What do you do if your healthcare falls short? LAUREN WATKINS, a partner at Newport-based Harding Evans solicitors, explains in the first of a new monthly legal advice column series

As A NATION, the British are known for their reluctance to complain – choosing instead to soldier on and make the best of their situation.

However, there are times when we must speak up, not only to resolve a wrong that we have suffered, but also to raise awareness and reduce the likelihood of it happening again to someone else.

Clinical negligence, also referred to as medical negligence, is where someone has suffered harm as a result of inadequate or incorrect medical treatment. The harm caused could be an injury or even result in death.

Claims can be against hospitals, GPs, private consultants, nurses, dentists, care homes, chiropractors and pharmacies for prescription errors.

It could be down to misdiagnosis, a delay in, or lack of, diagnosis, mistake during surgery, administering the wrong drugs, or simply being given poor advice. There are numerous ways you can suffer clinical negligence, even if the medical professionals involved have had the best of intentions.

However, you can only take legal action within three years of receiving the alleged negligent treatment, or from the date you found out you received negligent treatment, which is known as ‘date of knowledge’.

My firm worked on behalf of a claimant who had been under the care of a consultant in oral medicine as she had a sore patch on the side of the tongue, which had ulcerated. The oral consultant felt that the pain was caused by the amalgam fillings, so the fillings were changed. The claimant’s pain persisted, so a crown was replaced. Still, the claimant’s pain continued.

While the usual consultant was away, the claimant was seen by a different consultant who arranged for a biopsy of the lesion. The biopsy revealed cancer of the tongue and immediate treatment began. However, the cancer had spread too far, and the claimant sadly passed away. The claimant’s family pursued the claim and won a six-figure settlement.

Dos and don’ts, if you think you have a clinical negligence claim:

Do:

• Contact a specialist clinical negligence solicitor immediately

• Keep a record of the negligent treatment, including dates, times and names

• Ensure you keep receipts for out of pocket expenses

• Be prepared – clinical negligence claims can take years to successfully settle

Don’t:

• Try and settle a claim without seeking specialist legal advice

• Accept offer of compensation without seeking independent legal advice

Call Lauren Watkins on 01633 244233 or email watkinsl@hevans.com for details.

This column is produced in conjunction with The Law Society.