Nerve Injury Compensation Claims

Yes. There are many negligent causes of nerve injury.

Nerve damage is often caused by the negligent administration of anaesthesia to patients. When administering anaesthesia – whether locally, regionally, or generally – there are precautions that must be made in order to avoid contact with any nerve.

When a local anaesthetic is injected by an anaesthetist, GP, nurse, consultant or other health care professional, care must be taken to make sure that the needle does not come into contact with a nerve.

The same care must also be shown when injecting an anaesthetic regionally eg. into the spinal column. Because the spinal column hosts many nerves, any negligence or mistakes made by the health care professional when injecting an anaesthetic (eg. to pregnant women during childbirth) could potentially have devastating and long-term consequences such as chronic pain, paralysis, back problems, loss of function in limbs and other issues.

As well as the administration of anaesthesia, other examples of nerve damage associated with medical negligence include:

• Severed nerves during surgery eg. joint replacement, hernia repair surgery
• Improper use of equipment, such as surgical retractors and surgical tourniquets.
• Injection errors where nerves are damaged by negligent GP, surgeon, nurse or other healthcare professional
• Injection errors where drugs are administered too close to a nerve, or the wrong drugs are injected
• Spinal cord injury by caudal epidural and facet joint injection

The amount of money you could claim for your nerve injury will depend on:

• The nature and extent of your injury – including your physical and emotional pain and suffering, and
• Any financial losses or costs you have incurred.

There are two types of compensation (also known as damages) available to victims of medical or clinical negligence. These are general damages and special damages.

The amount of general damages or compensation awarded will be determined by:

• Your pain, suffering and loss of amenity (impact on your life)
• The nature of the injury and its severity

In order to calculate the compensation figure, your solicitors will refer to the guidelines published by the Judicial College. However, to allow us make a more in-depth and comprehensive assessment of the potential compensation you could claim, contact our clinical negligence claims experts today.

The amount of special damages or compensation awarded will be determined by:

• Your financial losses or other costs incurred
• Examples of special damages can include:
  • Loss of earnings / income, including future earnings and loss of promotion and pension contributions
  • Restorative medical treatment and future treatment requirements
  • Rehabilitation costs eg physiotherapy
  • Home and car adaptations
  • Care costs – current and future requirements
  • Travel costs to and from medical facilities

It is possible to sue the NHS for nerve damage caused by negligent surgery or other medical negligence such as mistakes made when injecting a patient with an anaesthetic, a drug or when taking blood samples.

In order to make a negligence claim, it is must be shown that the care you received fell below the standard that could be expected from a competent medical professional.

Many medical procedures have an acceptable level of risk and even routine procedures can cause harm. Because of the complexity of nerves and the nervous system, determining the nature and extent of damage is not a simple process. Therefore specialist medical negligence solicitors should be contacted in order to determine the extent of your injury and the impact on your physical and psychological well being.

At Devonshires Claims, our medical negligence solicitors have years of experience in dealing with complex medical claims, including those associated with nerve injuries.

We will carefully review your case and determine whether you have the grounds to pursue a medical negligence claim. If we feel that you do, we will work hard to secure the maximum compensation for the injury you sustained and the short and long-term care you may require.

The time limit to make a medical negligence claim is generally three years from the date of the alleged negligent medical treatment. This limit is known as the limitation period.

Exceptions:

There are exceptions to this three year limit.

These are:

1. Children

Children cannot bring a negligence claim themselves, and will require a ‘Litigation Friend’ to bring this on their behalf. A litigation friends is usually a parent or close relative.

A medical negligence claim can be brought on behalf of a child at any time before their 18^th birthday. Once they turn 18, they will have three years within which to make a claim.

2.Date of Knowledge

If a patient was unaware of the negligent medical treatment, the three year limitation period will start on the date that they were made aware of the negligence.

In order for a claimant to ‘have knowledge’ three main requirements must be satisfied. These are:

• That the injury was significant;
• The injury was attributable in whole or in part to an act or omission which is alleged to constitute negligence, nuisance or breach of duty;

3. Mental capacity

A child or adult without capacity to run a claim, may not have a time limit within which to bring a claim.  We recommend that you contact Devonshires Claims if you have any queries involving those who lack capacity and our specialist solicitors will be able to assist.

4. Death

If a patient had died from a nerve injury resulting from medical negligence, the three period will apply from either the date of death or the date of knowledge, whichever is later. The estate of decreased may bring a compensation claim.

In order to start your compensation claim, we recommend the following steps:

• Gather evidence of the injury: We recommend that you carefully document your symptoms and the nature of your injury.
• Gather any medical reports: It is important to gather and organise your medical reports (letters, emails, test results, scan results, x-rays) and any other related information.
• Contact a specialist law firm with experience of dealing with complex medical negligence cases such as nerve injuries. We recommend starting your claim as soon as possible so as to ensure an accurate recollection of events.

To start your nerve damage claim, contact Devonshires Claims medical negligence experts today. We provide a free no-obligation case evaluation.

Following your free case evaluation, if our claims experts feel that you have the grounds to make a compensation claim for your nerve injury, we will offer you a no win no fee agreement.

A no win no fee agreement is also known as a conditional fee agreement.

Under this agreement, there are no costs to pay if you are not successful* and no upfront costs to start your claim.

Your solicitor will explain the process to you before you sign a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement. You will know exactly what to expect and can make your claim in confidence.

Consult our ‘No Win No Fee’ medical negligence claims explainer for more information.