By Cat Todd. Last Updated 27th February 2024. Have you suffered as a direct result of your doctor’s failures? If they failed to uphold their duty of care to you, then you could be entitled to make a medical negligence claim against them. In this article, we aim to give you a better understanding of your rights in this situation. What’s more, we’ll guide you through the claims process, using our years of legal experience to show you how you could successfully sue a doctor.
Making legal proceedings alone can be a daunting task, not to mention distressing if you’ve suffered as a result of the incident in question. With this in mind, it’s always helpful to seek legal assistance from a professional.
Our specialist advisors can give you a free initial consultation tailored to your unique set of circumstances. Once they know more about your case, they can connect you with our panel of medical negligence lawyers. If you have grounds to make a valid claim, they can handle your case on a No Win No Fee basis. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about any financial risks, as we’ll only take payment if we win compensation for you.
So, whether you’re interested in getting your free initial consultation or you’d like to learn more about the services provided by our panel of medical negligence lawyers, please don’t hesitate to get in touch today. Why not see how we could help you get the payout that you deserve for your suffering?
- Complete one of our contact forms and we’ll call you back
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Select a Section
- How To Sue A Doctor
- How Can A Doctor Breach Their Duty Of Care?
- What Should I Do If I Experience Negligence From A Doctor?
- What Is The Average Payout For A Negligence Claim?
- No Win No Fee Doctor Negligence Claims
- Further Guidance On How To Sue A Doctor
How To Sue A Doctor
If a doctor failed to uphold their duty of care to you, then you could be entitled to make a claim against them. Providing you can prove that the doctor in question caused your suffering unnecessarily, you could have grounds to sue them.
Did you know that medical negligence claims have time limits within which you must claim if you want to access your compensation? In typical cases, this period is 3 years, effective from the date of the incident or the date that you obtained knowledge that you were suffering from an illness or injury related to the negligence of the doctor.
However, if you’re under 18 or you’re claiming on behalf of someone else, exemptions will apply to these time limits. In waiting too long before deciding to make a claim, you risk missing your chance to get the payout that you deserve for your suffering.
Our specialist advisors can give you a free initial consultation tailored to your unique set of circumstances. Once they know more about your case, they can tell you whether you could still be eligible to make a claim and even how much you could be entitled to for it. So, to learn more about your situation, why not get in touch with us today?
In the meantime, you can have a look through the next few sections for some examples of why you may wish to sue a doctor, ranging from misdiagnosis to a surgical error.
What Is A Doctor’s Duty Of Care?
If a doctor failed to uphold their duty of care to you, then you could be entitled to make a medical negligence claim against them. Providing you can prove that the doctor in question caused your suffering unnecessarily, you could have grounds to sue them.
Typically, you will need to be able to prove that your situation meets the following criteria to establish grounds for a medical negligence claim against a doctor:
- The doctor in question owed you a duty of care
- This duty of care was breached by the doctor
- You suffered harm as a result of this breach by the doctor
Whether you believe that you have grounds to make a claim or not, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team of specialist advisors today for a free initial consultation. In the meantime, please continue reading for some examples of how a doctor could breach this duty of care.
How Can A Doctor Breach Their Duty Of Care?
There are many ways that a doctor could breach their duty of care. However, as we’ve already discussed, a medical professional breaching their duty of care alone is not enough to form the basis of a valid claim.
In order to form a strong claim, you need to be able to prove medical negligence occurred: this means that they breached their duty of care, and you suffered unnecessary harm as a result.
Some examples of how a medical professional could breach their duty of care include:
- Misdiagnosis: If a doctor or GP fails to spot clear signs of cancer or another illness, this could lead to a misdiagnosis. Misdiagnosis can lead to delays in treatment, conditions worsening, and further avoidable harm such as strokes.
- Failure to refer: If your doctor fails to send you for further testing, such as a scan, blood test, or x-ray, this could lead to your condition going undiagnosed. When conditions such as cancer go undiagnosed, they can metastasize past the point of effective treatment.
- Ignoring patient concerns: Your doctor should take your concerns seriously, and listen when you are describing them. If your concerns are repeatedly ignored and you suffer avoidable harm as a result, you may be able to make a claim.
- Surgical errors: For example, if a doctor or surgeon leaves a foreign body within a surgery site, or performs surgery on the wrong area, this could cause serious avoidable harm.
- Medication errors: If you have a known allergy to a certain medication, and this is listed in your medical records, but your doctor prescribes it anyway, this could be negligence. For example, if you were prescribed penicillin while having a known penicillin allergy, this could cause anaphylaxis, rashes, swelling, and could even be fatal.
Our advisors are on hand to help. Contact our team today to find out if you could be eligible to claim against a medical professional for GP negligence, or read on to learn about how one of the clinical negligence solicitors from our panel could help you.
What Should I Do If I Experience Negligence From A Doctor?
Commencing legal proceedings alone can be a daunting task, not to mention distressing if you’ve suffered as a result of the incident in question. With this in mind, it’s always helpful to seek legal assistance from a professional. However, in the wake of falling victim to medical negligence, here are some steps you could take in the aftermath.
If you want to sue a doctor that works for the NHS, raising your concerns using their official complaints procedure could help you learn more about your situation. After their investigation into your incident, their findings could inform you of whether or not you should take legal action.
As we’ve mentioned before, having a specialised lawyer handle your case could boost its chances of success. Our panel always handles cases on a No Win No Fee basis. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about any financial risks, as we’ll only take payment if we win your compensation for you.
To learn more about the services provided by our panel of medical negligence lawyers, please don’t hesitate to get in touch today. In the meantime, please see the next section of our guide to see how claims for medical negligence are valued and how much compensation you could be entitled to for your suffering.
What Is The Average Payout For A Negligence Claim?
Are you wondering how much compensation you could be eligible to receive as part of a medical negligence claim? In this section, we’ll provide some information on how medical negligence claims are valued and how much compensation you could be entitled to for your suffering.
Compensation for medical negligence claims is awarded according to two heads of damage; general damages and special damages. Whereas general damages could be claimed to compensate for any physical or mental damage that your doctor’s negligence caused you, special damages could be claimed for any financial costs incurred as a result of your suffering.
Calculating General Damages With A Personal Injury Claim Calculator
In our years of experience with medical negligence claims and the like, we always advise prospective claimants to be wary of using claims calculators when looking to see how much they could be entitled to. This is because the estimated compensation figures that they produce can be inaccurate, reflecting generalised circumstances rather than the unique features of your case.
For a consultation you can trust, our specialist advisors can give you a free assessment of your unique circumstances today. Once they know more about your case, they could even connect you with our panel of medical negligence lawyers if you have grounds to make a valid claim. For more information, please contact us today.
In the meantime, this table provides estimated compensation figures from the Judicial College Guidelines:
Injury | Award |
|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries/Harm And Special Damages | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Very Severe Brain Damage (a) | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Established Grand Mal Epilepsy (a) | £102,000 to £150,110 |
| Bladder Injuries (b) | Up to £140,660 |
| Complete Loss Of Sight In One Eye (a) | £49,270 to £54,830 |
| Total Deafness (b) | £90,750 to £109,650 |
| Non-Traumatic Damage To The Digestive System (b) (i) | £38,430 to £52,500 |
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | £52,500 |
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (moderate) | £7,860 to £21,730 |
| Spleen Injuries (a) | £20,800 to £26,290 |
Special Damages
Whereas general damages can be claimed in attempts to compensate for any physical or mental damage that your doctor’s negligence caused you, did you know that special damages could also be claimed?
This type of compensation could be awarded for any financial costs that you incurred as a result of your suffering. Generally, it aims to allow you to be restored to the financial standing that you held before the incident in question.
Costs that you could potentially recover through special damages include, but are by no means limited to:
- Medical fees (e.g. the cost of your prescription)
- Care expenses (could be for gracious care or professional care)
- Travel costs (e.g. transport fares to and from your medical appointments)
- Loss of income (could also include any potential future loss of income)
As mentioned earlier, you’ll need strong evidence in order to give your claim the best chance of succeeding. For special damage claims, this can be done by retaining any documentation that proves any costs incurred as a result of the incident in question, such as receipts and copies of your bank statements.
No Win No Fee Doctor Negligence Claims
If you have grounds to make a valid claim, our panel of medical negligence lawyers can handle your case on a No Win No Fee basis. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about any financial risks, as we’ll only take payment if we win your compensation for you.
In addition, you won’t have to worry about any other fees to pay, with no hidden or upfront costs included in the agreement. If our panel of lawyers wins your case for you, then a success fee will be taken from your payout to cover their legal costs. This is a small percentage of your settlement that’s capped by law to ensure you get the compensation that you deserve.
Talk To Our Advisors
Our specialist advisors can give you a free initial consultation tailored to your unique set of circumstances. Once they know more about your case, they can connect you with our panel of medical negligence lawyers. If you have grounds to make a valid claim, they can handle your case on a No Win No Fee basis.
So, whether you’re interested in getting your free initial consultation or you’d like to learn more about the services provided by our panel of medical negligence lawyers, please don’t hesitate to get in touch today. Why not see how we could help you get the payout that you deserve for your suffering?
- Complete one of our contact forms and we’ll call you back
- Use our live chat feature on the bottom of your screen
- Call us on 0800 408 7827
Further Guides
- How do I file a complaint with the NHS?
- What rights do I have as an NHS patient?
- How do I know whether I have a valid NHS complaint?
- Click here to read our guide to how to sue a hospital
- Or here for our guide on how to sue the NHS
- And we have another guide on how to sue your employer which you can read here.
Guide by Mav
Edited by Bil