We are fortunate in our country that we have access to the National Health Service (NHS) but we are still entitled to make a claim if we have sustained injury or have been adversely affected as a result of medical negligence. A first thought is that it can seem harsh to sue the NHS, given that it provides medical treatment free of charge and in theory it is only there to help people who need treatment.
On the other hand people pay taxes and in effect it is these taxes which run the NHS – so ultimately it is a debate in itself whether it is a free service. Another point is that the NHS, as with a private company, has insurance in place for the sole purpose of paying out compensation to injured victims. The fact is that there is no shame in making a compensation claim; if you have sustained a genuine injury as a result of medical negligence then it is your right to claim. The insurance the NHS has is actually more of a self insured department called the NHS Litigation Authority.
There are normally a lof of difficulties with medical negligence claims. By their very nature they are often high value claims but this obviously depends on the seriousness of the injury in question and the overall effect on the Claimant’s life. I know from my own experience of being in hospital how staff do simple but effective tasks to avoid something going wrong. An example I can recall from my own experience (a broken ankle) is that, before my ankle was operated on, a member of staff (i.e. a Nurse) decided to do a big arrow in black marker pen on my left ankle – obviously to show that the left ankle was the ankle to be operated on.
We have all heard the horror stories of people having the wrong leg or arm amputated. Such a situation seems almost ridiculous but unfortunately mistakes of this magnitude have happened in the past. Obviously my example was one way to avoid such a crucial mistake – simply by marking the correct leg or arm which required surgery.
Medical negligence can include acts or omissions. For example a negligent act would be amputating the wrong arm or giving a patient a drug that he or she was allergic to. An omission is a failure to act and could include failing to keep a patient hydrated, for example. Obviously there has to be an injury sustained for negligence. In some circumstances it may be necessary to keep a patient off food and drink, and although the patient may not particularly like this, that in itself has not caused an injury. If an injury is caused then we would have to consider whether the withholding of food and drink was reasonable in the circumstances.
Questions would be asked such as whether this is accepted practice, what the risks are, whether the risks were corresponded to the patient, whether it was in the patient’s best interests etc. Another point to note is that if you were injured by a fellow hospital patient, this would still come under medical negligence. It could be argued that the hospital staff failed to keep you safe and free from harm if the patient in question had a history of hurting people – for one example.
The real issue with medical negligence claims is proving that an injury was in fact caused by negligence rather than the injury being a side effect of the particular treatment. Before any treatment such as surgery is performed, a suitably qualified person should explain the risks of the procedure, the potential side effects, and consent should be obtained before the treatment or surgery goes ahead. In some serious situations where consent cannot be obtained, if the patient is unconscious for example, treatment can be carried out on proviso that it is assumed that it is in the patient’s best interests to carry out the treatment.
Here at The Injury Lawyers, we deal solely with personal injury claims. We have dealt with many claims in respect of medical negligence. Obviously medical negligence is wide ranging and could occur in many different circumstances.
It is important to speak to experts in the field to obtain professional and honest advice. Please do not hesitate to contact us today on 0800 634 75 75.