Everyone will at some point in their lives have to undergo a medical procedure. These may be minor, or more involved. In most cases, any treatment will be successful with no complications. Occasionally however, things can go wrong. When they do the consequences can be life changing.
If medical professionals make mistakes with your treatment, you need someone on your side to help.
Mark Reynolds Solicitors help people in Leigh obtain the justice they deserve, and the compensation they need to get their lives back on track.
What kind of areas does medical negligence cover?
Medical negligence can arise whenever anyone has any kind of medical procedure.
Let’s take a look at some of the more common areas our specialists at Mark Reynolds Solicitors regularly deal with.
Medical negligence at A&E
Accident & Emergency departments in Leigh have to operate under busy, often stressful conditions. This doesn’t mean that the standard of care you should expect to receive should be any less.
If the level of care you receive falls below the expected standard, then additional injury can occur. If it can be shown that extra injury and suffering occurred due to substandard care, then you may be entitled to compensation.
There are a number of ways in which medical negligence most frequently occurs in an A&E setting. These include:
- Diagnosis errors/misdiagnosis – Any patient attending A&E needs to receive an accurate diagnosis in as timely a manner as possible. If there are failures, errors or delays in diagnosis, then medical negligence can occur.
- Treatment errors – If a condition is diagnosed correctly, but the ensuing treatment is incorrect, then this can lead to medical negligence.
- Inexperienced medical professionals – While everyone training for a career in the health professions has to gain clinical experience, this should not be at the cost of medical care. If an inexperienced practitioner makes an error this can lead to medical negligence.
- Delays – There can often be a considerable wait for treatment in an A&E department. For some people, these delays can have serious consequences. Delays in diagnosis and treatment have been the cause of pain, further serious injury and even premature death.
Dental Negligence
While most dental care in the UK is of a high standard, sometimes dental professionals make painful and damaging mistakes. These can lead to serious discomfort and expense in getting them rectified.
Some of the dental errors that may be due to medical negligence include:
- Inadequate root canal therapy
- Failed implants
- Extracting the wrong tooth
- Failing to manage and treat decay
- Inadequate fillings
- Inadequate crowns
- Failing to manage gum disease
- Poorly executed cosmetic dentistry
GP Treatment
When we feel unwell our first port of call will usually be our GP. They can make a diagnosis and refer us for specialist treatment should that be required.
Mistakes can happen when a GP is assessing a patient. Incorrect treatment, misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose can all have serious consequences for the patient.
Some of the areas that can lead to medical negligence when you are being treated by a GP include:
- An inadequate patient examination
- Failure to perform the appropriate tests
- Failure to review or act upon test results
- Missed home visits
- Incorrect diagnosis
- Prescription errors
- Failure to refer to specialists
- Failure to diagnose a serious disease
- Performing a medical procedure incompetently
- Failure to maintain proper patient records
All of these can have serious consequences for the individual and may be suitable for a medical negligence claim.
NHS claims and compensation
Despite its excellent track record and standard of care, sometimes things can go wrong when you’re receiving treatment from the NHS.
With NHS staff under increasing pressure, and with ever more demands on resources, medical negligence can sadly occur.
When it does the psychological and physical consequences can be huge.
If a medical professional working for the NHS provides inadequate or incorrect care, resulting in injury to the patient then it may be possible to make a claim for medical negligence.
Some common types of NHS negligence that could lead to a successful medical negligence claim include:
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Surgical negligence
- Prescription errors
Medical negligence in pregnancy
One of the most common areas of medical care that give rise to negligence is that of pregnancy. Expectant women, particularly first-time mothers, rely heavily on the advice and guidance of medical professionals. When there is a failure in the guidance or standards of care, the consequences can be devastating.
Medical negligence surrounding pregnancy and childbirth broadly fall into four categories:
- Medical negligence during pregnancy
- Medical negligence during labour
- Medical negligence related to caesarean sections
- Medical negligence after birth
Any of these can lead to serious, sometimes permanent injury to mother and child.
Incorrect & delayed diagnosis of cancer
Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be devastating. Thankfully, the odds of surviving cancer increase year on year. Failure to spot cancer when a patient reports with a complaint, or the misdiagnosis of a cancer can be deadly.
Medical negligence when it comes to cancer treatment is a sadly all too common occurrence. This might include:
- X-Rays or scans being misinterpreted
- Tissue samples being wrongly interpreted by pathologists
- An inadequate examination being carried out
- Prescription errors
Orthopaedic Injury Claims
Orthopaedics is an area of medicine which treats deformities or injuries to bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles.
Orthopaedic medical negligence is not uncommon and can include:
- Failure or delay diagnosing a fracture
- Incorrect treatment
- Medical negligence during orthopaedic surgery
- Nerve injury
- Inadequate suturing or dressing of wounds.
Cauda Equina Syndrome
Cauda Equina Syndrome occurs when the nerves at the base of the spinal cord become compressed. This can cause bowel and bladder dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, and possible neurological deficit in the lower limbs.
This serious, and painful condition must be correctly diagnosed and then speedily treated if there is to be a favourable outcome.
Medical negligence issues surrounding Cauda Equina Syndrome include:
- Delays in recognising the symptoms of the condition.
- Misdiagnosis of symptoms
- Delays in arranging investigations
- A delay in performing urgent surgery
- An at-risk patient has failed to be warned of the risk before undergoing surgery.
- A failure to refer the patient to be examined by a consultant
Medical negligence services in Leigh
We have helped countless people make successful medical negligence claims in Leigh and the surrounding area.
We offer a no-win, no-fee service and our team of experienced professionals will handle your case with sensitivity and discretion.
We want people who have experienced any kind of medical negligence to receive the proper compensation, enabling them to move on and live their lives.
Why not contact us today to discuss your circumstance, and to receive free, no-obligation advice?