Medical negligence is a crucial field in personal injury law; medical practitioners can get things wrong, and patients can suffer as a result. Getting the right representation can ensure that victims of medical negligence get the recognition and compensation they deserve – and with over 11,000 claims against the NHS in 2019-20 alone, the field is more important than ever. But there are different kinds of medical negligence claim, and knowing what they are could help you in the search for justice over your own negligence issue. Here are the four most common kinds of medical negligence claim.
Prescription Errors
Prescription errors occur when a medical practitioner makes a mistake in the prescription of medicines or treatments for a given condition. They may prescribe the right medicine with the wrong dosage, a medicine to which you are allergic or even the wrong medicine entirely. Prescription errors become a matter for a medical negligence solicitor when they result in medical consequences for you as a patient; for example, you may have been prescribed an excessive daily dosage of a particular drug, resulting in serious side-effects and long-term damage to your body. Another example might be that your condition worsened as a result of not receiving the correct medicine to treat it – an avoidable error resulting in undue injury and stress.
Medical Misdiagnosis
Medical misdiagnosis occurs when a medical practitioner gets the diagnosis of your condition wrong, resulting in otherwise avoidable injury or worsening of said condition. They may diagnose you with a condition you do not have, or not diagnose you at all. Misdiagnosis can have drastic consequences for a patient, especially where life-threatening conditions like cancer are concerned.
Pregnancy and Birth Injury
Pregnancy and birth injuries are unfortunately a common occurrence, and make up a significant portion of medical negligence claims in the UK. The issue of childbirth care has even been taken up by government, which announced a multi-million pound pledge to improve birthing conditions across the UK. If you or your child are harmed as a result of mistakes made before, during or after birth, you may be eligible for compensation; common injuries include brain injury during or after delivery, unrequired episiotomy during birth, or forceps injuries resulting in nerve damage.
Surgical Negligence
Surgical negligence is an overarching term for any injuries sustained or errors made during the course of surgery. Many things can go wrong during a surgery, from the injury of other organs and body parts during the course of the surgery to the leaving of foreign objects in the body following surgery. Issues can also arise before and after: a consultant may not have outlined a significant risk posed to you by the surgery, affecting your decision to take it; or poor after-care may have resulted in an avoidable infection and further medical complications.
