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When medical treatment leaves you worse off or fails to improve your condition, it is natural to question whether something went wrong.

However, an unsuccessful treatment does not automatically give rise to a medical negligence claim. The legal position depends on the standard of care provided and whether any failings caused additional harm.

What is a poor outcome?

Medicine cannot guarantee results. A patient may experience a recognised complication, fail to respond to treatment or recover less fully than anticipated even though the healthcare professionals involved acted appropriately.

The patient’s condition and general health may also affect the result. In some cases, the illness or injury would have progressed regardless of the treatment provided.

These outcomes can be distressing, but they do not necessarily indicate that anyone was at fault.

What is clinical negligence?

Clinical negligence arises when care falls below the standard reasonably expected of a competent healthcare professional and the patient is harmed as a consequence.

A successful claim will usually require evidence that:

• The healthcare professional or provider owed the patient a duty of care
• The treatment or advice provided did not meet the required standard
• This failing caused the injury or made the patient’s condition worse

The patient must generally establish these matters on the balance of probabilities, meaning that they are more likely than not to have occurred.

Why a poor outcome is not always negligence

The law considers how the patient was treated rather than judging the care solely by its eventual result.

For example, a known surgical complication may occur despite the surgeon taking every reasonable precaution. A serious illness may also progress even when it is diagnosed promptly and treated correctly.

There may be grounds for a claim where the outcome could probably have been avoided with reasonable care. This could include an unreasonable delay in diagnosis, failure to act on test results, incorrect medication or an avoidable mistake during a procedure.

Even where the care was substandard, it must usually be shown that the failing affected the patient’s outcome. If the same harm would probably have occurred in any event, compensation may not be recoverable.

Always seek legal advice

It can be difficult for a patient to distinguish between an unavoidable complication and negligent treatment.

A medical negligence solicitor can obtain the relevant records and seek evidence from an independent medical expert. This can establish what should reasonably have happened and whether different care would probably have produced a better outcome.

Contact our Middlesbrough and Redcar-based medical negligence team

If you are concerned about medical treatment that you or a loved one received, Askews Solicitors can help you understand whether further investigation is appropriate.

Contact Us for a free enquiry or visit Medical Negligence Claims to learn more about our services.

This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as advice of any kind.