Fatal Claims
No one should ever lose a family member due to medical mismanagement. We can help you get answers and seek compensation to provide you with financial support for the future.
- Mistakes in surgery or medical treatment
- A delayed diagnosis or delayed treatment for their condition
- Post-surgery complications
- Serious prescription errors
- Mismanagement of pregnancy and /or labour and /or birth leading to maternal death, stillbirth or early neonatal death
Inquest representation
A coroner must hold an Inquest if the cause of death is still unknown. Sometimes when deaths occur in unusual or unclear circumstances, an Inquest will be held to establish the facts around the death. Our team can represent you at Inquests, to help guide you through proceedings and to make sure your voice is heard.
Is there a Will?
If the person who died has left a Will, the Executor will have the right to pursue a claim on behalf of the deceased’s estate. It may be necessary to obtain a Grant of Probate if the claim progresses
If no Will has been made, and the deceased died intestate, Letters of Administration will need to be obtained and a claim can be advanced by the person named in those Letters of Administration.
We will provide advice on when to obtain either a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration and whether these are necessary in your case, and we can also help with the legal work involved.
Who can bring a claim if there has been fatal medical treatment?
A claim following the death of a loved one has died as a result of medical negligence can be pursued by a ‘dependent’ of the person who died. Dependents can include the following:
- The husband or wife or civil partner of the deceased
- In limited circumstances, a former spouse or civil partner of the deceased
- A cohabitee of the deceased (who had been living with the deceased for at least two years immediately prior to death as if husband and wife or civil partners)
- A child of the deceased
- A parent of the deceased
- A brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin or grandparent of the deceased
- Any other person who was considered by the deceased as a child of the family.
In addition, the executors can bring a claim on behalf of the deceased’s Estate for injury or losses incurred by the deceased prior to death, and for any expenses falling upon the Estate which arise from the death.
Call our specialist and friendly team on 0345 2410 154 or use the contact form and we’ll call you back.
Frequently Asked Questions
We will discuss your circumstances at a time and place to suit you – in person, at your home or on the telephone. We can request your medical records at the outset free of charge. Once we have reviewed your records we can advise you further and appoint suitable experts to provide their opinion on your potential claim.
Medical negligence claims rarely go to court, with only a small percentage of the more complex cases ending up there. However, in the unlikely event that your case reaches court, we will be by your side throughout the process.
The general rule is that a claim arising from a fatality must have court proceedings issued within 3 years of the date of death, or within 3 years of the date of knowledge of the personal representative of the deceased’s estate that there is a potential claim (whichever is the latter).
However, one caveat to this is that the primary limitation period (which runs for 3 years from the date of negligence, or from the date of knowledge of the deceased, whichever is the latter – unless the deceased was a minor or lacked capacity) must not have already expired prior to the death of the deceased.
The aim of compensation is to put you in the financial position you would have been in had it not been for the injury/negligence in question. We recognise that this is sometimes impossible, but we can work with you and the best experts to ensure all your needs are assessed and costed to help you transform your life for the better, and to give you financial security for the future.
Contact us today:
For a free initial consultation
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My late husband would be proud that I stood up for what I believed was right. NHS policy has changed as a result of my husband’s death, which is to the benefit of others moving forward and that’s priceless.
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