Personal Injury Solicitors – Negligence Claims
There are times in life where poor advice has led to serious consequences. If you need professional advice and guidance, speak to one of our expert personal injury advisors. Negligence is the breach of a legal duty to take care which results in injury, loss or damage to the person bringing the claim. There are three things to prove:-
(a) That a legal duty exists to act with due care and regard for the safety of others; if you have been injured in some way, it may be appropriate to ask whether your injury was reasonably capable of being anticipated or foreseen in some way. If so, a legal duty to take care may exist.
(b) That the legal duty is broken. The duty is broken or “breached” if the person who caused the injury acted in a way which was unreasonable or improper.
(c) The injury was caused by the breach of duty such that the injury or financial loss would not have occurred in any event.
If you have been injured, ask yourself whether your injury was caused by the fault of someone else and whether the person who caused your injury should have realised he or she might injure you, and should, therefore, have acted differently in some way. If you can answer both of those questions with a “yes”, you may have a valid claim.
Be warned, however, that whilst it is possible, in the context of an internet web page to summarise this legal rule quite simply, it can be an extremely complex and difficult law to apply in practice to determine whether or not a valid claim be made.
Where Can You Claim for Personal Negligence?
Professional negligence claims happen when professionals give advice on matters beyond their expertise or will pass the work on to a colleague who hasn’t the necessary knowledge.
Our team of experts have helped clients make cases of professional negligence for cases against the following:
- Accountants for failure to detect a fraud
- Architects for failing to spot design flaws in plans for a new building
- Barristers for failure to cross-examine a key witness
- Financial advisors who have recommended a certain type of investment
- Insurance brokers who haven’t informed of all the risks to be insured
- Surveyors who haven’t noted a defect in a property
- Tax Consultants who failed to advise on consequences of late filing of tax returns
- A solicitor who have missed time limits in personal injury cases
Is there any time limits for Medical Negligence Claims?
You will need to start a medical negligence claim within three years of finding out if you’ve received negligent treatment. Remember you may not realise straight away but when an injury or illness gets worse.
There are a couple of exceptions to this rule:
Children
Medical negligence claims that involve a child can be made any time before your child turns 18. On their 18th birthday, the three-year rule comes into effect and the claim will need to be started before they turn 21.
Mental Capacity
When a person lacks the capacity to make a claim themselves, there is no time limit for making a claim. The length of time for medical negligence cases will depend on a number of factors, including:
- The severity of the injury
- Whether the NHS or private healthcare provider responsible accepts fault.
How long does a claim take?
While some medical negligence claims can be settled within a few months, more complicated cases can take a number of years to settle.
Can I Make a Claim for Dental Negligence?
Mistakes in dental treatment can be traumatic and extremely painful so if you’ve suffered due to failures in dental treatment Salmons Solicitors are here to support you.
Dental negligence covers any type of injury that has been directly caused, made worse or simply overlooked by your dental health professional. If this has happened to you, you may be entitled to compensation.
Claims for dental negligence can be made for any accident or oversight that has led to you suffering physical injury, harmed your wellbeing or caused financial loss.
Here are some common examples of dental negligence:
- Nerve injury
- Restorative dentistry errors
- Cosmetic dentistry problems
- Delay or incorrect diagnosis (this includes oral cancer misdiagnosis)
- Periodontal disease misdiagnosis
- Mistakes in treatment that leads to the loss or damage of multiple teeth