NHS Negligence Claim's blog : How Long Do You Have To Sue For Medical Negligence?
When one has suffered from medical negligence, he is empowered by the law to make compensation claims and suing a hospital for medical negligence must be able to prove that indeed he suffered from negligent treatment and that the injury, suffering and/or complications is a direct result of the negligent treatment. But the question is, “how long do you have to sue for medical negligence?”
A potential claimant should be aware that there is a time frame within which such claims can be made to avoid it being statute-barred. Being statute-barred means that a legal action cannot be taken again because the limitation period has elapsed. Although there are cases where a claim can be brought after the stipulated time, first let us know the actual NHS negligence claims time limit.
Time Limit For Medical Negligence
According to the Limitation Act of 1980, an individual will be allowed only three years from the date of the negligent treatment or from the date of knowledge of medical negligence to make a claim. This means that the time limit for suing the NHS or any private hospital for negligence is three years from when you suffered the negligent treatment or three years from when you became aware that you are a victim of medical negligence. Also, personal injury claims time limit in the UK is three years.
Can I Claim Compensation After 3 Years?
As earlier mentioned, although you will normally be allowed only three years to make your claims, there are scenarios where you can be allowed to sue a doctor for medical negligence or make a medical negligence claim after 3 years.
In what cases does this work?
Your date of knowledge of medical negligence will definitely affect when you begin to make your claims. As the law allows, you can make medical negligence claims over 3 years after the negligent treatment had been done if you didn’t notice it then and became aware of it recently. The time frame will start to count from when you became aware of it.
For instance, if an individual has a recurrent pain in the hip and his GP or the hospital couldn’t make an accurate diagnosis of the problem, and he continues to suffer only to find out the real cause of his problem 5years later after visiting another GP in another hospital, he can file a lawsuit against hospital for misdiagnosis or the GP involved even though the actual negligent treatment (misdiagnosis) happened 5years ago.
Cases involving children are also exempted from the Limitation rule. While the parents or guardians can make claims on behalf of the child, children who suffered from medical negligence can make claims for themselves when they turn 18. They have from their 18th to 21st birthday to make claims even if the negligent treatment happened over a decade before. However, we advise that parents or guardians should make claims for their children at that point the negligent treatment happened rather than let them suffer for years before they can make claims for themselves. The earlier claims are made, the easier it is to assess relevant documents, medical history, get witness statements and other vital documents or information which may become blurred or distorted over time.
Another exemption involves persons who are mentally incapacitated and unable to bring claims for themselves. In this case, as long as it is medically proven that they are unable to make claims, they can be allowed to make claims when they recover even after the clinical negligence limitation period.
Medical negligence cases vary and sometimes some claims are better made by a loved one for a mentally incapacitated person as the medical negligence compensation received can be very vital towards recovery.
How Long Can You Wait To Sue For Malpractice?
We encourage that you don’t delay to make your claim today if you or your loved one is a victim of medical negligence. Your chances of winning your cases is greatly boosted the earlier you make your claims.
Can I Claim For Medical Negligence After 20 Years?
You may only be allowed to make a medical negligence claim after such a long time if you only became aware of the negligent treatment not up to three years ago. We advise that you contact your medical negligence solicitors as soon as possible to discuss your claims.
Time Limit To Submit Health Insurance Claim
In the UK, the time limit to submit a health insurance claim is 15 days after completing 60 or 90days after your discharge from a network or non-network hospital depending on your health insurance policy.
How Long Does Compensation Take After a Medical Claim Is Settled?
The period of time before you receive your compensation may take between 1-6weeks depending on your case, it may also take longer. The compensation amount may come in bulk as a one time payment or may come as a periodic payment known as structured settlement, especially if you were awarded a very large sum.
Solicitors Near Me
We are no win no fee medical negligence lawyers covering all parts of the UK. Having represented many clients over time, we are proud to say that we have the expertise to handle whatever claims you may have without you having to pay a dime starting from the initial free consultation session until the claim is won.
Our medical negligence lawyers are accredited with the Law Society panel and the Action against Medical Accident (AvMA) panel. Therefore, you can be rest assured that you will receive the best possible legal representation for your claims.
Contact us today by filling out our free claim assessment online form or call us on 0800 999 3372 so that we can have a chat with you and discuss your claims.
In: