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If you or your loved one suffers avoidable pain, trauma, injury as a result of medical negligence or substandard treatment, the law empowers you to make claims against the NHS or private hospital responsible for the negligent treatment.

However, you do not have all the time in the world to do so. It is important you know how long you have to sue for medical negligence.

The Limitation Act of 1980, stipulates that an individual intending to make medical negligence claims will only have three years from the date of the medical negligence or when the person became aware of the negligent treatment to make the claim. this time limit also includes the 12months period such a person will have to follow the standard NHS complaints procedure to make complaints about the standard of treatment received.

There are exceptions to this rule however;
Cases involving children- here, the individual has until his or her 21st birthday to make a claim as the three years limitation period begins to count when the person becomes an adult (turns 18). On the other hand, rather than wait till the person is 18 to make a claim, a family member or loved one (known as litigation friend) can make claims on their behalf.

Cases Involving physically or mentally incapacitated persons- when it is medically proven that a person will be unable to make claims or take certain critical decisions, the limitation period can be relaxed until when the person recovers enough to do so. As in the case with claims involving children, a loved one can also make claims on their behalf.
With this in mind, we now look at another important question

How Long Does A Medical Negligence Claim Take?
A straightforward medical negligence claim where liability is accepted and the circumstances are clear, will usually be settled within 18 to 24months. Conversely, if the case goes to court, it may take between three and four years to be settled. Also, where the medical negligence is very complex or highly contested, it may linger even further.

In such cases, it is common for you to receive interim payments before the legal proceedings are concluded. This is to help you with your financial challenges as well as ensure that you are still able to seek for better treatment or buy assistive devices or mobility aids as may be needed.

How Many Medical Negligence Cases Go To Court?
NHS negligence cases that go to court are not very many. According to the NHS Resolution, only about 2% of all NHS claims end up in court. In some years, the number is much lower than that. For instance, in 2019/20, the number of medical negligence NHS claims that went to court was 0.6%.

NHS Negligence Payout
The average medical negligence claims payout in the UK according to the NHS Resolution is £50,000. However, compensation amounts can range from as low as £1,000 to millions of pounds. The Judicial College Guidelines periodically updates the range of compensation amounts that will be paid to successful plaintiffs for certain injuries suffered.

The medical negligence calculator can also be used to give you a realistic idea of what you can expect as settlement payout for your NHS clinical negligence claim. It takes into account the compensation amount for general damages as stipulated in the Judicial College Guidelines as well as special damages which depend on the peculiarity of your case.

No Win No Fee NHS Negligence Solicitors
Our expert NHS solicitors are well experienced when it comes to NHS medical negligence claims. We have accreditation with relevant industry bodies such as the Law Society panel and the Action against Medical Accident (AvMA) panel. This shows you that we are one of the best around and will do our best to ensure you get the best legal representation.

Our medical negligence solicitors also undertake NHS negligence claims on a No Win No Fee basis which protects you from making any payments before or during the entire claims process. This policy also protects you from any debts whatsoever if the claims were not successful. However, we boast an enviable track record of success in medical negligence claims; therefore, you have nothing to worry about.

We will however deduct 25% of your compensation amount after a successful case as our “success fee” while the rest of the settlement payout belongs to you.
Do not hesitate in making your claims. The best time to start is now. For more: https://www.medicalnegligencedirect.com/time-limits-medical-negligence-claims/