Private hospitals and medical negligence claims

The majority of high-profile medical negligence claims are often brought against doctors and healthcare professionals working at NHS hospitals. This is because most people use the public healthcare system that we have here, but sometimes people do use private methods.

Although they may be smaller in scale, medical negligence cases can be brought against practitioners at private hospitals, and these cases can be equally valid. Some people choose to pay for private treatment to avoid lengthy NHS waiting times, or because they believe the standard of care may be higher. Some pay for elective treatment that is not offered on the NHS. Unfortunately, medical mistakes may be just as likely to happen.

In fact, many doctors keep up private work alongside NHS work. As such, there could be (in some cases) little difference between the practitioners you encounter at public and private hospitals.

Medical negligence claims

We are here to help anyone affected by medical negligence to claim the compensation that they deserve. It can be incredibly distressing and frustrating to invest money in your treatment only to encounter complications further down the line, so we are here to support you in your fight for justice.

Though they may be applied differently in different cases, the general factors that can allow a medical negligence claim to be made are usually the same for NHS and private hospitals. In a medical negligence case, you could be eligible to claim compensation for:

• medical mistakes;
• any failure to warn you about the risks of a course of treatment;
• failure to diagnose or issuing an incorrect diagnosis;
• failure to investigate problems;
• failure to treat, or the wrong treatment being provided.

In addition, your compensation sum could be valued to cover the distress, pain and loss of amenity you have suffered. In addition, this could also include any financial losses or expenses that you have incurred which may, of course, be just as important in a private hospital claim. You may have paid out thousands of pounds for treatment, and you may now need more costly treatment instead.

Medical negligence at private hospitals

One of the main differences in a claim against a private hospital is that the consideration of informed consent could be different. Patient consent is, of course, just as important when it comes to private treatment. In some cases, especially when it comes to elective private treatment, there may be no guarantees of results. There may be risks that are applied to a treatment that could act as a defence because of the fact that you are choosing certain treatment as opposed to being in real need of it. This is a factor that we need to carefully consider when we pursue a case for you.

There have been cases, however, where private practitioners could be more inclined to bypass potential risks and complications when giving their advice to patients in order to sell the treatment. This is a type of case that we can also consider.

In a claim for medical negligence at a private hospital, a case could involve multiple Defendants, but we will be able to get to the bottom of who to pursue. The Defendant could depend on who owns the hospital, who runs the hospital, or who provided you with the treatment. Private practitioners may also have their own private insurers from which compensation will need to be recovered from. These differences should be no cause for concern for you, as we can investigate all these details for you in order to establish the best course of action for your claim.

Make a claim with The Medical Negligence Lawyers

Our breadth of knowledge regarding medical negligence law means that we are well equipped to bring claims against private hospitals. We understand the different factors that may come into play, so we will be able to navigate you carefully through every step of the process.

Please feel free to contact us today to receive free, no-obligation advice on your potential claim.