If you live in the UK and have suffered as a result of medical negligence involving an NHS organisation, there are procedures in place to allow a patient to formally complain and be compensated accordingly. The process is quite complex, however, and you might want to talk to an experienced medical negligence lawyer before commencing, as then you will have an expert in your corner who can advise and guide you through the official complaints procedure.
Follow the Correct Procedure
When formally lodging a complaint and claiming financial compensation for medical negligence, one must follow the correct procedure, and the first thing to do is collate the information and evidence you might have. As the term suggests, for a medical practitioner to have been negligent in his or her actions, one must have evidence to support this allegation. This might be in the form of a medical report, or perhaps you have witnesses to corroborate your allegations, but if you talk to the right lawyer, they will compile all the available evidence and help you through the next stage of the process, which is to write a letter of complaint. If you happen to be looking for medical negligence experts in Sunderland, there is a legal firm who are very experienced and have the top lawyers on their books.
Inform the NHS Care Provider
The complaint letter is something you should have help with, as it is critical to the success of your claim, and it should include the details of the alleged negligence, the place, date and time, and also a summary of the entire event. The other very important point regarding the complaint letter is you must state clearly what you expect from the complaint. If, for example, you calculated the amount of money the negligence has directly caused you to spend, plus any loss of earnings, and you should consult with an experienced medical negligence solicitor, as he or she would know the limitations for making a financial claim. It might be that you merely wish to receive a written apology, or perhaps you would like some assurance that this will not happen to any other person in the future, but whatever your wishes, they should be clearly stated in the letter of complaint.
NHS Trusts
The National Health Service is a combination of many individual care providers, and each would be regulated by a Trust, who would have their own complaints process in place. Your solicitor would help you to compile the complaint letter, ensuring that all the relevant information is included, and this would sent, via registered mail, to the registered address of the Trust concerned, or failing that, directly to the care provider against whom the complaint is being made. The Trust Board would examine your complaint before eventually coming to a decision, which might involve a compensation payment, and if you are not satisfied with the outcome, there are channels one can take.
There are specialist medical negligence solicitors who can really help with the complaints process, and by using an expert, you are increasing your chances of a positive outcome.
