When making a claim you'll have a team of hardworking and dedicated staff to guide you, and a case handler who'll be responsible for the day-to-day running of your claim. We'll keep you updated on every development.

To make a clinical negligence claim, you have to prove:

• Breach of duty - this is when somebody from the medical or dental profession was careless in providing you with treatment which was below the reasonable standard expected.
• Causation - your careless treatment must have caused your symptoms and/or injury you are complaining of.

Stages of a claim

Each case is unique, and how complex your case is determines how long it will take to resolve.  On average it takes between 18 months to three years. We assess at the outset whether your case has a good chance of succeeding.

Initial investigations

Firstly, we will have a detailed telephone discussion with you to help us understand your concerns and why you're considering making a claim.

We'll obtain your medical records from your GP and any hospital/s where you've had treatment, NHS and/or private. We'll review your records to get a full picture of what happened. This will help us assess whether or not your case should be pursued. 

Instructing a medical expert

Having reviewed your case from a legal point of view, we'll instruct a medical expert who is a specialist in the type of treatment you've received and the injury you've suffered to comment on your case.

The expert will usually comment on:

• whether you received negligent treatment
• whether your negligent treatment caused your injury
• timeframe for your recovery
• whether you will require further surgery to get better

Continuing investigations

Once the medical expert has advised on your case, and after witness statements have been gathered, we'll advise you of your chances of proving your case.

The next step in making a claim is to send the third party a 'Letter of Claim' setting out the detailed allegations in your case. The third party will have three months in which to investigate your claim and provide a response, either admitting or denying the allegations.

Our team will then continue to investigate your claim through to settlement.

Settling your case

During your claim, the other party may wish to settle out of court, which is the most common outcome. If your claim does go to court, be assured that Access Legal from Shoosmiths will support you and explain everything each step of the way.

We'll be able to explain how to make a claim in more details in our telephone conversation. Please call 03700 86 86 86, and you'll speak to a qualified advisor who'll be more than willing to answer all your questions.

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