How To Claim For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
This guide looks at who may be eligible to claim medical negligence compensation for negligent diabetes treatment. We will examine the duty of care owed by medical professionals when treating patients and how failures to uphold this duty can cause you to suffer avoidable harm.
How To Claim For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
In this guide, you will find illustrative examples of how medical negligence can take place and what effects this can have on you. We have also detailed the possible compensation that can be awarded in the event your claim is a success.
The penultimate section of this guide contains a brief overview of the benefits you can enjoy when working with a specialist medical negligence solicitor from our panel under the specific type of No Win No Fee Agreement that they offer.
Our advisors are available to take your questions, as well as provide a no-cost assessment of your particular circumstances. You can talk to a member of our team via:
- Phone on 020 3870 4868
- Complete our “Claim Online” form via this link.
- Make use of our live chat button for a quick response to your questions.
Select A Section
- How To Claim For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
- How Do I Prove Negligent Diabetes Treatment?
- Examples Of Failure To Treat Diabetes
- Examples Of Payouts For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
- Claim With No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Related Clinical Negligence Claims
How To Claim For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
There is a duty of care owed by medical professionals in that they must provide the correct standard of care to their patients. This duty applies to both the public and private healthcare. By failing to provide care at the correct standard, healthcare professionals could cause their patients to experience avoidable harm. If this has happened to you, you might wonder whether you’re eligible to seek compensation.
The eligibility criteria to begin a medical negligence claim following negligent diabetes treatment are listed here:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- The medical professional breached their duty.
- As a result of the medical professional breaching their duty, you suffered avoidable harm.
“Avoidable harm” refers to harm that would not have happened had the correct standard of care been given.
Is There A Time Limit When Claiming For Negligent Diabetes Treatment?
Medical negligence claims are generally subject to a time limit of 3 years, per the Limitation Act 1980. This may be counted from the date of the medical negligence or from the date when you first connected or would have been expected to connect the avoidable harm you suffered with the negligent action. This is called the date of knowledge.
In certain cases, extensions to the 3-year time limit may be granted. To enquire more about the time limit, and to check if you may be eligible for an extension, speak to our advisors. You can reach our team using the contact information provided above.
How Do I Prove Negligent Diabetes Treatment?
Supporting evidence will be necessary to prove medical negligence occurred and the physical and psychological effects of this negligence on you. We have created a non-exhaustive list of possible evidence you could gather here:
- Anyone who attended your diabetes appointments with you could provide a witness statement during the claims process. Take down their contact information so they can be contacted at a later stage.
- You have the right to acquire copies of your medical documents, such as your test results. This can be useful for showing both the negligent treatment and the avoidable harm caused.
- Keep a diary during the course of your treatment, noting what medical care you received and your symptoms can be useful in showing your physical and mental state.
Examples Of Failure To Treat Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition that causes your blood sugar to become too high. There are two main types, type 1 and type 2, with type 2 being much more common in the UK.
Below you will find a number of examples of how negligent diabetes treatment can take place and what effects this can have on you:
- A GP failed to adequately check your patient notes and prescribed metformin, a medicine used to treat type 2 diabetes, when you had a known allergy to it. You subsequently experienced a severe allergic reaction.
- A doctor failed to send you for further testing despite your displaying clear symptoms of peripheral neuropathy; damage to the nerves in the hands, feet and arms. This results in a delay in treatment. Because of this delay, you develop a severe case of a diabetic foot ulcer, necessitating amputation.
- During an examination, an ophthalmologist missed damage to the blood vessels in your left eye. This results in permanent damage to your eye and a substantial loss of vision.
It’s important to keep in mind that in order to make a medical negligence claim you must be able to show that a medical professional breached their duty of care and caused you to suffer avoidable harm as a result. Call our team to discuss your specific case and find out whether a medical negligence claim is possible.
Examples Of Payouts For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
The compensation payout awarded following a successful medical negligence claim for negligent diabetes treatment can be made up of two different heads of claim. These are general and special damages. General damages are awarded for the physical and psychological impacts of medical negligence.
In order to calculate the value general damages, solicitors can refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) alongside your provided medical evidence. The JCG is a document published by the Judicial College that contains the guideline award brackets for various different types of harm. We have used a selection of these brackets to create the compensation table here.
Compensation Table
It should be noted that this table has been included to act as guidance only. Medical negligence claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and therefore, we cannot guarantee a compensation award.
| Type of Harm | Severity | Guideline Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injuries Affecting Sight | Total blindness (b) | In the region of £268,720 | A complete loss of sight in both eyes. |
| Loss of sight in one eye, reduced vision in remaining eye (c)(i) | £95,990 to £179,770 | Cases where there is serious risk of further deterioration in remaining eye. | |
| Loss of sight in one eye, reduced vision in remaining eye (c)(ii) | £63,950 to £105,990 | Reduced vision in remaining eye and/or double additional problems such as double vision. | |
| Complete loss of sight in one eye (e) | £49,270 to £54,830 | This bracket takes into account some risk of sympathetic ophthalmia. | |
| Kidney | Both Kidneys Affected | £169,400 to £210,400 | Serious or permanent damage to both kidneys or where both kidneys are lost. |
| One Kidney Affected | £30,770 to £44,880 | One kidney is lost and the other is not damaged. | |
| Injuries to Feet | Amputations of both feet (a) | £169,400 to £201,490 | Injury treated similarly to below-knee amputation of both legs due to the common loss of the ankle joint. |
| Amputation of one foot (b) | £83,960 to £109,650 | This bracket is likewise treated similarly to a below-knee amputation. | |
| Severe (d) | £41,970 to £70,030 | This bracket contains cases of an unusually severe injury to a single foot, such as ulceration. |
Special Damages In Claims For Negligent Diabetes Treatment
Special damages can be awarded if you have experienced financial losses due to medical negligence. You can see some examples of costs that could be reimbursed here:
- Travel to and from your place of work.
- Out-of-pocket medical costs.
- Lost income.
- Any home adaptations.
- In-home care and support.
Claiming for incurred expenses will require supporting documentation. Retains copies of documents such as your payslips, travel tickets and receipts as proof of financial losses. To get a more detailed estimate of the value of your potential claim, as well as further guidance regarding the medical negligence claims process, speak to our advisors. Reach out to our team using the contact information provided below.
Claim With No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitors
To get your particular circumstances assessed free of charge, contact our advisors via the details below. You could be connected with a medical negligence specialist from our panel of solicitors if you have a valid claim. Our panel of solicitors can offer their services under a type of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Claiming under a CFA presents distinct advantages. First of all, there will generally not be a fee for the solicitor to begin working on your claim. Neither will you pay for this work during the claims process itself. Finally, if the claim does not succeed, you will not pay the solicitor for their services.
Following the success of your medical negligence claim for negligent diabetes treatment, you will receive a compensation settlement. The solicitor will take a percentage of your compensation. This is called a success fee. There is a legal cap on the maximum success fee percentage. This means you will keep most of your awarded compensation.
To get further guidance on the medical negligence claims process or to get a cost-free consultation regarding your eligibility to claim, speak to our advisors via:
- Phone on 020 3870 4868
- Complete our “Claim Online” form via this link.
- Make use of our live chat button for a quick response to your questions.
Related Clinical Negligence Claims
See more of our medical negligence guides:
- Find out about claiming medical negligence compensation for drug errors.
- Learn when you could be eligible to claim for a fracture misdiagnosis.
- Read our guide on claiming for prescription errors in a pharmacy.
External resources you may find useful:
- The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published this guidance on the prevention and management of diabetic foot problems.
- Learn more about support for diabetics with this NHS resource.
- Find guidance on the NHS Constitution for England from GOV.UK.
Thank you for reading our guide on making a claim for negligent diabetes treatment. You can speak to our advisors for more information as well as no-cost consultation regarding your eligibility to claim. To talk to a member of our team, use any of the contact information given above.
