Martha’s Rule empowers families desperate to be heard
The introduction of Martha’s Rule has come into effect following the preventable death of 13 year old Martha Mills in 2021 after a fall from
Our Fleetwood-based birth injury claims team is one of the most experienced in the UK, with a track record of achieving success in even the most complex and contentious cases.
We have achieved multi-million pound settlements in a wide range of birth injury compensation cases for people all over the UK, as well as for other types medical negligence, including late diagnosis, misdiagnosis, surgical mistakes and GP negligence.
With our extensive experience and high level of skill in handling birth injury claims, we can normally reach a settlement without resorting to court action. Using non-confrontational dispute resolution, we can make the process of resolving a birth injury claim faster, less expensive and less stressful for you.
To book an initial consultation with one of our specialist birth injury solicitors in Fleetwood, call us on 01253 766 559 or email us at dr@addies.co.uk.
To start a compensation claim today, or for more information simply complete the form below.
Offering an empathetic but practical approach, our team can guide you through every step of making a medical negligence claim for a birth injury or any other type of clinical mistake. We aim to make the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible.
We use a Ministry of Justice approved process for resolving clinical negligence claims, which is designed to make it easier to resolve claims without the need for court action.
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After you get in touch with us, we will listen to you and discuss your situation, including the healthcare advice you were given, and any evidence of negligent treatment.
We will need to apply for your medical records from various places, including the place you had treatment, other hospitals, and your GP practice.
We will then provide an honest assessment of whether we think you have a claim worth further investigation. We will explain the claims process and the fees involved.
We will start collecting evidence to support your claim. This typically includes applying for any further medical records, other documents from the hospital, obtaining witness statements and independent medical experts’ reports.
Once the facts of the case are clear, we will contact the NHS Trust or healthcare provider to inform them a claim is being investigated. The Letter of Claim (LOC) will set out the details of the alleged medical negligence and the injuries caused.
The Defendant is required to respond to our Letter of Claim (LOC) within four months. At this stage, they will either accept full, or partial, liability and may offer a financial settlement, or deny responsibility.
If the Defendant denies responsibility, or does not offer a sufficient settlement amount, we can then issue court proceedings on your behalf to take the claim further. The Defendant will be given 28 days to respond, and the court will then set a hearing date, usually around 18 months from when proceedings are initiated.
It is important to note that while issuing court proceedings is an essential step, it is rare that you will need to attend a hearing as most claims that reach this stage can be resolved with a pre-trial settlement.
The Court will then set a timetable for the exchange of evidence in the case. We will exchange any witness statement taken from you, and receive the witness statements (if any), of the clinicians involved in your care.
There will then be an exchange of medical expert evidence. Each party can obtain independent medical expert reports in each relevant discipline. For example, in a birth injury claim, both parties would have commissioned reports from independent obstetricians. We disclose the report we have obtained on your behalf and the Defendant has to disclose the report they have obtained.
The independent experts then have a meeting, separate to each party’s legal representatives, to narrow the issues for the Judge in the event the case goes to a trial. After this meeting, the medical experts have to produce a jointly written statement to provide to the Judge.
It is usual procedure to attend some form of pre-trial settlement resolution with the Defendant, either in the form of a settlement meeting, or a mediation. We have a very strong track record of negotiating pre-trial settlements and will explore every potential avenue to do so if your claim reaches this stage.
If your claim settles at this stage and involves a vulnerable party, such as a child or an adult with a brain injury, an approval hearing will be held by a High Court Judge to approve the settlement reached.
If your claim cannot be resolved outside a court hearing, we can offer experienced, and highly skilled, advocacy to secure the best possible outcome for your family.
Most claims are resolved in full through the above process. However, very complex claims, including birth injury claims, require an additional step to assess the quantification (value) of the claim.
For birth injury claims, additional independent medical experts will be required to assess issues such as life expectancy and care needs, and the process above will be repeated for the stage of quantification.
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