Medical negligence claims

Medical negligence is when a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional makes a mistake, or doesn’t provide the level of care you should expect, and this causes you harm. It can leave people dealing with pain, worry and unexpected changes to their life. A medical negligence claim helps recognise what went wrong and can provide financial support for care, treatment or future needs. A specialist solicitor can help you understand what happened and guide you through the next steps.

In most cases, you have three years to bring a medical negligence claim, starting from the point you first became aware something went wrong. Some people realise this straight away, while for others it can take much longer, which means a claim may still be possible years later.

If the injured person was under 18, the time limit usually runs until their 21st birthday. There is no time limit if the person who suffered lacks mental capacity, so it’s always worth seeking advice about your situation.

You do not need to have all the answers or evidence yourself. If something does not feel right about the care you received, that is enough to raise concerns. Proving medical negligence usually involves reviewing what happened, looking at medical records and asking independent experts whether the care fell below acceptable standards and caused harm.

A specialist medical negligence solicitor can handle this investigation for you, explain things clearly, and guide you through the process so you don’t have to face it alone.

Medical negligence can cover a wide range of situations where care goes wrong, such as mistakes during treatment or surgery, or failures to act when symptoms clearly needed attention. It can happen at any stage of care, from GP appointments to hospital treatment and aftercare. You don’t need to know exactly what went wrong or when, but if you were harmed and something about your treatment feels wrong, it may be classed as medical negligence and is worth investigating.

Yes, you can change solicitors if you’re not satisfied with your current solicitor. We understand it can feel like a tough decision, but it’s important that you work with a legal team that you feel fully supports your needs. If you believe your medical negligence compensation lawyer isn’t acting in your best interests or you feel they may not achieve the outcome you’re hoping for, you are within your rights to switch to another team. At Fletchers, we have extensive experience handling complex and life-changing medical negligence cases, and we’re recognised as some of the best in the field.

You can make a claim for someone else if the injured person is a child under the age of 18 or they lack the mental capacity to manage their own legal affairs. In these cases, a parent, guardian, or appointed litigation friend can bring a claim on their behalf.

You may also be able to make a claim following the death of a loved one if medical negligence contributed to their passing. These claims can help secure compensation for dependants and provide answers about what went wrong.

You do not need to gather any evidence before you speak to our team. We can gather most of this on your behalf once we take on your case and we will guide you through anything we need form you.

If you have them available to you, it can be helpful to keep hold of any medical notes or test results, and any communication between you and your healthcare providers.

You don’t need to know what kind of medical negligence claim you have before getting in touch with our team. Most people who contact us are unsure, and that’s exactly what the first conversation is for. We’ll listen to your story, ask questions and give you honest, straightforward advice about whether you have a case and what your options are for next steps.