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Medical negligence, youclaim.co.uk

Medical negligence claims with YouClaim and 2008 NHS medical blunders

In January 2009, the Daily Mail newspaper reported on extraordinary figures representing mistakes made by the NHS. Such blunders often lead to medical negligence claims.

The paper revealed its source of the figures as the Liberal Democrats, who had uncovered 2007/2008 official records stating that 3,645 people had died as a result of medical mistakes. Two years before the figure had been 2,275 and the 1,370 increase in deaths represented a 60 per cent rise in medical negligence related deaths.

The sharp rise in the figures was said to be due to hospital trusts beginning to record medical errors and experts said that the true toll would almost certainly be higher as many hospitals did not record all "patient safety accidents".

In October 2008, the Patients Association warned that one in every 300 NHS patients die as a result of medical negligence and blunders.

The 2007/2008 figures released in the Daily Mail said that:

  • 385 patients died after botched operations;

  • 156 fatalities were caused by mis-reading of scans or incorrect diagnosis;

  • 309 deaths were attributable to infection control incidents related to hospital superbugs;

  • 14 patients died as a result of problems with documentation and records;

  • 54 patient deaths were recorded as a result of incorrectly-administered drugs;

  • 40 deaths occurred due to faulty medical equipment;

  • 171 cases of death followed simple accidents, such as falls;

  • 135 patients died because they were not transferred correctly between wards or hospitals;

  • 22 died after abuse by hospital staff or visitors;

  • 487 patients killed themselves on hospital premises when their depression should have been diagnosed by doctors, and;

  • a range of other catastrophic medical negligence acts brought the total to 3,645 deaths.

The National Patient Safety Agency were said to be likely to receive more notifications of medical mistakes as hospitals completed reporting on medical errors that occurred between April 2007 and March 2008.

According to the Daily Mail, the rise in avoidable deaths mirrored rises in NHS pay-outs for medical negligence claims. It claimed that around 6,000 cases went to court each year and in 2007/2008 compensation paid to injured patients rose by 18 per cent to £382,000.

Medical negligence claims with the experts at YouClaim
If you feel you have suffered as a result of a medical mistake, whether through the NHS or after private health care, you may be eligible for compensation. The panel of personal injury solicitors at YouClaim have years of experience in the complicated field of medical litigation and their success rate is high.

Whilst the complexities of medical negligence claims prevent us from stating that you will not be charged any legal fees, we assure you that we will advise you of any charges before you commit to them and in a won case we will always reimburse you.

If you wish to discuss a medical negligence claim, please call our free and confidential UK helpline now on 0800 10 757 95 or you can request a more convenient time when we can call you back. Alternatively, fill in the online claim form and we will look into your case before we call you to discuss it further. Above all, at YouClaim we are here to help.

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