GP Medical Negligence Solicitors - General Practitioner Compensation Claims
Our personal injury solicitors deal with compensation claims against negligent family doctors. If you have been injured as a result of negligent treatment by a general practitioner (GP), you should speak to a specialist medical negligence solicitor as soon as possible. The Limitation Act 1980 applies to all compensation claims for personal injury which means that there are time limits that apply to GP claims. You should obtain legal advice as soon as possible after you were injured by the act or omission of a family doctor or as soon as you become aware of the injury.
If you would like free advice with no further obligation from a specialist medical negligence solicitor, just call our helpline, complete the contact form or send an email. Do yourself justice and give us a call today.
General Practitioner - GP Negligence Duty of Care
All healthcare providers including family doctors and general practitioners have a legal duty to ensure that they exercise reasonable skill, care and judgement in examining, diagnosing, treating and providing information to their patients. Any GP who breaches this duty of care and subsequently causes personal injury to a patient may be subject to a medical negligence compensation claim and become liable to pay an award of damages to the injured patient. Many patients who sign a doctors consent form are concerned that they may have no right to sue in due course, in the event of negligent treatment however a consent form doesn’t relieve a doctor from their responsibility of meeting the necessary standard of care.
Our medical negligence solicitors specialise in compensation claims against doctors and hospitals. They not only deal with claims against a family doctor or general practitioner but will also prosecute action against the following disciplines :-
- Cardiovascular surgeon
- General Surgeon
- Obstetrician
- Oncologist
- A & E Doctor
- Gynaecologist
- Neurologist
- Neurosurgeon
- Gastroenterologist
- Ophthalmologist
- Ophthalmic Surgeon
- Dermatologist
- Urologist
- Anaesthetist
- Plastic Surgeon
- Psychiatrist
- Oral Surgeon
- Orthopaedic Surgeon
- Pathologist
- Paediatrician
- Radiologist
Causation of Damage
To prove a medical negligence claim against a general practitioner or family doctor it is not enough to merely show a breach in duty of care. The patient must prove that the GP’s poor performance actually caused personal injury. This requirement is called “causation”, and proving this link can be difficult for a medical negligence solicitor. If the patient can show “breach of the duty of care” and “causation of damage” then liability is proved, leaving only assessment of the damages award to be paid to the patient.
Compensation Award
Damages for personal injury is normally awarded as a single payment to cover past, present and estimated future losses. The lump sum award is calculated based on financial loss and harm suffered and needs arising. A patient may be awarded compensation for :
- Attendant care
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Health care expenses
- Domestic assistance
- Special equipment
- Pharmaceuticals
- Loss of income
Because of the complexities involved in bringing a medical negligence case against a family doctor or general practitioner, you should seek advice from an experienced medical negligence solicitor who will provide a thorough assessment of your potential GP compensation claim in early course.
Medical Negligence Case Examples
Our accredited medical negligence solicitors have extensive knowledge and experience in handling personal injury compensation claims against a GP involving :
- Premature discharge of a patient
- Unnecessary treatment
- Sexual misconduct
- Lack of informed consent
- Errors in diagnosis
- Failure or delay in referral or consultation
- Improper procedure performance
- Medication errors
- Failure to perform
- Equipment malfunction
- Delay in performance of a procedure
- Failure to recognise a complication of treatment
- Failure to instruct or communicate with the patient
- Failure to supervise or monitor
- Failure to instruct or communicate with the patient
Family Doctor Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis of medical conditions is one of the main areas of negligence by family doctors and general practitioners. Some of the most commonly misdiagnosed medical conditions are :
- Breast Cancer
- Appendicitis
- Meningitis
- Lung Cancer
- Cancer of the Rectum
- Colon Cancer
- Endocarditis
- Prostate Cancer
- Heart Attack / Myocardial Infarction
- Coronary Artherosclerosis
- Aortic Aneurysm
- Pneumonia
- Bone Fracture
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Diabetes
- Back Disorders
Fatalities - Death Claims
Close relatives of a person who has died as a result of medical negligence by a general practitioner or a family doctor may be able to make a compensation claim for the pain and suffering of the deceased plus their own loss of a reasonable expectation of future financial support. The categories of people who can claim as a result of fatality is restricted but includes dependants, who will be required to prove the level of support from the deceased, and a spouse, a civil partner, a cohabiting person, parents and both legitimate and illegitimate children. The sums payable in a fatal accident claim also include a statutory payment for bereavement which is a fixed sum together with funeral expenses and associated expenses. Following a fatality which may be the result of medical negligence, it is often the case that there is a coroners inquest into the actual cause of death with 'natural causes' or 'misadventure' being the most common findings.
Limitation Act 1980
Compensation claims for personal injury are subject to the time restrictions contained in the Limitation Act 1980. The basic limitation period is three years from the date of the incident that caused the injury or three years from the date on which the injury was discovered. There are exceptions for minors and the mentally disabled. Limitation periods are complex legal issues and advice should always be sought from a specialist personal injury solicitor.
It is important that you seek legal advice as soon as possible to avoid losing your right to sue a GP, as failing to bring legal action within the legal time limit, may mean your claim becomes “statute-barred”.
Call our legal team today to find out what time limit applies to your case.
NHS Complaints Solicitors
Our personal injury solicitors deal with medical negligence compensation claims. In order to gather as much evidence as possible prior to the issue of legal proceedings we also offer a completely ‘pro bono’ scheme, totally without charge, relating to the NHS complaints procedure. It goes without saying that the success of any legal action involving litigation in a court of law also depends on the quality of the evidence. The aim of using the NHS Complaints Procedure is to ensure that the NHS reveals as much information as possible prior to formal legal action and the outcome of an NHS complaint may well include an irrefutable admission of liability. An NHS complaint is often about the following issues, upon which we can give legal advice however much more serious matters can also form the basis of the enquiry :-
- quality of service
- inadequate provision of information
- inadequate explanations
- attitude of medical staff
- physical condition of buildings
- hygiene standards
- competence of staff
- delays or cancellations
- administrative problems
- food and other facilities
- visiting hours
Procedure
The UK National Health Service (NHS) has a well established procedure for making a formal complaint against a hospital, clinic, doctor or other healthcare provider. We will advise and assist you in all of the formalities, with no charge whatsoever. Hospitals, clinics and doctors surgeries usually have a member of staff specifically assigned to deal with NHS complaints which can be made either verbally or in writing. If you wish us to assist you in making a complaint you should contact us first, before making any complaint whatsoever. We will give you advice on the best and most effective way to make an NHS complaint after considering your particular circumstances. In more serious cases which may result in action for clinical negligence in a court of law it is often preferable to make the complaint in writing to ensure that there is no doubt about the matter at a later stage, especially if the NHS complaint and the subsequent NHS response is to be used as evidence in a medical negligence compensation claim.
Review
The NHS complaints procedure is initially dealt with at local level however in the event of the patient not being satisfied with the response it is possible to refer the matter to an independent review panel which will produce a report on the investigation and will make recommendations. If the patient remains concerned about the outcome of the deliberation by the independent review panel then application can be made to the Health Service Commissioner otherwise known as The Ombudsman.
The author of the substantive medical writing on this website is Dr. Christine Traxler MD whose biography can be read here