When you live in a relatively affluent county such as Oxfordshire, you might expect to receive an exceptional level of medical care. When that doesn’t happen, you can easily feel upset and victimised. We put our trust in doctors and medical professionals and when we come to suspect negligence on their part, it can be very distressing.
One Banbury woman, for example, successfully sued Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust in April 2015 after proving that her father had been left with a head injury after a male health care assistant used a physical restraint to calm him down whilst he was being treated for severe dementia at the Fiennes Centre mental health unit.
Bringing a negligence claim against any doctor, nurse or surgeon can be daunting – but our experienced medical negligence team are here to make the process much easier for you.
If you live in Oxfordshire and have suffered through the actions of a negligent health professional failing to carry out their responsibilities properly, you may well have a claim for medical negligence [also referred to as clinical negligence – means exactly the same thing].
CAN I BRING A MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIM?
For your medical negligence claim to succeed, your solicitor will need to establish two facts;
1. Your solicitor will need to prove that a medical professional has failed to carry out their responsibilities properly in particular, there must be a “breach of duty” — or fault — by the doctor or medical professional in which the standard of care you received fell below that which could be reasonably expected by a medical professional.
2. Your solicitor will also need to be able to show that the negligent action caused you harm and could have been avoided.
If these two conditions are met, you are likely to have a strong case for a successful medical negligence compensation claim.
HOW TO IDENTIFY A GENUINE SPECIALIST
if you have been the victim of a medical error, then you have already put your trust in a medical professional, and you really don’t want to leave your claim in the hands of a solicitor who doesn’t specialise in the sort of compensation claims.
If you instruct us here at Bonallack & Bishop to run your medical claim, you won’t be dealt with by an unqualified youngster or faceless call centre operative.
We believe medical negligence is too important for that.
All our medical negligence claims are run by specialist solicitors – and our team includes a solicitor who is also a qualified and experienced nurse- and who worked at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital before becoming a solicitor
So if you appoint Bonallack and Bishop, you can be certain that we’ve been independently accredited as genuine specialists.
YOUR MEDICAL CLAIM – DON’T WORRY ABOUT PAYING LEGAL COSTS – NO WIN NO FEE AVAILABLE
With our team of specialist medical negligence solicitors, if we don’t win your case you won’t pay a penny. This is often known as ‘no win, no fee’, although that term is often used by firms of claims managers who take on bulk caseloads. You will, no doubt, have seen the adverts on television.
We, however, are a firm of specialist solicitors who deal with medical negligence claims representing clients throughout the south of England.
YOUR SOLICITOR – BUILDING YOUR MEDICAL CLAIM
Your medical negligence solicitor will need to view all of the evidence, including your medical records from both your GP, x-rays, specialist reports and any hospital records. Understanding these documents requires medical knowledge – another reason why these kind of claims need expert solicitors.
Collecting the evidence to prove your case is crucial – and in particular, where the reputation of a qualified medical professional is at stake, the courts will want to see that all reasonable measures and steps have been taken to review all of the evidence in your case.
WILL I NEED TO GO TO COURT? DON’T WORRY
The thought of going to court can put many people off of bringing about a medical negligence claim – but the reality is that only a very small number of cases ever need to go to a contested hearing at court.
In most cases, especially if the negligence is beyond doubt, then the NHS or insurance company defending the case may step in to settle the claim, well before it gets in front of a judge. You might not even be chasing compensation and may simply want an apology and explanation. We can help you obtain this, but formal complaints must be made within six months, so it’s vital you don’t delay action.
BONALLACK & BISHOP – GOING THE EXTRA MILE FOR CLIENTS IN OXFORDSHIRE
High standards of client care are really important to us. Contact one of our solicitors today and you will get;
- FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached
- your first interview FREE of charge
- home and hospital visits anywhere in Oxfordshire if you’re unable to travel
- a no win no fee agreement to run your claim for compensation – so you don’t need to worry about paying legal costs
DON’T DELAY STARTING YOUR CLAIM
It is vital that you start your claim for medical negligence within three years of the date of the negligence occurring- or you risk losing your right to claim entirely, in which case you will never know if you could have won the compensation you deserve.
So make sure that you get the right legal advice as soon as possible after the incident, while the facts are still fresh in your memory.
OXFORDSHIRE MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIM? CALL FREEPHONE 0800 1404544
If you have been the victim of a medical error, contact us now – for FREE initial phone advice and a FREE first appointment from our accredited medical negligence specialists;
- Call our team now FREE on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544
- Alternatively, you can reach us via email using the enquiry form below.