Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. More and more people are undergoing medical procedures, like Cosmetic surgery, to please not just themselves but also to please other people. They just want to feel good and look good. What if the treatment becomes unsuccessful? Can a patient file a claim against his doctor? What is the situation of Medical Negligence Cases in the United Kingdom?
Medical negligence is a malpractice committed by a health care provider wherein the treatment falls beyond the standard of care resulting to injuries or even death of the patient. Medical Negligence Cases are handled by lawyers who are experts in personal injury claims. Common medical errors that occur in the UK include:
• Misdiagnosis
- The doctor’s diagnosis is very critical in the early stage of consultation. Physicians can be liable for any misdiagnosis such as misdiagnosis of symptoms of heart attack, failure to diagnose a cancer, misdiagnosis of diabetes, and failure to diagnose appendicitis.
• Delayed Diagnosis
- A delay in diagnosis is considered as negligence. Failure to diagnose a particular disease may lead to various complications like delay in cancer diagnosis, untimely diagnosis of coronary artery disease, failure to timely diagnose appendicitis and delay in diagnosis and treatment of stroke.
• Surgical Error and Unnecessary Surgery
- Negligence during a medical procedure may result in infection of internal organs and may eventually damage the patient’s body. Some examples of surgical error and unnecessary surgery include wrong site surgery, foreign objects left inside the patient’s body, Cesarean section and Pacemaker implant.
A patient who suffers from medical malpractice can file a claim against NHS hospitals, private hospitals, doctors, consultants, nurses, dentists or physiotherapists. A claimant needs to establish four elements of negligence claim.
• Duty of Care - The claimant needs to prove that health care provider owe a duty of care. All medical professionals owe a duty to take care of the patient.
• Breach of Duty – It is essential that claimant should prove that the health care professional has breached his duty. Medical Negligence Cases happen when the health care workers failed to comply with standard of care set by the medical community.
• Causation - The breach of duty was the cause of the injury.
• Damage - Negligence of the health care provider resulted to injuries and in some cases, death of the patient.
Claims for medical negligence require expert legal advice. Injury lawyers specialise in medical negligence. Seek legal assistance to bring a clam for negligence.
