If you suffered from necrotising fasciitis and your injuries were exacerbated by substandard medical care, you could be entitled to claim compensation.
Or if your loved one passed away because necrotising fasciitis was not diagnosed and treated in time, you could be able to pursue a claim on behalf of the estate.
To find out whether you are able to sue for necrotising fasciitis, please get in touch with our team of specialist solicitors. We will be more than happy to share our expert legal advice with you.
Can I sue for necrotising fasciitis?
Necrotising fasciitis is often described as a rare condition. Considering this, it results in a disproportionately high number of medical negligence claims each year. The set of circumstances will vary in each case, but ordinarily a claim will arise because medical practitioners have failed to diagnose and treat the condition in a reasonable amount of time.
Indeed, timing is the main issue in the majority of necrotising fasciitis cases. It is a very aggressive infection and the problem must be quickly identified and a patient sent straight for emergency debridement surgery. Any delay will allow the bacteria to spread further and further. Within hours or days the infection will reach the bloodstream, after which a patient will fall critically unwell.
Therefore most necrotising fasciitis claims arise because the medical profession has not acted within a reasonable amount of time. There may be a failure to diagnose the infection, despite the patient displaying the characteristic symptoms. Or there may be a failure to proceed with emergency debridement surgery, despite a strong suspicion of necrotising fasciitis.
How do I find out if I can sue for necrotising fasciitis?
Whatever the details of your necrotising fasciitis care, if you feel like you have been let down by medical professionals, you need to speak to a solicitor. This will give you the chance to seek a legal opinion regarding your care, helping you understand whether or not it amounts to medical negligence.
Who can claim compensation for necrotising fasciitis?
In order for a medical negligence claim to succeed, you must be able to prove that there has been a breach of duty, and that this has caused wrongful harm.
For instance, it might be that doctors did not realise that you had necrotising fasciitis in your leg, even though you had the hallmark symptoms. Consequently you were discharged without a diagnosis. This would amount to a breach of duty, because a reasonably competent practitioner would have suspected necrotising fasciitis and carried out further tests.
But because the condition was not diagnosed, your treatment was significantly delayed, causing you to suffer injuries that could otherwise have been avoided, or at least minimised. Such injuries might include extensive tissue necrosis, unsightly scarring or an amputation, dysfunction, psychological injuries, sepsis and a prolonged recovery period.
This is just one example of how necrotising fasciitis might result in a successful compensation claim. Nevertheless, it demonstrates the criteria needed to make a claim: firstly that there has been a breach of duty, and secondly that this has caused unnecessary injury. Anyone who has been harmed in this way is legally entitled to make a claim. Alternatively if the patient died, a partner or family member can make a claim on behalf of the estate.
Necrotising fasciitis claims solicitors
To find out for certain if you can make a claim for necrotising fasciitis, you need professional legal advice from a solicitor.
A medical negligence solicitor will ask about the details of your case before saying whether you have grounds for a compensation claim. If you are eligible to pursue legal action, you do not have to proceed if you do not want to.
Ideally when searching for a solicitor to talk to, you need to find one with experience in necrotising fasciitis claims. As mentioned above, necrotising fasciitis is rare and a solicitor needs to understand the condition in order to offer comprehensive legal advice.
Compensation for necrotising fasciitis infection
If you are able to make a claim and would like to go ahead with litigation, you will have a solicitor who will run the case for you. You will be needed to assist with certain things, such as providing a witness statement. If the claim relates to you, you may also need to see a medical expert who will write a report on your condition and prognosis.
The entire process can take a number of years to complete. At the end of it, those whose claim is successful will receive a sum of compensation. This is intended to recompense for the pain and suffering that has been caused.
Included within your settlement will also be a sum of compensation for the money you have lost. This intends to put you back into the financial position you would have been in, had it not been for the negligence.
What if my case is not successful?
Various funding arrangements are available for people who want to make a medical negligence claim. Most of our claims are run on a no win no fee basis. This means that you will not have to pay anything, should your claim be unsuccessful.
Nevertheless, we only take on claims that have a good prospect of success. So if we pursue your case, it is because we believe that you have been the victim of medical negligence and that you are legally entitled to compensation.
Can I wait to make a claim?
Medical negligence claims have to be made within a certain amount of time, so it is best not to delay too long. You have three years from the date of the negligence, which in necrotising fasciitis claims will probably be the first time you presented to a doctor/hospital with symptoms.
If this three year time limit expires, you will not be able to make a claim, even if you are clearly the victim of medical negligence.
Contact us today
To make a medical compensation claim for necrotising fasciitis, please contact us today.
We are here to help you, so please do call us now on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Free Online Enquiry.
