We have dealt with Medical or Clinical Negligence claims for many years. We are members of the Action for Victims of Medical Accidents (AVMA) panel and the Law Society panel. We have a legal aid franchise in Clinical Negligence which means the Legal Services Commission has approved our expertise and systems. Legal aid is still available for clinical negligence, but you will only be eligible if you have very modest income and savings.

Our clients tell us that the 3 questions they want answers to after a medical accident are:

1. What happened and why?

If you suffer a medical accident you will want to know what happened and why. You may want an apology. You will probably want to complain. You should contact your local Independent Complaints Advisory Service as they are very good at helping people through the complaints system from the start, which is the initial letter, to the end. Your solicitor will work with the Independent Complaints Advisory Service on legal issues and help you to get in contact with them.

2. Can I claim compensation?

If as well as an apology you want to claim compensation, you should also arrange to see a solicitor to get legal advice. There will be a lot of work to investigate your claim, and the longer you leave it the more likely it is that notes and records will get lost. In any case there are strict time limits for bringing claims for compensation, so it is important not to wait.

3. When is a doctor at fault?

The medical person treating you must keep to proper standards accepted within the profession at the time of your treatment. If s/he does not do so and this results in you suffering injury, you can claim compensation.

To find out whether you have a good claim, the solicitor will get hold of all your medical records and, depending on what these show, s/he will then arrange for an independent doctor to look into your case. You may have to go for a medical examination.

How to choose a solicitor

Medical accidents are complicated. You need a solicitor who knows how to handle these cases properly.

It is necessary to show that it was the medical treatment (or lack of it) that caused your injury, not the illness which you initially asked the medical people to treat.

You need to find out whether you are entitled to help from the Community Legal Services Commission. They may pay part or all of the cost of your case. Only solicitors who are considered specialists in dealing with medical accidents can apply for assistance from the Legal Services Commission. Our firm is one of the small numbers of firms to be approved in Manchester. This means we can advise you whether you may be entitled to this assistance.

We may be able to offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (this is known as a "no win, no fee" agreement).

It is important to ask the solicitor you see whether s/he has handled many other medical accident cases and, if so, how many.

You should ask what percentage of their work involves medical accident cases.

You need to know how many cases the solicitor has actually taken to court.

Ask how long it takes them to get a medical negligence case to court.

Ask whether s/he handles other types of work as well as compensation claims.

You need to know whether the solicitor is a member of the Law Society's Clinical Negligence Panel. If they are on the panel this means s/he will have had experience in dealing with medical accidents.

Ask whether the firm has a Franchise from the Legal Services Commission for Clinical Negligence work. If the answer is "no" you ought to ask "why not"?

Ask whether the solicitor has a computer and access to the internet. Is this solicitor on e-mail? If not, why not?

Why choose John Pickering and Partners?

This practice has a franchise from the Legal Services Commission. This means we can apply for legal aid for you. Most firms are not allowed to ask for legal aid for medical accident cases.

We only act for victims of medical accidents, unlike other firms who also represent doctors and Health Authorities.

We are a specialist firm and only deal with personal injury, industrial disease and medical accident cases.

How much will the case cost?

It is important to ask how much your case will cost and whether legal aid will be available.

You need to find out how much an insurance policy might cost and who will pay for it. If you win your case the premium should be paid by the other side. As we are a specialist firm we are able to negotiate cheaper insurance than non-specialist firms.

If you win your case most of the charges are usually paid by your opponents. If the case was lost you would have to pay your opponents legal charges but your solicitor may be able to take out an insurance policy for you to protect you in case this happens.

How much will you get if you win your case?

It is important to ask your solicitor whether s/he thinks you have a good case. If you get a positive reply then you need to ask how much compensation you could receive.

If you win your case you will receive compensation for your pain and suffering. The amount the judge will give you depends on how serious your injury is and what sort of recovery you are likely to make.

On top of this you receive interest on the money the judge awards you from when the case papers are sent to your opponents.

What else can I claim for?

If you suffer a loss of wages and have other expenses, for example, prescription charges, travel etc. you are entitled to be paid for these. You get interest on this money from the date of the expense.

If you are going to lose wages in the future you will receive compensation for this. If someone has to look after you because of the medical accident, you can put in a claim for the help you are given. This applies to the past and future.

If you have to buy any special aids or have to carry out alterations to your home you can claim the cost of this.

About John Pickering and Partners

Our clients are people who have suffered injury as a result of a medical or other type of accident in this country or who suffer from industrial disease. We act for people in this country and in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malta, South Africa, and other countries.

We guarantee that all our clients will have the case dealt with by a specialist solicitor who has chosen a career in compensation work for injured people. We do not do any other sort of work. Most cases we take on are won or settled with compensation for our clients. When this happens the other side pays all or most of the cost of bringing the claim.

We are committed to legal aid and have a Franchise from the Community Legal Services Commission. This means they have looked at the firm carefully and they approve of the way we work. They trust us to handle medical negligence claims properly.

We have good links with medical and non-medical experts and we work together to investigate your case.

Below are a few examples of the type of case we have won for our clients who have suffered as a result of a medical accident:-

One of our clients received just under one million pounds after a surgeon operated four times eventually leaving our client paralysed.

We have recovered compensation for a client who was suffering from septicaemia and this was not discovered in time. This client received £250,000.00.

One of our clients received an award now worth almost £300,000.00. He went blind because his doctor did not take his blood pressure often enough to realise that he needed medication to protect his eyes.

In one case there was an award now worth £90,000.00 where a GP had failed to act in time which meant a breast cancer diagnosis was delayed.

One of our clients underwent back surgery which was unsuccessful. The award he received is now worth £320,000.00.

One of our clients (a psychiatric patient) jumped out of a window and suffered injuries. This client received an award now worth £400,000.00.

Your first interview with us is free, either over the telephone or in our office or at your home. At the end of this interview we will tell you what work we need to do and how it can be paid for.

Claimant suffered injury to her hepatic ductal system following a laparoscopic cholecystectomy causing leakage of bile.  When this was eventually recognised a further operation was performed to insert a T tube to allow the duct to heal.  The tube however was removed too early causing a further bile leak and further surgery was required.

See also Claimant was taken to the A&E at Calderdale Royal Infirmary after being knocked down by a car and was diagnosed as having an unstable short spiral fracture of the right femur.

See also car accident victim claims more than £28,000 compensation in clinical negligence action

See also HGV driver wins more than £1,000,000.00 compensation in clinical negligence action

The solicitor who will handle your claim.

Claire Horton qualified in 1990 and has worked almost exclusively pursuing clinical negligence claims since then. She has been a member of the Law Society and AvMA (Action against Clinical Accidents) panels for many years.

She specialises in higher value cases and has successfully pursued a number where damages in excess of £1 million have been obtained.

Many of her cases are about injuries which have occurred to children in hospital. Damages have been obtained by Claire in a wide variety of such matters including those relating to mismanaged births where the injuries sustained can be very severe.

Claire is based at the Manchester office but represents people throughout the region.