The following outline will give you some idea of how a claim might proceed.
Once we have agreed together that it is worth pursuing a claim, these are the main steps in the process:
- We will send for all of your medical records – these will usually include Hospital records, GP records and any other medical records created as a result of your treatment eg physiotherapy records.
- If the medical records confirm the details of the claim, we then instruct a medical expert to review them and provide a report on “breach of duty” and “causation” – a report may be required from one or more experts dependent on the type and complexity of the claim.
- If the reports support your claim, a Letter of Claim is sent to the Hospital or Doctor who has 3 months to reply with a Letter of Response; if this contains admissions, compensation can be assessed and your claim can be settled; if it contains a denial, a Court Claim will be issued, as long as there is nothing in the denial to cast doubt upon the claim.
- The Court Claim contains details of your claim, a schedule of your financial losses and the supportive medical reports.
- A Defence will be sent from the Hospital or GP detailing their response to the claim; evidence (such as statements from you and your treating doctor and expert reports) will be exchanged.
- We will then have all the evidence which would be put before a Judge if there has to be a trial.
- We will then re-assess your claim and advise if it should still be pursued; we can at any time make offers to the Defendant to settle the claim, and they can also make offers to you.
- If no settlement can be reached, the claim may then go to trial. All the evidence will be heard and the Judge will give a verdict which will include any compensation award.
- Compensation will be assessed in terms of General and Special Damages.
