We put our trust – and often our lives – in the hands of the medical professionals we see. Whist many professionals do a fantastic job, and whilst we must always remember that there are frontline staff fighting an uphill battle in an age of public spending cuts and the ongoing credit crunch, there are certain things that should never happen.
So the question of ‘what do I do?’ if something does appear to have gone wrong is normally one of the first on a victims lips; especially because, when things do go wrong, they can often go horrendously wrong.
The difference between negligence and inherent risk
The first thing to appreciate and identify is that there is a huge line between what should not have happened and what simply could not have been avoided. Many procedures and treatments carry with them inherent risks and if you fall victim to one such inherent risk then you will find it difficult to claim.
A victim is entitled to claim for personal injury compensation where undue suffering has occurred which should have been avoided.
Perhaps the easiest example to help you understand this is that of infections. Pretty much any invasive procedure – from a triple heart bypass to a dentistry filling – carries with it the inherent risk of suffering from an infection. Whilst there is plenty that can, and normally is, done to prevent infections, they cannot be totally avoided. As such suffering an infection as an inherent risk is not something you can normally claim for.
Sometimes an infection can lead to horrendous complications as well. But to be able to claim you must prove that something has been done wrong – or perhaps not done at all. If you are misdiagnosed despite presenting clear symptoms which ought to have allowed a medical professional to either treat or refer you then there may be a claim to answer for. If a surgeon (for want of a better example) inadvertently removed the wrong organ then you could have a claim.
The difference between mistakes and risk is often the key difference between having a claim and not having a claim.
Warnings
It is expected that where you could be subject to inherent risks you ought to be warned of them and given the opportunity to accept them. If, for example, you are told that you may contract an infection from a procedure, or you may suffer some minor nerve damage from a surgical wound, then you will find it hard to claim for being the victim of such a thing. Normally these kinds of warnings are provided both verbally and in writing.
If you are not warned of something that will have altered your decision as to whether you would have undertaken a course of treatment or a procedure then there could be a claim to answer for.
Proving a case
The burden of proving a claim is always on the victim. With an expert injury law firm working for you we will use expert reports and evidence to help prove a claim. The best thing you can do to start with is to contact us on 0800 634 7575 for an initial case assessment.