Addressing fear culture in maternity services critical to preventing birth injuries in 2021
The Morecambe Bay maternity scandal came to light in 2015. Sadly since then, three investigations have been launched into the care delivered in three NHS
When you put your life in the hands of doctors and other medical professionals, you have to trust in their expertise. While in the majority of cases medical care is provided with no incident, sometimes medical professionals make mistakes that could have been prevented or fail to provide treatment to acceptable standards. The consequences of medical errors can be devastating to you and your family. A medical negligence solicitor can help you to get the answers and compensation that you need and are entitled to.
Medical negligence can have multiple consequences and affect people in different ways. Our compassionate team is dedicated to supporting you, every step of the way. The medical negligence claims handled by our team of experts include:
We have a strong track record in securing compensation for medical negligence claims and supporting our clients in accessing interim payments before their case is settled.
If you believe that you or your family has suffered a significant injury as a result of medical negligence, please contact our team of experts here for an initial free consultation to evaluate whether you have a medical negligence claim.
"Diane Rostron has a rare combination of excellent judgement, tenaciousness, and compassion for her clients."
"The team provides an excellent and responsive service."
"Diane Rostron provides a consistent professional approach to all cases. She is noted to have a thorough understanding of their current situation and works tirelessly to find solutions to immediate difficulties they may be facing. Diane ensures that the clients are up to date with the progression of their case and is happy to speak to them directly if required"
We understand the lifelong impact on those who have suffered as a result of avoidable medical negligence. We recognise that when faced with this unexpected, and significantly traumatic situation, you want answers and that you need compensation to address the financial consequences.
We know that it’s not always easy to realise that you have experienced medical negligence. It may take some time to identify that the significant injuries caused could have been avoided.
Families who have suffered as a result of medical mistakes need time to process the shock and the trauma. That’s why you have time to make medical negligence claims. Adults have up to three years after the incident, or date of knowledge, to make medical negligence claims. Following birth injury incidents, the family has three years from their child’s 18th birthday to make a claim. If a birth injury has led to a loss of mental capacity, there is no time limit.
We work hard to get you the compensation that you need to rebuild your life after medical negligence. Our team of experts meticulously consider every aspect of your needs as a result of the preventable loss or significant injury to ensure that you receive the compensation that you need. We know that compensation can’t replace a loved one or erase devastating life consequences. The purpose of medical negligence claims is to give you the support that you need with the physical, emotional and financial effect following medical mistakes.
We will discuss your case with you, including the errors you believe were made during your child’s birth and the effect this has had on their health, wellbeing and ability to function day-to-day. We will then provide an honest assessment of whether we think you have a claim worth further investigation and explain the claims process and fees involved.
We will bring together all the essential evidence to support your erb’s palsy claim, including medical records, witness statements and evidence from independent medical experts.
We will then contact the NHS Trust or healthcare provider that you believe is responsible for your child’s erb’s palsy in writing. This letter will detail the alleged medical negligence and the resulting injury to your child.
The defendant has 4 months to investigate your claim and to provide a response. This will generally either involve them accepting full or partial liability and offering a financial settlement or denying responsibility. If a settlement is offered, we will advise you on whether we think it is reasonable and, if not, what further action can be taken.
If you are not satisfied with the defendant’s response and any offer of compensation, we can issue court proceedings. The defendant will have 28 days to respond, after which the court will set a date for a hearing. Typically, your hearing date will be around 18 months after proceedings are initiated.
In most cases where a claim has reached this stage, we will be able to secure a pre-trial settlement allowing you to avoid a court hearing. We have a very strong negotiating team to help ensure any settlement reached meets your child’s lifelong needs.
If your claim cannot be resolved outside a court hearing, we can offer experienced and highly skilled advocacy to secure the best possible outcome for your family.
To better understand how compensation can help you to reclaim your life after medical negligence, you can listen to the stories of some of our clients.
Radwan, an active young footballer, has been left brain damaged as doctors failed to detect a serious cardiac condition during medical screening processes for Tottenham Hotspur. We worked hard to secure the compensation that this young man needed to live as independent a life as possible following his avoidable permanent injury.
Liam was deprived of oxygen at birth, resulting in irreversible brain damage leading to cerebral palsy. The compensation secured for him following his family’s medical negligence claim has ensured that Liam has access to the best treatment, support, and necessary home adaptations to meet his everyday needs.
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The Morecambe Bay maternity scandal came to light in 2015. Sadly since then, three investigations have been launched into the care delivered in three NHS
The High Court has approved an £8 million settlement for a seven-year-old child today, Monday 11th January, during a virtual hearing following a serious birth
Life for the parents of a child with cerebral palsy is changed forever and life for a child with cerebral palsy can often be very
To start a medical negligence claim today, or for more information about our birth injury solicitors you can get in touch by calling 01253 766 559 or emailing simply complete the form below.
After your first contact with my office, we will take outline details from you about what you believe has gone wrong. We will then apply for the medical records. Obtaining them can take about a couple of months.
When we receive the records, we carefully organise and review them to make sure they are complete. A meeting is then arranged to go through the records with you and to discuss your recollection of what happened. We will prepare a statement for you.
Experts in the relevant fields of medicine will help us assess what happened. For example, we may need to refer to an obstetrician, a midwife, a neonatologist, a neurologist, a surgeon or a GP. When we have obtained experts opinions, we will have a meeting with you, the experts, our junior barrister and often our QC.
This meeting is known as a Conference. It is designed to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the case and after that meeting we will draft a letter to the hospital setting out what happened.
To get to this stage can take 12 months or more. The hospital is supposed to reply to our letter within four months, but they rarely do. Their reply may admit that mistakes were made and that this caused injury. More often, however, the reply will deny that there were such mistakes.
When that happens, we have to issue court proceedings. This involves drafting ‘Particulars of Claim’, a document setting out the case. After we have served proceedings the hospital has 28 days to file a ‘Defence’. They often ask for an extension of time to do this.
The court will set a timetable for the management of the case. Many steps have to be taken. The timetable is usually about 18 months to the actual hearing of the case. During this time we will exchange witness statements and experts’ reports with the hospital. Our legal experts will have a discussion with the hospital’s experts to try and see what can be agreed. Our experience is that cases can be settled at any stage. If there is no settlement, there is a trial by a judge (no jury).
The judge reads and hears all the evidence and reaches a conclusion (hopefully in our favour).
I do my best to achieve success. A successful case can transform lives.