When we need medical care, we put our trust in the doctors and other healthcare professionals who treat us. If they make a mistake, it can have a very negative impact on your health and other areas of your life. Claiming clinical negligence compensation can then be essential to allow you to get your life back on track.
Our clinical negligence solicitors have many years of experience helping a wide range of people to claim medical negligence compensation for a variety of reasons. We provide sensitive but practical legal advice, support and representation to make the process of winning a settlement as simply, quickly and stress-free as possible.
We offer a free initial assessment so we can get a clear picture of your situation and advise you on the strength of your claim. We will then talk you through how the process of making a claim works and the likely timescales involved. We will also discuss how to fund your claim, including whether we feel a “No Win, No Fee” agreement will be appropriate.
For confidential advice from one of our clinical negligence solicitors in Stafford and Rugeley today, call 01785 603060 or get in touch via email.
Our clinical negligence claims service in Stafford & Rugeley
We regularly help clients with medical negligence claims related to a wide range of issues, including:
- Late diagnosis and misdiagnosis
- Avoidable fatalities
- Surgical errors
- Birth injury claims
- Cancer misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis or treatment
- Eye injuries
- Cosmetic surgery
- Hospital infections
- Product liability claims (including side-effects of medication)
Frequently Asked Questions about clinical negligence claims
What counts as clinical negligence?
Even if a healthcare professional has made an error, it will not necessarily qualify as medical negligence. Proving the medical care you received was negligent can be complicated and this is essential for your entitlement to compensation.
Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals have a legal duty to treat all patients with appropriate care and skill. The test for a clinical negligence claim is to show that the person handling your care acted in a manner no other reasonably competent medical professional would be expected to under similar circumstances.
Is there a time limit for clinical negligence claims?
In most cases, you will need to start a medical negligence claim within 3 years of the date when a medical error occurred or when you first became aware that it may have occurred. So, for example, this could be the date when an operation went wrong if the mistake was immediately obvious, or it could be at a later point when another doctor notices the mistake.
There are two main exceptions to the 3-year time limit. Firstly, if the person affected by the medical negligence was a child when the incident occurred, the 3-year limit only takes effect once they turn 18. This means they will have until their 21st birthday to bring a claim.
Secondly, if the person affected does not have capacity to bring a claim on their own behalf e.g. if they have been left in a coma, there is no time limit for someone to bring a claim on their behalf. If the person later regains capacity e.g. they wake up from their coma, the 3-year time limit will be counted from the day they regained capacity.
How do no win, no fee medical negligence claims work?
We represent many of our clients on the basis of a conditional fee arrangement, more commonly known as ‘no win, no fee’. This means you pay nothing upfront and only pay us if we win compensation for you with the amount you pay based on a percentage of the financial settlement we secure. This means there is no financial risk to you in pursuing a claim and you will never be left out of pocket.
Why choose Pickering & Butters clinical negligence solicitors in Stafford & Rugeley?
Pickering & Butters is a Lexcel accredited law firm, reflecting the high quality of our legal practice and client care. We offer a progressive legal service designed to meet the changing needs of our clients using a combination of traditional legal expertise and the latest in modern technology. This means we can offer a convenient modern legal service with all the benefits of our decades of experience.
Our clinical negligence solicitors have been helping people from all backgrounds to achieve fair settlements under even the most challenging circumstances for many years. We aim to make the process of pursuing a medical negligence claim as straightforward and transparent as possible, so we are always happy to answer questions and promise to do so in plain English so you can have complete confidence in the service we offer.
Contact our medical negligence solicitors in Rugeley and Stafford
For a free initial assessment and to find out whether we can represent you on a no win, no fee basis, please get in touch with our clinical negligence solicitors in Stafford or Rugeley by calling 01785 603060 or contact us via email for a swift response.
