Medical and clinical negligence can affect us all

We trust medical professionals, we have to, we put our health, and our families health in their expert hands, However, from time to time, even a medical professional can make mistakes.

Unfortunately, the effects of a medical professional making a mistake can be devastating, and clinical negligence does not just affect the person who has suffered the injury; their family and loved ones can be traumatised by the ordeal too. On top of this there may be the hammer blow of high financial costs to meet as a result of a medical professional’s error.

However, half the battle when you’ve suffered from clinical negligence is fighting against uncertainty, things can seem a lot easier to deal with once you know what to do.

What is clinical negligence?

Clinical negligence is when a injury or death is caused as a direct result of a medical professional’s action, or failure to act.

For instance, a medical professional could be deemed to be guilty of clinical negligence if they remove the wrong limb during an operation. Similarly, they could be guilty of clinical negligence if they fail to operate on a tumour that goes on to harm a patient, when surgery was the best course of action.

What to do if you’ve been affected by clinical negligence

If you feel as though you’ve been the victim of clinical negligence, then it can be very helpful to keep a diary about your experience.

You should detail any condition or injury that worsened or started in the aftermath of a medical procedure carried out by a medical professional. You should include any instances of how this has affected you, such as if you’ve had to take time off from work as a result of the condition or injury.

Legal action

If your injuries are serious and are costing you a lot of money in medical bills, then it can help to take legal action against the medical professional that you think is responsible for your injuries. However, you must make sure you’re prepared for what legal action may entail; clinical negligence claims are a serious matter and often end up in court.

To help you through the legal process you will probably need to contact clinical negligence solicitors, they are specialists in the matters of clinical negligence and should be able to quickly establish whether you have a claim.

Proving clinical negligence

To be successful in any claim, you will need to prove causation. This is the proof that harm was caused directly by the actions or omissions of a medical professional. Strong indicators of this are death and brain damage, as well as doctor straying from the standard of care.

You also will probably need at least one expert witness in court; however, your team of specialist lawyers should sort this out for you. In the meantime try to keep calm and recuperate in the wake of your injury.