What you should expect of your solicitor
1. Legal advice and support
Free initial half hour meeting to discuss
the merits of your potential claim at their
offices or in your home, if mobility
necessitates a visit.
Advice on the most appropriate method of
funding your claim, whether:
- Legal Aid
- No Win No Fee (Conditional Fees)
- Legal Expenses Insurance
- After the event insurance
- Privately
Consider with you what each of these
various dispute resolution processes can
provide in terms of complaint, the court or
an Alternative dispute resolution process
both in the immediate, short term, medium
term and long term.
Attendance and representation of your
interest at an inquest.
Advise you on the approach to case
management from start to completion of your
claim.
2. Clinical negligence.
All firms on this site hold a Legal Aid
Board clinical negligence franchise -
identifying it as a specialist clinical
negligence firm.
You shall receive specialist advice from
experienced team members. The appropriate
team is assembled to progress your claim.
They may include the following team members.
Your medical experts (chosen from the
appropriate medical discipline).
- Your barrister.
- Your witnesses (which may include
family members).
They will advise you and liase with you
in relation to any media interest.
They will advise you about a support
network, whether that is your family ,
Action for Victims of Medical Accidents (AVMA),
counselling or other support agencies. They
can provide to you a list of all those
appropriate organisations.
3. Examples of clinical negligence
claims.
- Birth injury.
- Injury at operation or
dissatisfaction with the outcome.
- Failure to treat or diagnose a
condition.
- Lack of consent for medical
procedure, whether in school, hospital
or GP practice.
- Complaint against a medical
practitioner, dentist, optician or
therapist.
- Claim against a therapist providing
Alternative therapy/complimentary
medicine - such as an Acupuncturist,
counsellor (possibly false memory
implant) or Aromatherapist and others.
Involvement in a clinical trial.
- Mental Health Act issues.
The above is just a sample of possible
areas of claim.
Legal hurdles to be surmounted.
- Proof that someone owed to you a
duty to take care of your wellbeing and
not to cause injury to you.
- Proof that there has been a breach
of that duty to take care of you.
- A recognised harm causing harm to
you.
- Damage (injury) and/or other losses
have resulted
Over 90% of cases resolve (whether by a
payment or not) without reaching the courts
for a judge to resolve the issues.
In a clinical negligence claim, it is
predominantly the issue of “showing that the
injury was caused by the breach of duty of
care”, which is usually the most difficult
limb to surmount.
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