Compensation claims against NHS continue to rise
In addition to the normal types of accident compensation claims the NHS also has the specific category of compensation claim classed as medical negligence.
With the huge number of operations undertaken in the NHS every year mistakes do happen, however NHS specialists were surprised by the recent report that the NHS has had to set aside £15.7bn to cover potential compensation claims for medical negligence in years to come.
As the number of compensation claims against the NHS continues to rise they have had to forecast potential payouts to tens of thousands of patients who they expect will be victims of some form of medical misadventure. The figure of £15.7bn is an actuarial calculation which takes in a range of factors including an assessment of the likelihood of admission of liability, the severity of the claim and an estimate of the potential settlement figure.
In 2010-2011 the NHS received more than 8,500 medical negligence claims which was an increase of thirty per cent over 2009-2010. Total compensation paid out in previous years has exceeded £1bn per year.
A recent report compiled for MPs highlighted that a significant amount of the compensation claims came from incidents that caused brain-damage to babies. Advances in specialist medical care mean the survival rates are now higher than before and the victims of these tragic cases are living longer which adds to the care costs and thus increases compensation awards.
An example of the type of accident compensation claim is demonstrated by the recent award of £7.4m to a budding paralympian who lost her hands and feet after meningococcal septicaemia was misdiagnosed in 2002 as a tummy upset.
Medical negligence claims by their very nature can be complex and anyone who finds themselves in the unfortunate position of considering a medical negligence claim should contact an experienced compensation claims solicitor.
There is a specific process to follow for this type of accident compensation claim and there are distinct stages the claim process has to go through to be successful.
Information gathering is an important aspect of this type of claim in order to establish a provable fault by a third party which would either be a member of the medical staff or the NHS itself due to a failure in its organisational structure. Proving fault will either be for negligence or breach of duty of care.
The fact that an injury has actually been sustained must be established and the final stage is to prove that the injury sustained was a direct result of the fault by the third party whether that be by their action, negligence or failure in duty of care.
Many of the medical negligence cases brought against the NHS are settled out of court and because every claim is different in terms of the circumstances and severity of injury it’s important to ensure you have an experienced solicitor negotiating the value of the claim on your behalf.
Personal Injury Solicitors are specialists in compensation claims. To find out if you have an accident compensation claim visit our website at www.personal-injury-solicitors-london.co.uk for more information or simply call us on 0845 544 1794 and speak to one of our specialist solicitors.
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