No Win, No Fee Medical Consent Compensation Claims
You can be represented by a highly-experienced medical negligence lawyer at no upfront cost to you. Under our No Win No Fee agreement you only pay a pre-agreed percentage of the compensation awarded if your case is successful.
What is informed medical consent?
Doctors and surgeons are not usually permitted to carry out any medical treatment unless the patient – or their next of kin – has been fully informed of any potential risks and any alternative treatment options.
Patients should be fully involved in decisions relating to their medical treatment and able to make an informed choice about the treatment they receive. When this is the case they are able to so give ‘informed consent’.
If a patient is not fully informed of the possible pros and cons of a procedure or treatment, and any alternative options available to them, they are denied of their right to make their own decision as to the best course of action.
Should something then go wrong, or the patient suffer in way they had not been warned of, it is likely they would be able to make a failure to obtain informed consent compensation claim.
Common examples
Our team of medical negligence solicitors and lawyers has represented many clients who have undergone treatments or been given medication, unaware of potential future complications or issues. Common examples include;
- Failing to inform patients of the potential risks of operations / treatments.
- Failing to warn patients of potential side effects of treatments / medications.
- Failing to inform patient of alternative treatment options.
- Failing to warn of patients of potential complications during /following surgery.
- Failing to inform patients that further surgery may still be required.
- Failing to provide accurate information on the expertise of surgeons.
- Failing to offer options other than surgery.
- Failing to consult fully with mothers / parents on birth delivery plans / options.
Consent concerns in birth
At Hudgell Solicitors we have been instructed in a significant number of cases where a lack of consent has been sought from mothers and partners with regards to the way their children are delivered and born.
In a leading case at The Supreme Court in 2015, a judge ruled in favour of a mother who sued for medical negligence after her baby was born with cerebral palsy, due to a lack of oxygen during birth.
The mother had diabetes and was small in stature, and was not warned that this brought a greater risk of complications with a vaginal birth. She argued that had she been informed of the increased risk to her baby, she would have requested a caesarean section.
It is important that mothers are fully informed of all the birth options available to them, and advised on the benefits and risks of each option, specific to their own situation.
What should happen
Before carrying out any treatment on a patient, medical professionals must:
- Have a direct conversation with the patient or their next of kin to ensure the patient is fully informed about their treatment options, and the benefits and risks of each option, or of having no treatment at all.
- Take extra steps, such as possibly providing an interpreter, should English not be a patient’s first language.
- Listen to the patient and their families and allow them to ask questions, providing honest and detailed answers.
- Not rush a patient into making a decision with regards surgery and treatment.
- Encouraged patients to think about their options and talk to family, friends or someone they trust.
- Allow a patient to change their mind.
If you underwent surgery or treatment without any of the above happening, it is possible the medical professional failed to gain your full consent for the procedure.
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The parents of a teenage boy whose leg ‘snapped’ just weeks after Great Ormond Street Hospital surgeon Yaser Jabbar had performed surgery on it say he ‘destroyed years of progress’, leading to their son undergoing an amputation. The boy, from Essex, was transferred to the care of the specialist world-renowned London hospital having been born […]
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£82,500 compensation for woman who suffered internal organ damage during ‘unconsented’ hysterectomy procedure
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Hospital Trust’s error caused 14 month delay in diagnosing lung cancer – costing patient years of her life
A hospital trust has admitted its errors led to a 14-month delay in diagnosing a patient’s lung cancer – causing her to have less precious time left with her loved ones. Eileen Peacock died aged 72 in December 2021, having known for her final 16 months that a hospital’s error had reduced her life expectancy. […]
Mother of inspirational teenager who died of cancer donates damages settlement to charity to support other families
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Mother whose baby died at just two months old should have been warned about potential life-threatening genetic condition in early pregnancy
A mother whose baby died of a genetic condition at just two months old has been awarded damages by a hospital trust after it admitted she should have been warned in early pregnancy that her daughter may be born with the life-threatening illness. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust admitted breaching its duty of care […]
How to make a medical consent claim
Make a claim in six easy steps
Free Initial Advice
Call us, request a callback or complete our online claim form and we will assess whether we think you have a claim.
Funding
We will help you to decide how best to fund your claim. Usually we will be able to offer you a No win, No fee agreement.
Obtain Medical Records & Medical Reports
We will request copies of your medical records and instruct appropriate medical experts to prepare reports confirming whether your care was negligent and how this caused you injury.
Letter Of Claim
We will send a letter to your healthcare provider with details of your claim, setting out why we think your case was negligent and how this caused your injury.
Prepare Claim Valuation
We will put together a schedule of loss setting out the losses you have incurred and the extent of the injuries you have sustained.
Negotiate Settlement
We will send all the evidence to your opponent inviting their settlement proposals. If we cannot agree a reasonable settlement, we will prepare court proceedings.
Start your claim today
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FAQs
Who gives medical consent for children / minors?
Although in some cases children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they’re believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what’s involved in their treatment, usually the decision is made by the child’s mother or father, or a legally appointed guardian or authority.
People 16 and over can consent to their own treatment and this can only be overruled in exceptional circumstances.
How do I know I’ve been given enough information to consent to treatment?
According to the NHS, for consent to be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision. That means the decision to either consent or not to consent to treatment must be made by the person, and not be influenced by pressure from medical staff. That person must have been given all of the information about what the treatment involves, including the benefits and risks, whether there are reasonable alternative treatments, and what will happen if treatment does not go ahead.
They finally must be capable of giving consent, which means they understand the information given to them and can use it to make an informed decision.
Are there occasions when medical professionals do not need consent of patients or next of kin?
Yes, there are a few exceptions when treatment may be able to go ahead without the person’s consent, as it may not be possible to immediately gain the consent required, such as when a person needs emergency treatment to save their life, but they’re incapacitated. Even in this case, medical professionals are afterwards required to state their reasons as why the treatment was necessary.
Consent cannot always be sought when a patient immediately needs an additional emergency procedure during an operation. Again, there has to be a clear medical reason why it would be unsafe to wait to obtain consent.
In some cases, patients with severe mental health conditions, may lack the capacity to consent to the treatment of their mental health (under the Mental Health Act 1983).
What is the time limit for making a medical negligence claim?
If aged 18 and over, you will typically have three years from the date that the negligence occurred or from the date that you became aware of negligent treatment.
For under-18s, there is no time limit. However, once a child reaches 18, the standard 3 year claim period comes into effect.
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