Hospital Infection and Medical Negligence Claims

Cases of Medical Negligence (or Clinical Negligence) are on the rise. This is because the medical profession is developing so quickly that sometimes risks and problems arise more frequently. Medical definitions are also becoming more complicated which sometimes makes it difficult for the general public to understand. Medical negligence cases can often lead to large compensation sums being paid out to the claimant.

An area that has seen major progress in recent years is that of organ donors. This can be a particularly sensitive area for grieving relatives whereby retention of organs and tissues following a post mortem takes place for use in operations on others.

Litigation in this area has increased due to the bigger demand for organ donors and replacement organs to save lives. It is the advice of a specialist medical negligence solicitor that you will need.

Similarly, there are other more modern areas of medicine where a clinical negligence lawyer is the person best suited for comment on your particular grievance if this applies to you. This does also include cases where a patient has got an infection whilst being in hospital due to low standards of hygiene. Lately the MRSA virus, often thought to be present in a hospital where there are poor standards of hygiene, has caused increasing complaint. Failure of a hip replacement operation in the early stages is watched very carefully. Other more recent areas subject to clinical negligence are breast screening and cervical smear testing which have been subjected to misinterpretation, and the use of dirty or unsterilised medical instruments.

One of the difficulties in determining medical negligence as a case for a lawsuit is that it can overlap with safety. This could apply in a situation where a doctor or nurse administers an injection to a patient which has a contra-indication that was not found before hand.

If you think that one of these areas effect you or one of your family members then you should get in touch with an experienced medical negligence solicitor as soon as possible. The specialist solicitor will look at all the medical facts and examine your case in detail. This will probably involve a close analysis of your medical history, taking advice from other professionals and looking at what procedures were done at the time.

A clinical negligence lawyer is highly trained in this field to ascertain certain elements of proof on negligence in a duty of care - and argue on your behalf taking it to court if required.


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Tim Bishop is senior partner at Bonallack & Bishop, a firm of Medical Negligence Solicitors specialising in compensation claims. He is responsible for all major strategic decisions, seeing himself as a businessman who owns a law firm. Tim has expanded the firm by 1000% in 12 years and has plans for its continued development.