Medical negligence solicitors
For most people when they go into hospital or go and see their doctor, either on the NHS or privately funded, their experience is positive and the treatment they receive is beneficial.
Unfortunately, things can go wrong when you are being cared for by a medical professional and if they make a mistake or they fail in their duty of care to you leading to an injury or making your condition worse, then a lawyer can represent you to ensure that you or a loved one can get the answers and the justice you deserve.
The medical negligence team at Leigh Day consists of lawyers as well as former doctors, midwives and nurses. We also work with the country’s leading medical experts to care for you or a loved one if an injury has occurred.
How do I make a medical negligence claim?
Contact us as soon as possible to find out whether you can make a claim.
You will be asked a series of questions by a member of our specialist team, in confidence, who will assess whether you have a claim, this initial assessment is free of charge. Most of our cases are taken on a no win, no fee basis or some can be funded by legal aid or through their home insurance which may contain legal cover.
What this means is that you pay nothing up front if your claim is accepted. We can explain how your claim is funded but usually if your claim is successful the other side, the defendant which is either the private hospital, the insurers for the NHS hospital or medical professional, pays your legal costs, with a capped percentage coming from your compensation award.
If your claim is unsuccessful, you pay nothing, we take that risk.
How long do I have to make a claim?
It is usually three years from the time at which you realise that you have been injured or your condition has worsened. Medical negligence claims involving children can be made at any time until the age of 18, after which the three-year rule applies.
People who lack mental capacity do not have any time limit to make a claim. They are usually represented by a ‘litigation friend’ who can be a family member or a carer. We have specialist lawyers who have worked with people with limited mental capacity and who can help in these circumstances.
Why should I choose Leigh Day?
Medical negligence claims are complicated and so you should choose an established and experienced lawyer to bring a claim for you.
If you have had an injury or your condition has been made worse, or a loved one has died, it is one of the most important decisions you may ever make.
You need experts to understand the medical issues being challenged. As experts over many years in the field of clinical negligence, the Leigh Day team can call on experience which has been gained from fighting hundreds of cases. The team also has an extensive list of the country’s leading barristers they regularly work with alongside the UK’s leading medical experts to help them find out exactly what has gone wrong during a medical procedure.
We are constantly rated the best in the UK at what we do for the care we provide to our clients and the cases we take on their behalf. The Times newspaper, in its
2020 Top Law Firms supplement, ranked us as one of the three top law firms for clinical negligence in the UK. We are also in the top ranks in both the independent directory
The Legal 500 and
Chambers. Call us on
020 7650 1200 or email
postbox@leighday.co.uk and find out more about us on a no obligation basis.
What types of cases do Leigh Day take on?
There are many different types of cases which come under the heading “medical negligence”. What they all have in common is that the mistake or the poor care has occurred in a healthcare setting, either in a private or NHS environment.
They include catastrophic injuries such as
brain and spinal injuries, including
cerebral palsy,
amputation and cauda equina syndrome. We also specialise in claims relating to the missed or delayed diagnosis,
surgical errors and
infectious diseases.
2 minutes with the medical negligence team