Can I make a professional negligence claim?
You can make a professional negligence claim provided these three things hold true:
1. Duty of care – You entered into a contract in which you were owed a duty of care. As evidenced in the Donoghue v. Stevenson case study, this does not always have to be a written agreement.
2. Breach of duty – The professional who advised you did not do so to the best of their ability and did not meet the standards that one would expect from a professional in their position.
3. Loss suffered – You have demonstrably suffered loss as a result of their negligence. If you suffered no loss, your claim would not usually succeed—even if the professional was negligent.
Note that a professional who gives advice that later turns out to be wrong is not necessarily being negligent, so long as their advice was based on solid evidence and they took every reasonable precaution. As long as the professional operated within reasonably expected standards and warned you of all potential risks, they cannot be blamed for the loss incurred.
However, if the above does not hold true and you’ve been the victim of professional negligence, you should hire professional legal representation and seek action. You must follow the procedures described in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) 1998 or else you may incur penalties or have your case thrown out of court. These procedures show that you and the defendant have tried to settle your claim without taking it to court.
Filling out a Letter of Claim is one such condition you must meet. This involves corresponding directly with the individual who has wronged you to confirm the chronological summary of what transpired, your allegations, and whether or not you’ve appointed expert counsel. The negligent professional then has 21 days to respond to the letter and three months to investigate your claim.
Before writing a Letter of Claim, carefully consider what you expect from the defendant (e.g. an apology, safeguards, compensation, etc.) and get professional advice to weigh potential benefits against potential risks. Professional solicitors can also help you draft your claim, ensure that you have a strong case before you proceed, and even correspond with the negligent professional on your behalf.
Slater Gordon, Professional Negligence Solicitors, Irwin Mitchell, and all of the other law firms mentioned in this article’s case studies are just a few of the solicitors available to help you in the UK.
Maisha Najeeb’s operating room mix-up is one of the more heart breaking examples of clinical negligence in recent years. In 2010, the 10-year-old girl was to receive treatment for a rare medical condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The condition is normally treated through embolisation, which involves injecting glue into bleeding blood vessels and using dye to monitor blood flow.
Unfortunately, Great Ormond Street Hospital had no system in place to distinguish the two syringes. They accidentally injected glue instead of dye into an artery in Maisha’s brain, resulting in devastating and permanent brain damage. Maisha lost most of her bodily and cognitive abilities as a result; she is now in a wheelchair and requires lifelong care.
This lawsuit, settled by Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, resulted in one of the UK’s largest medical negligence claim pay outs at an estimated £24 million over the course of Maisha’s lifetime.