Clinical Negligence Solicitors in Leeds
Clinical negligence can lead to serious injury and lifelong consequences for those who suffer as a result. It can significantly reduce your quality of life and have a major financial impact, including loss of income and the cost of dealing with your injuries, such as paying for additional treatment, care and special equipment.
Our expert clinical negligence solicitors, based in Leeds, work with clients all over the UK to help them pursue clinical negligence compensation claims. Our previous successes include winning multi-million pound settlements under very challenging circumstances, helping our clients to rebuild their lives.
We can support you through the entire clinical negligence claims process, from assessing the strength of your claim, through handling all of the paperwork and representing you in pre-trial negotiations and during court proceedings if required. Whatever it takes to achieve a fair outcome, we will be there to advise, support and represent you.
Get in touch with our specialist clinical negligence solicitors in Leeds to find out more about starting a claim anywhere in the UK. Call 0113 345 2388 to speak to a member of the team or use the contact form on the right to ask a question.
Our no win, no fee clinical negligence claims service
We can usually represent clients using a conditional fee arrangement, commonly known as “no win, no fee”. This means that you only pay us if we win compensation for you with our fee being based on a percentage of the settlement we win. This means you won’t have to pay any legal fees up front and will be taking no financial risk in pursuing a claim.
Our clinical negligence claims expertise includes:
- Birth injury claims
- Cerebral palsy claims
- Infection disease misdiagnosis
- Meningitis claims
- Erb’s Palsy claims
- Brachial Plexus claims
- Spinal injury claims
- Cauda Equina Syndrome claims
- Brain injury claims
- Stroke misdiagnosis
- Fatal claims
- Inquests
- Cancer misdiagnosis
- GP negligence
- Surgical errors
- Limb injury claims
- Eye injury claims
Clinical negligence claims FAQs
What counts as clinical negligence?
Just because a healthcare professional makes a mistake, this does not mean they are necessarily guilty of clinical negligence. To be able to make a claim it is usually necessary to demonstrate that:
- The treatment you received fell below “medically acceptable standards” i.e. below the level of care one could reasonably expect from a competent medical professional under the circumstances.
- You have suffered lasting injury that has had a clear negative impact on your life.
Is there a time limit to make a clinical negligence claim?
There is generally a 3-year time limit to make a claim for clinical negligence. This time limit will either start from when the medical error was made or, if the error was not immediately identified, from when you found out about it.
There are two main exceptions to the 3-year time limit, however. These are:
- When making a claim for a child the 3-year time limit will not take effect until the child turns 18, meaning they have until their 21st birthday to start a claim.
- When making a claim for someone who ‘lacks capacity’ there is no time limit to bring a claim, unless they later regain capacity e.g. they wake up from a coma. If this happens, the 3-year limit will then apply from when they regained capacity.
How long do clinical negligence claims take?
The exact length of time a compensation claim for clinical negligence will take is impossible to predict at the outset as it largely depends on whether the defendant accepts liability and if so how quickly.
As a general guidelines it will generally take:
Around 2 months – to get copies of your medical records
Up to 12 months – to establish the facts of your case and formally submit a claim
Around 18 months – from the time we apply to a court to initiate proceedings to the date of your hearing (if the case goes to court)
This is one reason why reaching a pre-trial settlement through negotiation or alternative dispute resolution is usually a better option as it typically much faster and less expensive than relying on court action to achieve a resolution.
How much compensation can you get for clinical negligence?
The amount of compensation you can win will depend on various factors, including:
- The seriousness of the medical error
- The impact on your health
- What financial losses you have experienced as a result
The compensation you can claim falls into two main categories:
General damages – covering non-financial losses e.g. compensation for pain and suffering, no longer being able to carry out leisure activities due to your injuries etc.
Special damages – covering specific financial losses, e.g. the cost of any treatment, care or special equipment you require, loss of earnings etc.
Do you need to go to court for a clinical negligence claims?
In most cases, clinical negligence claims can be resolved without the need for you to go to court. Increasingly, the emphasis for both claimants and defendants is on reaching a settlement quickly through negotiation and alternative dispute resolution.
We use a Ministry of Justice approved process called the Pre-Action Protocol for the Resolution of Clinical Disputes that means most cases can be resolved much faster and at lower expense while allowing you to avoid the need to go to court.
Why use our clinical negligence solicitors in Leeds?
Our Leeds-based clinical negligence solicitors have many years of experience in handling a wide range of clinical negligence claims. We have regularly won multi-million pound settlements for our clients, even under exceptionally challenging circumstances, and we can usually achieve a settlement without the need for you to attend court.
Our expertise has been recognised with the top Tier 1 ranking by the Legal 500, as well as in the leading client guide to legal professionals, Chambers & Partners, where we were acknowledged as “market leaders” with a “superb reputation for handling a wide range of clinical negligence claims”.
We are accredited by the Law Society for Clinical Negligence and have several AvMA panel members on the team. This reflects the exceptional strength of our legal expertise in clinical negligence claims. We are also Lexcel-accredited by the Law Society and regulated by the Solicitors Regular Authority (SRA) providing reassurance of the high standards we adhere to legally and professionally.
Contact us about starting a clinical negligence claims today
Want to pursue a clinical negligence claim anywhere in the UK? Or simply looking to find out more? Then please get in touch with our Leeds-based clinical negligence solicitors by calling 0113 245 8549 or use the contact form below to ask a question.
Our people
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- Simon Minton
- Senior Director
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- Sahida Patel
- Legal Director and Partner, Head of Leeds Office
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- Trevor Ward
- Partner & Birth Injury Team Leader
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- Guy Pomphrey
- Partner