Hospital Negligence Claims

When admitted to hospital, you put your trust in the medical staff working there to safeguard your health and wellbeing. If they make errors in your treatment, it can have a devastating effect, leaving you with lifelong injuries and limitations on your life. In such circumstances, claiming compensation can be critical to help mitigate the impact on your life and allow you to move on.

Proving hospital negligence to the standard required for a successful compensation claim can be challenging, however, so it is essential to have specialist legal advice and guidance from the outset when building your case.

Wolferstans’ medical negligence solicitors have worked with a wide range of clients on hospital injury claims over many years, securing substantial compensation under even the most difficult circumstances. Our experience means we can ensure no critical details are overlooked and that your case is presented in the most effective way possible to give you the best chance of a fair outcome.

We can generally resolve claims outside of a court using our skills in non-confrontational dispute resolution. This allows you to avoid the stress and uncertainty associated with having your claim dealt with at a court hearing, as well as typically getting a result much faster and at lower expense.

With the benefit of our many years of experience with hospital negligence claims, we can provide a highly accurate estimate of your claim’s value, helping you to avoid the risk of settling your claim for less than it may truly be worth. This can be a risk with less experienced firms, highlighting the value of our particular expertise.

We offer a free initial no obligation consultation during which we will be able to tell you if you have a claim worth investigating further.

To arrange your consultation please contact the new client team on 01752 292204.

Our hospital negligence compensation claims service

Our hospital negligence lawyers support clients across England and Wales with a wide range of claims, including those related to:

Failure to admit a patient to hospital
Misdiagnosis and late diagnosis of a serious condition
Failure to monitor heart rate, fluid levels and other key health indicators
Surgical negligence
Hospital acquired infections e.g. MRSA and Clostridium Difficile
Pressure sores
Negligent nursing care
Negligent surgical aftercare

Read about some of the cases we have successfully pursued in relation to hospital injury claims.

How hospital compensation claims work

Our clinical negligence lawyers keep the process of making a claim as straightforward and free from hassle as possible, offering a friendly, sensitive and highly efficient claims service.

A typical hospital injury claim will involve:

Building your case e.g. applying for medical records, collecting witness evidence and consulting independent medical experts.
Contacting the relevant healthcare provider with the details of your claim.
Ensuring the defendant responds to your claim in a timely fashion.
Assessing the defendant’s response and advising you of your options.
Negotiating with the defendant and/or using alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as mediation or independent evaluation, to secure a suitable settlement.
Submitting your claim to the relevant court and representing you at a court hearing where required to resolve the matter.

Find out more about the process of making a clinical negligence claim.

Funding a hospital negligence compensation claim

The cost of making a claim should never be a reason to put of pursuing compensation where you believe you have legitimate reason to suspect hospital negligence. During your initial consultation, we will review you case and, as long as we believe you have a reasonable chance of success, we will find a way for you to fund your claim that works for you.

The majority of our clients work with us using conditional fee agreements, commonly referred to as a ‘no win, no fee’ hospital negligence claims. This means there is no need for you to contribute towards legal fees and expenses to start a claim, instead you will only need to put money towards these costs if your claim is successful. The amount you are required to contribute will then be based on a percentage of the value of the compensation secured.

Hospital negligence claims can also sometimes be funded with legal expenses insurance. This may have been offered as an optional extra with your home insurance, your bank account or a credit card, so it can be worth checking if you have this type of cover before deciding how to fund your claim.

To discuss your options for covering the cost of a hospital injury claim, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Find out more about funding a medical negligence claim.

Our expertise in hospital negligence claims

Our clinical negligence lawyers have extensive experience with even the most complicated hospital negligence claims, having helped our clients to secure substantial compensation payments over the years. This expertise and experience makes us one of the leading firms for these often challenging claims.

Wolferstans is accredited by the Law Society for Clinical Negligence, recognising our particular expertise in this area. We are also Lexcel accredited by the Law Society for excellence in legal practice management and client care.

Various members of our medical negligence team are also on the Law Society and AvMA (Action against Medical Accidents) Specialist Clinical Negligence Panels and have been accredited by APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) as Clinical Negligence Specialists and Brain Injury Specialists.

Find out more about our medical negligence claims team.

Read our client testimonials.

Common questions about hospital negligence claims

If you have been affected by hospital negligence, you will usually have 3 years from when the negligence occurred in order to bring a claim.

There are exceptions to this 3-year time limit, however, including:

If you only become aware negligence may have occurred later – The 3-year time limit may be counted from when you found out about the negligence instead.
If the person affected by the negligence was under 18 at the time – Their parents or guardians will have until the claimant turns 18 to bring a claim. If this is not done, the claimant will than have a further 3 years to bring a claim of their own, effectively giving them until their 21st birthday.
If the person affected by hospital negligence lacks the mental capacity to bring a claim – There is no time limit for someone else to this on their behalf.
If the person affected by the negligence has died – The representative of their estate will typically have 3 years from the date of death to bring a claim.

Knowing which time limit applies and whether you are still within it can be challenging, so it is strongly recommended to speak to an experienced, specialist medical negligence lawyer, no matter how long ago the negligence occurred.

There are two types of damages you can normally claim for hospital negligence:

Special damages – Covering specific financial losses incurred up to the date of settlement. This can cover costs such as paying for private medical treatment, funding care and other types of support, buying specialist equipment and replacing lost earnings due to any impact on your ability to go to work.

General damages – Covering non-financial losses, such as pain and suffering and changes to your lifestyle, as well as predicted future financial losses, such as paying for on-going treatment and care, and having to give up work permanently.

If a loved one has died as a result of hospital negligence, you (or another representative of their estate and/or dependants) may be able to bring a claim for medical negligence.

You will usually have 3 years from the date of death to bring a claim, assuming that the deceased died within 3 years of the negligence occurring/it being uncovered.

If your loved one had already started a claim for hospital negligence before their death, you may be able to carry on with the claim even if they have subsequently passed away.

Further information about hospital negligence compensation claims

For more information about hospital injury compensation claims and all types of medical negligence claims, please take a look at our news, blogs and our series of helpful leaflets covering specific issues.

Start a hospital negligence claim with us today

To arrange a free initial no obligation consultation and find out more about starting a hospital negligence compensation claim: