team on the details below:
- Telephone — 0800 073 8804
- Fill out the contact form with your details, and an advisor will get in touch.
- Use the live chat feature below and get instant advice
Jump To A Section For Further Guidance
- What Is Clinical And Medical Negligence?
- What’s Involved In Making A Medical Negligence Claim?
- Do I Have To Choose Local Medical Negligence Solicitors In Dartmouth?
- Types Of Claims Our Clinical Negligence Solicitors For Dartmouth Handle
- Are Medical Negligence Claims Common?
- How Much Compensation Could I Be Entitled To?
- How Can Our No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitors For Dartmouth Help?
- Next Steps You Can Take To Find The Best Solicitor For Dartmouth
- Additional Clinical Negligence Resources And Guides
What Is Clinical And Medical Negligence?
Clinical or medical negligence is defined as a trained medical professional providing substandard care to a patient, leading them to suffer harm that could have been avoided.
This could be an existing illness or injury becoming worse over time or the development of a new condition, such as contracting an infection.
There are numerous circumstances that can lead to a patient sustaining further or avoidable harm. For instance:
- Providing the wrong medication
- Failing to take reasonable steps to diagnose a condition correctly
- Surgical errors, such as operating on the wrong part of the body
In some cases, the harm sustained may be minor. However, in others, it could be more severe, leading to life-changing injuries or death.
In these more severe cases, someone could make a medical negligence claim on behalf of the deceased. It can be difficult to consider going through the process after losing a loved one, which is why having a solicitor helping you each step of the way could be beneficial.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact our team on the number above. They can provide the help and support you need regarding your claim.
What’s Involved In Making A Medical Negligence Claim?
The process of making a medical or clinical negligence claim can often seem complex. However, there are a few steps you can take to ensure you build a strong case. For instance:
- Obtain medical evidence: This could be in the form of past medical records detailing any doctor appointments or hospital visits. The records can highlight whether any treatment or diagnosis you received was correct.
For instance, if you were incorrectly diagnosed, the records could show the original and correct diagnosis you were given.
- Seek legal advice: If you’re unsure how to obtain valid medical evidence, a solicitor could help take you through the necessary steps. Additionally, they could provide an accurate estimate of your compensation.
For more information on hiring medical negligence solicitors for Dartmouth.
Can I Make A Medical Negligence Claim Against The NHS?
If you have evidence that you received a substandard level of care at an NHS establishment, there are a few options you could consider.
Firstly, you could use the complaints procedure in place at the establishment you received care. Alternatively, you could visit the government guide on making a complaint against the NHS.
Additionally, it’s important to note that the NHS Resolution may be involved in your claim as they act as a representative on behalf of NHS Trusts.
For more information, use the number above to get in touch with our team of advisors.
Medical Negligence Claims Time Limit
In most medical negligence claims, there is a three year period in which you must bring forward your case.
The time limit will either begin from the date the incident occurred or the date you became aware that someone else’s failings caused or contributed to the incident in which you sustained harm.
However, in certain cases, there are exceptions to this three year period.
For instance, if you’re making a medical negligence claim for a child, an application could be made for someone to act as a litigation friend on their behalf. For instance, a parent, guardian or solicitor. Alternatively, they will have three years from the date of their 18th birthday to put forward the claim themselves.
Additionally, if the claimant lacks the mental capacity to bring the claim forward themselves, someone could apply to act as a litigation friend on their behalf.
If they recover their mental capacity, the three years will start from the recovery date. However, if they don’t, the three years will be frozen indefinitely.
For more information on the exceptions, call our team for further help and advice.
Do I Have To Choose Local Medical Negligence Solicitors In Dartmouth?
There is a common misconception that you need to use a solicitor based in the same town, city or local area as you. However, this isn’t always necessary.
You may be under the impression that you need to meet your solicitor face to face. However, with the development of digital communication, you can consult with your solicitor via telephone or video chat instead.
For that reason, you may not need to limit yourself to choosing medical negligence solicitors in Dartmouth. Instead, you could reap the benefits of hiring a solicitor further afield that may have more experience dealing with claims similar to your own.
We could help with this as our solicitors all have experience handling various types of medical negligence claims. For more information, you can speak to our team of advisors. They can assess your case, and if you have a valid claim, they could connect you with a solicitor to represent you, no matter where you are in the country.
Is It Helpful To Check Medical Negligence Solicitors Reviews?
It can be beneficial to check reviews of the legal firm or solicitor you hope to work with, as they could be a great way to gauge their experience and expertise in your type of claim.
Furthermore, you can also see whether previous clients have been happy with the service they were provided. This can help you get a good picture of whether they will be well suited to working on your claim.
In addition, you may find it useful to ask your family and friends for recommendations of solicitors or legal firms they have previously used.
If you’re interested in finding out more information about the services we offer, you can check our review page. Alternatively, get in touch with our team on the number above.
Types Of Claims Our Clinical Negligence Solicitors For Dartmouth Handle
Our medical negligence solicitors for Dartmouth can help you pursue a claim against both NHS and private or independent medical institutions.
Additionally, there are various types of claims for different medical negligence that we could take on, including:
- Medical Misdiagnosis Claims
- Cosmetic Surgery Negligence Claims
- Optician Negligence Claim
- Cancer Misdiagnosis Claim
We have looked at some other types of claims we handle in more detail throughout the sections below.
Hospital Negligence Claims
In some situations, some patients may experience substandard levels of care when receiving treatment at a hospital leading to harm that could have been avoided.
The harm you suffered could have occurred in various departments in the hospital, including the Accident & Emergency department, due to unnecessary delays in treatment.
Alternatively, you may have required surgery, but the surgeon used the wrong equipment when operating, leading to further harm.
If you’ve experienced hospital negligence, our team could help you understand whether you’re eligible to claim.
Claim For Dental Negligence
Dental negligence can lead to consequences that are traumatic and painful. They may range from cosmetic harm to a severe infection leading to the loss of several teeth.
A whole host of trained medical professionals could have provided you with the incorrect level of care, such as:
- Dentist
- Orthodontic surgeon
- Dental nurse
As long as you have evidence to prove that the medically-trained dentist could have taken reasonable steps to prevent you from suffering further harm.
GP Negligence Claims
A GP or family doctor is often the first point of call when a person requires medical advice.
The quality of your treatment and how you are treated at this stage could impact how your condition progresses.
Patients should expect their doctor to provide the correct level of care, including conducting the right tests to correctly diagnose a patient, prescribing medication, ordering additional tests to investigate further, or referring the patient to a specialist.
Failing to do so could result in the patient sustaining further harm as a result of GP negligence. If you have experienced a similar situation, speak to our team today. They could connect you with one of our medical negligence solicitors for the Dartmouth area.
Are Medical Negligence Claims Common?
As per the NHS Resolution Annual Report Statistics 2020/2021, the graph below shows the number of claims notified compared to those settled during 2020-2021.
The figures highlight that not every claim notified was settled. However, it’s important to note that even though a claim settles, it doesn’t necessarily mean that someone was liable for medical negligence.
How Much Compensation Could I Be Entitled To?
The compensation you may be awarded will depend on various factors that are unique to your specific case. However, each claim may comprise general and special damages.
General damages compensate you for your physical and psychological injuries or illness.
However, when calculating the value of your injuries, consideration will be given to how severe your injuries are and the long term impact they may have had on you.
Medical evidence and any additional reports from further medical assessments may be used to highlight the nature of your injuries. In addition, a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) may also be used alongside any evidence to help value your claim.
We have used the figures from the JCG to create a table of medical negligence compensation examples. The table includes a list of injuries that you may have sustained through medical negligence.
Updated November 2021.
| Type of harm | Further details | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Fatality | (c) Incidents involving a person becoming immediately unconscious following an injury with death occurring after six weeks. | £3,530 to £4,120 |
| Fatality | (d) Incidents involving a person becoming immediately unconscious following an injury with death occurring within a week. | £1,290 to £2,620 |
| Damage to teeth | An untreated abscess causing significant and chronic pain in the tooth. | Up to £35,790 |
| Facial disfigurement | (c) Significant scarring | £8,550 to £28,240 |
| Lung Disease | (b) Cancer of the lung that results in severe pain and function impairment. There will also be an impact on the person’s quality of life. | £65,710 to £91,350 |
| Reproductive System: Female | (b) Where someone is left infertile due to a failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy. | £31,950 to £95,850 |
| Reproductive System: Female | (f) The award for a delay in diagnosing an ectopic pregnancy that didn’t result in infertility will depend on different factors, such as the pain, bleeding and whether the person required a blood transfusion. | £3,180 to £19,170 |
| Reproductive System: Female | (e) Where sterilisation has failed leading to an unwanted pregnancy. However, there won’t be any serious psychological impact. | In the region of £9,570 |
| Mental Anguish | (e) Where someone has a fear of impending death or that their life expectancy is reduced. | £4,380 |
However, it’s important that you only use these figures as a guide, as your actual settlement figure will vary depending on factors unique to your case.
Furthermore, this is not a complete list of medical negligence injuries, so please get in touch with our team if you have suffered a different type of harm not listed.
Alternatively, if you choose to seek compensation by using medical negligence solicitors for Dartmouth, they could accurately value your claim.
Either way, please get in touch with our team for further help and advice.
What Else Could I Seek Compensation For?
In addition to the compensation you may receive for your injuries, your claim may also comprise special damages. These reimburse you for any past or future financial losses.
For instance, if you have sustained a severe injury that has left you unable to take care of yourself, you could seek reimbursement of any additional care costs you had to pay.
Other additional expenses that you may have incurred might include:
- Loss of earnings due to being unable to work
- Expenses for travel to and from doctors appointments
- Medical costs for prescriptions
However, you will need to provide evidence of any losses incurred. For instance, receipts detailing the cost of travel or medical supplies or payslips to show any lost wages.
Furthermore, it’s important to note that not every claim will include special damages. For that reason, they’ll be calculated separately and added to your overall compensation package.
How Can Our No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitors For Dartmouth Help?
All of our solicitors operate by taking medical negligence claims on a No Win No Fee basis. This means that you won’t be asked to pay solicitor fees if your claim is unsuccessful.
Additionally, it gives you the option to avoid upfront costs often required for a solicitor to start working on your claim. As well as other costs that may incur while your claim is ongoing.
Although you could initially put forward a claim for free without legal representation, other costs could build up throughout your claim, such as medical fees. However, these costs are included in the agreement.
If your claim is successful, a success fee that’s legally capped will be deducted from your compensation. However, your solicitor will make you aware of how the fee works prior to them starting work on your claim.
See below for more information on how you could work with one of our medical negligence solicitors for the Dartmouth area.
Next Steps You Can Take To Find The Best Solicitor For Dartmouth
Our dedicated team could connect you with an experienced solicitor to help you get the compensation you deserve. Find out more by contacting us on the details below:
- Telephone — 0800 073 8804
- Fill out the contact form with your details, and an advisor will get in touch.
- Use the live chat feature below and get instant advice
Additional Clinical Negligence Resources And Guides
If you experienced delayed treatment resulting in harm that could have been avoided, our guide could help.
For further information on making a dental abscess compensation claim, see our guide.
See our guide exploring 10 things about medical negligence claims.
Visit the General Medical Council for further guidance on the level of care you should expect from doctors.
See the NHS Consitution for England to learn more about the principles and values of the NHS in England.
Further Medical Negligence
- Chester No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Medical Negligence Solicitors For The City Of London
- Crewe Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Crosby Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Croydon Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Cumbernauld Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Dartford Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Dewsbury Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Medical Negligence Solicitors For Dudley
- Laser Eye Surgery Negligence Claims
Dartmouth medical facilities
Dartmouth Clinic
Zion Place
Dartmouth
Devon
TQ6 9NF
Tel: 01803 832845
Mount Stuart Private Hospital
St Vincent’s Road,
Torquay
TQ1 4UP
Tel: 01803 313881
Dartmouth Dental Practice
24 Victoria Road,
Dartmouth,
TQ6 9SA
Tel: 01803 835418
Thank you for reading our guide exploring how you can find the best medical negligence solicitors for Dartmouth.
