Fatal Medical Negligence
If you’ve lost a loved one due to the errors of a medical professional, you could be entitled to make a fatal negligence claim on their behalf. Get in touch to find out more.
What is a fatal negligence claim?
Dealing with the death of a loved one is always difficult. But if someone close to you died as a direct result of substandard medical care, you could have grounds to make a fatal negligence claim on their behalf.
Some examples of fatal medical negligence include:
- Delayed or incorrect diagnosis
- Delayed surgery
- Prescription errors
- Surgical errors
- Delayed referral to hospital
Deaths due to medical errors are thankfully uncommon. But if you believe your loved one died as a result of a medical professional’s mistakes, you could be entitled to support and compensation.
Get in touch with our compassionate and understanding team to find out if we can help you.
Who can make a claim for fatal negligence?
If you were a dependant of the person who has died, you’ll have the right to submit a claim for compensation on their behalf.
Dependants could include:
- Spouses and civil partners
- Children (biological, adopted and step-children)
- Unmarried partners (if they had lived with the person for at least two years before their death)
- Parents
- Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nephews or cousins
You may also be able to make a fatal medical negligence claim if you’re the executor of your loved one’s Will. In these cases, any compensation will be paid to the deceased person’s estate, before being shared amongst beneficiaries.
Why should I make a fatal negligence claim?
Making a claim for compensation won’t reverse what’s happened, but it could help to ease some of the worries and fears that come with losing a loved one.
For instance, you might have concerns about how you’ll cope financially if the person who died had contributed towards your household bills. This might not be the first thing on your mind when dealing with the pain of losing a partner or relative, but it can still be a significant source of stress.
Claiming compensation can help to provide a financial safety net, so you’ll have one less thing to worry about. Your compensation could also be used for counselling for your family, or to help with funeral costs.
Taking legal action could help to bring you a feeling of closure, too, as the hospital or NHS trust responsible will be held to account. For many people, this is the most important reason for making a claim.
How can First4Lawyers help?
Our medical negligence solicitors have helped thousands of people affected by fatal negligence. They understand what it takes to start a claim at such an emotionally difficult time, and they’ll do everything they can to support you.
Whether your loved one was treated by the NHS or in a private hospital, we can help you get the compensation and support you deserve.
For these types of claims, we work on a No Win No Fee basis. This means there will be nothing for you to pay upfront and no legal fees to cover if your case is unsuccessful.
Only pay a fee if you receive compensation
Our No Win No Fee solicitors will take a success fee from the compensation you are awarded for a successful claim in the form of a percentage of your damages. This could be up to 25% but it won't be more than that, except in cases of road traffic accidents. Changing laws mean our solicitors will now take a payment of 35% of the final compensation amount plus VAT for all road traffic accident claims.
First4Lawyers are an award-winning claims management company with a track record of delivering service that our clients love.
Fatal medical negligence FAQs
What can I claim for a death caused by medical negligence?
Fatal negligence cases can be awarded upwards of £100,000 depending on how preventable the death was while in the care of medical professionals.
Your compensation will also take into account:
- Childcare costs (if you previously split childcare with the person who died)
- Counselling services
- Funeral expenses
- Household bills
- Medical expenses
You may also be able to claim a fixed ‘statutory bereavement award’ under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. But this only applies for the spouse or civil partner of the deceased, or any children under the age of 18.
How long do I have to claim for fatal negligence?
If your loved one was unable to take legal action before they passed away, you’ll have three years from the date of their death to make a claim on their behalf.
But if you didn’t realise negligence had taken place until after your loved one died, you’ll have three years from the date you realised to pursue compensation.
We recognise that the limitations surrounding these types of claims can be confusing. But during your first conversation with us, we’ll let you know if you still have time to take legal action. So you’ll know exactly where you stand.
I’ve lost a loved one due to fatal negligence – what should I do?
If you’ve lost someone close to you because of substandard medical care, give our legal services team a call. We’ll talk to you about what happened and let you know if you have a strong case for compensation.
Our initial conversation with you will be completely free, so you’ll have nothing to lose by getting in touch.
If we think you could have a claim, we’ll ask if you’d like to speak to one of our experienced solicitors. This will be completely up to you, and we’ll never pressure you to go forward if you don’t want to.
To find out more about how we can help, call us on the number at the top of the screen or start your claim online.
We’re here to help, whenever you’re ready.
