MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE LAWYER ADVICE

NHS Complaints

Prior to a medical negligence lawyer taking legal action in a court of law it is sometimes advantageous for the patient to make a formal complaint to the GP or the NHS because such complaints often reveal useful information which can be used as evidence in a subsequent court hearing. It may also be that the GP or NHS has a complete answer to the complaint and this would save the complainants potential legal costs from being wasted. Once a formal complaint has been lodged it does preclude the issue of legal proceedings in a court of law until the complaint has been determined. A solicitor will often advise a potential client to lodge a complaint prior to consideration of legal proceedings and some clients think they are effectively being brushed off by the solicitor but this is not usually the case as the evidence that is thrown up by the complaint is often sufficient to prove a claim of negligence against the GP or NHS. A large number of serious complaints are received involving injury and death of patients however less serious complaints can also be made including:-

• quality of service
• poor information or explanations
• attitude of medical staff
• condition of buildings
• delays or cancellations
• administrative problems
• food and other facilities
• visiting hours

Making The Complaint

A medical negligence lawyer will not usually be involved in making an initial a complaint except in particularly difficult circumstances. Making a complaint requires a letter written to the NHS trust or to the GP which outlines the complaint, requesting that it be investigated using the NHS complaints procedure. The letter must be received by the GP or NHS within 6 months of the incident or within 6 months of discovery of the injury provided that not more than 12 months have elapsed since the treatment that is the subject of the complaint. If these time limits are missed there is discretion to extend them. The trust or GP will then investigate and provide a written response. If the complainant is not satisfied with the initial written response then an independent written review can be requested. The request must be made within 28 days of receipt of the original written response. Requests for an independent written review are dealt with by the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Improvement (CHAI) which is a government agency. The case will initially be referred to a caseworker for CHAI who will try to resolve any outstanding issues and if that is not possible the complaint will be considered by a CHAI panel who consider personal representations from the complainant and the relevant health care professional against whom the complaint was originally brought. The CHAI panel consists of two clinical experts and three lay members and they will in due course produce a written report with recommendations.

Expert Solicitors

We represent a network of specialist medical negligence lawyers operating throughout the United Kingdom. In England and Wales our solicitors are all members of the Law Society clinical negligence panel and are franchised to make an application for legal aid. Less than 1% of UK solicitors are clinical negligence specialists. If you would like to talk to an expert lawyer just complete the contact form and a solicitor will phone you to give free advice without any further obligation whatsoever.