Do you qualify for Legel Aid?
The family doctor, or general practitioner (GP), is part of the fabric of life in the UK, nearly everyone has one and they have likely had the same one for many years. Indeed, it is common for a doctor to know a patient from birth right through to old age.
Doctors or GPs become confidantes, friends in some cases, and in smaller communities are essential for everyone. So when one makes a mistake in your diagnosis or treatment and you are entitled to make a claim for compensation due to their medical negligence all sorts of moral questions arise.
Suing a doctor is not an easy decision to make, especially when they are close to you and your family. On the one hand, you are not going to want to upset or hurt your GP and friend, you aren’t going to want to cost them money or damage their reputation. But at the same time, you could have suffered longer than you needed to or seen a condition get worse due to your doctor’s mistake and you are, by law, entitled to compensation.
Every case is different and every person is different. Some will have no qualms in trying to get what they are due in the form of compensation, others will feel that the suffering they caused is not so bad that they wish to sue their doctor and others still will feel they suffered greatly and will reluctantly make a claim in order to receive the financial support they now need.
It is up to the individual to make a decision on whether to sue a GP or not based on their own individual circumstances, but if the decision is taken to proceed with a claim, then seeking professional, specialist help is a must.
Cases such as this, while delicate, are also complex matters and a specialised medical negligence solicitor is the ideal person or company to contact in order to make sure your claim is valid and will succeed. Many such solicitors exist and, if you are worried about the cost of going to court, offer no win, no fee and legal aid services.
In order to find a solicitor you can trust it is worth asking family and friends for personal recommendations, but if they don’t have experience of a medical negligence specialist then searching the internet for “medical negligence solicitors manchester” and reading online reviews is an acceptable alternative.
The important thing is that, once having taken the difficult decision to sue your doctor, you feel comfortable with the individual or company that will represent you and plead your case in court.
Depending on the nature of the medical negligence and the suffering caused, medical negligence compensation can be in the tens or hundreds of thousands – for many, this is reason enough to pursue a claim against their doctor and is certainly motivation to find a good, trustworthy solicitor.
It is also worth remembering that your doctor will have insurance against this sort of thing and so is unlikely to be left out of pocket by your compensation claim