GP Negligence Claims
The primary care received by patients from their GP is in the most part excellent, however, occasions can arise when the standard of care is not acceptable and a patients medical condition can go undiagnosed untreated and can have life-changing implications.
If you or your loved one believes that they received substandard care from their GP then contact us at McElhinney & Associates, we can review your records and advise you on your options.
What amounts to GP negligence:
There area a range of mistakes made by GP’s that can amount to negligence:
- Failure to refer a patient to a specialist when the symptoms indicate that a referral is required.
- Failing to act on the results of tests that indicate that treatment is required.
- Failure to prescribe medication or given an incorrect prescription for medication.
- Failure to attend to a patient in a timely manner.
A typical GP negligent claim involves the following steps:
- We will investigate every minute detail of your case and from there we will build your case by obtaining all of your medical records, taking full witness account from you and we will consultant the best experts in their field to give an opinion on whether negligence arose in your care or treatment.
- We will contact the relevant hospital or doctor advising them that we believe there was negligence in your care and treatment and asking them to admit liability.
- We will serve proceedings on the relevant medical institution or doctor and ensure that they reply to your claim in a timely manner with full details of any defence that they wish to make.
- We will represent your claim in the courts robustly to secure the appropriate level of compensation for your injuries.
Our experience with GP negligence claims:
Our experienced team at McElhinney & Associates Solicitors have worked on various types of GP claims over the years ranging from the very simple to the most complex. We have developed expertise in the area and we know how to prepare and progress your claim to achieve the optimum level of compensation for you.
What level of compensation will I receive for a GP negligence claim:
The level of compensation payable to you is directly related to the level of injury and trauma that you suffered together with the impact that the negligent treatment has had on your quality of life. Compensation is usually broken down into two parts:
- General damages. This is compensation for the pain and suffering that you have endured to date together with the likely pain and suffering that you will endure into the future.
- Special damages. These are items of expenditure and financial loss that you have incurred up to the date of the court award and possible likely future financial losses, for example, the cost of any private treatment, medication, aids and appliances, loss of earnings to date, loss of earnings into the future, the cost of any ongoing care and treatment required.
How long do you have to make a claim:
Any person who wishes to pursue a claim for medical negligence through the courts must do so within 2 years of the mistake being made or 2 year that they had knowledge that a mistake was made.
If your loved one has passed then the matter proceeds as a fatal injury claim.
Once proceedings are issued the case can take approximately, 2-3 years to come before the courts for hearing, depending on the complexity of the case, the number of experts that are required together with the defence delivered by the healthcare provider to your claim.
Early legal assistance can be vital as the time limits for bringing an action are very strict therefore, if you believe that you have suffered as a result of substandard urology care then you may be able to make a claim for compensation against the hospital in question and we are happy to have an initial consultation with you where we will give you an initial assessment and advise you of your options.
