Clinical negligence and legal bills proving costly for Sunderland Royal Hospital
Clinical negligence claims have been described as ‘a fact of life’ in the healthcare profession, by a spokesperson for City Hospitals Sunderland.
In 2012 – 2013, City Hospitals Sunderland is reported to have paid out more than £7.4 million pounds in compensation to clinical negligence victims and legal bills.
A spokesman for City Hospitals Sunderland commented: “Part of our ongoing patient safety regime is to feed back every complaint and error into our day-to-day policies, so that we can learn from our mistakes and try to ensure they are not repeated.
“Unfortunately, clinical negligence claims are a fact of life in a healthcare service.”
Linda Millband, joint national coordinator for clinical negligence claims at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “The feedback and lesson learning that the spokesperson talks of makes absolute sense, but the sense of defeatism, that somehow negligence is ‘just one of those things’ a ‘fact of life’ is very worrying.
“Clinical negligence incidents are not inevitable and never acceptable. Those whose lives are irreparably damaged by negligence are forced to litigate to get back what they have lost and the treatment and support they will need for the rest of their lives. Clinical negligence has a devastating effect on the individuals affected and their families.
“While lessons can always be learned from mistakes, it does not mean that we shouldn’t strive to prevent them from happening in the first instance. Hospitals should strive towards a nil incident record.”
Concerned about negligent medical treatment or diagnoses? Talk to us for advice and support today.
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If you, or a loved one, think you have suffered medical negligence, such as a birth injury (for example, a cerebral palsy diagnosis following a difficult birth), misdiagnosis (such as cancer misdiagnosis), or suffered negligence during an operation contact us for advice.
If the incident happened more than three years ago, you will usually not be able to make a claim for compensation. However, exceptions do apply – such as instances where you could not have reasonably known your symptoms were caused by clinical negligence, or cases involves adults who lack legal capacity or children – so contact us for advice.
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