Clinical negligence

Taylor&Emmet’s team of Clinical Negligence specialist solicitors act solely for the victims of medical and surgical negligence.

Clinical negligence usually causes an unexpected and serious breach of a patient’s trust in a medical professional. It also leaves people devastated through serious physical injury and emotional trauma.

Our specialist team members will deal with each case sensitively, with the best interests of our client being paramount at all times.

All medical practitioners have a duty to take reasonable care when managing their patients, whether simply by referring a patient to a specialist in the light of certain symptoms, or by carrying out complex, major surgery. When a medical practitioner fails in meeting this duty, then patients may be left injured. They often feel helpless in dealing with a large Health Trust which may not want to listen to the complaints of patients, no matter how genuine they are.

This is where our committed team of friendly, professional and hard working solicitors will help.

We relish pursuing cases on behalf of the victims of medical accidents, whether through the complaints procedure, litigation or negotiation. We tenaciously pursue fair compensation for our clients, which may include loss of earnings, the cost of future care needs and any necessary aids and equipment to help make life easier.

We have held a Franchise from the Legal Services Commission to carry out Legal Aid work in this area since 2000. This was renewed in 2010 following a successful tender meaning that we are one of only a small number of firms able to offer Legal Aid in clinical negligence cases.

If your case is not listed below, please still call as we may be able to help.

We specialise in...

Birth injuries - If you or your baby has suffered an injury during childbirth and someone has been negligent, you may be able to make a medical negligence compensation claim.

Orthopaedic and trauma cases - If you have suffered as a result of negligent orthopaedic treatment, you may be able to make a medical negligence compensation claim.

Cancer cases - If you have suffered as a result of misdiagnosis of cancer or failure to diagnose cancer, and someone has been negligent, you may be able to make a medical negligence compensation claim.

Negligent surgery - If you have suffered as a result of negligent cosmetic surgery or plastic surgery, you may be able to make a medical negligence compensation claim.

Dental claims - If you have suffered as a result of negligence on the part of your Dentist, you may be able to make a medical negligence compensation claim.

Cosmetic surgery negligence - We receive many enquires about cosmetic surgery or plastic surgery which has allegedly been negligently carried out. Some surgeons, conducting cosmetic procedures do not have the necessary specialist skills to perform surgery safely.

Pressure sores - Pressure sores (or pressure ulcers) are painful, debilitating and they occur too often, even though they are preventable. They are an often underestimated health problem in the UK.

Safety of hip joint replacements - There have been further reported concerns in the news recently regarding the safety of hip joint replacements and specifically those involving metal on metal implants. These implants involve using metal to replace both the socket and the ball of the hip joint.

Examples of our work

Pressure sores

Mrs Makin went into the Wrightington Hospital for a hip replacement operation in November 2008 but came out with severe pressure sores.

She was in hospital for a total of 11 days. Whilst she was recuperating she could not mobilise. Mrs Makin developed discomfort and pain in her heels. She asked staff on duty to look at her heels but the answer each time was, “I will be back in a minute”. No proper action was taken.

Blisters were eventually noticed on Mrs Makin’s heels 7 days after the surgery but there was no adequate intervention to prevent pressure sores from getting worse. We obtained expert evidence from a Tissue Viability Nurse. There was no proper use of the routinely used Waterlow Risk Assessment, by hospital staff, in Mrs Makin’s case. Read more

Shoulder injury and delayed treatment

A £300,000.00 settlement for a Client whose shoulder injury was ignored, leading to a very significant delay in treatment. This caused severe shoulder damage which would not otherwise have occurred, constant pain and a reduction in ability to work.

Botched knee injury

£150,000.00 settlement for a Client whose knee replacement was botched

Negligent surgery

£130,000.00 settlement for a lady who sustained injury to her median nerve following negligent surgery to her elbow

Delayed treatment of vitamin deficiency

Settlement of £335,000.00 for a gentleman who had delayed treatment of his Vitamin B12 deficiency, sustaining peripheral neuropathy affecting his mobility for which he requires ongoing care

Misdiagnosis

A settlement for a lady diagnosed with asthma, when in fact she had angina, subsequently suffering two avoidable heart attack.

Meet the team

Clinical negligence team

Our clinical negligence specialists have a history of settling complex claims in a way that takes into account all symptoms, losses and possible long-term effects.

James Drydale
Head of clinical negligence

James is an Associate and Head of our Clinical Negligence Department. He is a member of the Law Society’s specialist Clinical Negligence Accreditation Panel. He specialises solely in cases involving medical accidents and works hard to obtain good results for his clients.

Paul Fouad
Associate Solicitor

Having studied law at Sheffield University, Paul was keen to stay in the area and joined Taylor&Emmet as a trainee in 2003 and qualified as a Solicitor into the Clinical Negligence department in 2005. Paul is a member of the Law Society’s specialist Clinical Negligence Accreditation Panel.

Kelly Donaldson
Solicitor