Clinical negligence was previously known as “medical negligence”. It is regarded as the process through which patients 
can take their medical attendants to the court in respect of any negligence on the part of the attendants for the purpose of compensation. Several things need to be proved before the patient can file a case against the attendant, they are:
• For proving the negligence the patient must show that the doctor owed a duty for the care of the patient. He also has to prove that doctor was negligent on his part to perform his responsibility. And finally there should be enough proofs that the patient was affected due to some negligence on the part of the attendant. The Claimant/patient must succeed in proving two terms to get compensation namely:
o Liability: Here he has to prove that the doctor or nurse should have acted in a manner which no similar professional had done.
o Causation: Here he must prove that the effect was a result of the negligence which would not have happened if the concerned person had reacted accordingly.
- After this the patient’s loss is assessed in quantum (such as loss of current or future earnings, or any reducedquality in life, it can be any mental anguish) which is recompensed in terms of money.
First of all the patient or the claimant should know that from the date of the harm caused to him he has only 3 years in which he can file for compensation. Though to this rule a few exceptions are there:
- During the time of injury the patient was a child. If the patient was below 18years then there is no time limit.
- In a situation when during the time of the injury the patient was mentally ill. In this case the limitation period starts from the time the patient gets fully recovered.
- In some cases the judge has a right to decide whether the case is out of time or one can proceed.
Till some years back maximum number of clinical negligence cases had been funded by the tax payers by means of legal aid. But today until and unless a patient is very poor this aid is difficult to be received.
For more information on clinical negligence visit patient lawyers and get your questions clarified.
2 comments
[…] nurses or of hospital authorities as an organisation. The sheer range of cases covered by the term medical negligence means that firms dealing with this area need to have a wide range of legal expertise to be able to […]
there r many cases in which patient bear ill effects of clinical negligence. Without knowing it has happened to them. Then certainly time duration of 3yrs wil lapse . And by d time they come to know about such careless negligence it is considered too late. They must be given the right for adequate compensation.