Clinical negligence is the broad term used to describe mistakes, accidents and substandard care administered by medical staff, in both the NHS and private healthcare. It includes a range of clinical treatment whether it is provided at hospitals, GP surgeries, health centres or even at home.

When things go wrong it can have a life-changing effect, not only for you but your family too. 

Clinical negligence pay-outs vary dramatically, compensation amounts can be anything from around £1,500 to as high as several million. It is therefore difficult to say what your settlement will be, as each and every claim is unique. Read our guide on how much compensation you can get for clinical negligence for more information.

The length of clinical negligence claims depends on how long it takes to gather evidence, whether the other party admits fault, the severity of the injury and the extent of the claim for damages. Straightforward medical negligence claims may settle within a year, whereas complex cases may take several years.

Claiming on behalf of a child

If your child has sadly suffered illness or injury due to negligent treatment, you are able to make a claim on their behalf, as their litigation friend, at any time up until they turn 18.

If we take on your case, we will work to establish what negligent treatment occurred and how this has directly affected your child. This will consider the injuries they have sustained but also any future conditions or care needs that may be attributable to the negligence. In order to quantify your child’s compensation, it may be necessary to wait until they are older in order to fully understand the impact of the injuries or illness. If this is the case, then it may be possible to obtain interim payments to help cover your child’s ongoing medical and/or care needs, until the full extent of their injuries is known.

If settlement is achieved on behalf of your child it’s necessary for it to be approved by the Court. This allows a judge to consider the injuries and approve the amount of the settlement. Once approved the settlement money is put into a Special Investment Account on behalf of your child. This can be accessed by them once they turn 18, although it is possible, with court approval, to request release of monies before then –  provided there is a compelling reason to do so.