Whilst cases of general anaesthetic awareness are relatively low; there are those who suffer these complications as a result of a surgeon’s negligence. When you are treated by a medical professional, you expect to receive the best possible treatment as they have a duty of care towards their patients. Therefore, when this does not happen, it can feel as though you have been misguided.
If you have suffered due to a surgeon’s negligence, you may be eligible to make an anaesthetic awareness claim to secure compensation. Contact Wildwood Legal today to get in touch with our clinical negligence team for more guidance on the anaesthetic awareness claims process.
Causes of anaesthetic awareness negligence
No matter the type of surgery you have had, if you have been harmed due to medical mistakes, you may be able to pursue a claim. The most common causes of anaesthetic awareness we see include:
· Incorrect dosing amount of anaesthetic or muscle relaxants
· Improper technique used whilst administering anaesthetic
· Issues with faulty equipment that administers the anaesthetic
· Failure to monitor the patient’s awareness during surgery
The effects of anaesthetic awareness may vary, but can include:
· Fear of hospitals and medical treatment
· Post-traumatic stress disorder
· Sleeplessness, nightmares and anxiety
· Severe pain during surgery, which you are unable to communicate to the surgeons
If you have experienced any of these types of injuries and have been affected as a result of anaesthetic awareness due to medical negligence, you may be entitled to make a medical negligence claim.
How are anaesthetic awareness claims calculated?
There are different types of medical claims that can be made following injuries from clinical negligence that was not your fault. Here are some of the things that your compensation can be calculated with:
· The severity of your injury
· Loss of benefits
· Length of recovery
· Loss of projected earnings
· Impact on daily life
· Loss of earnings
A medical negligence claim is made up of two areas, the amount of compensation you receive will be split into general damages and special damages.
General damages cover physical injuries; these damages take the severity of your injuries into consideration, as the more severe your injuries are, the higher the compensation levels are likely to be. If you have been left disfigured as a direct result of dental malpractice, this would be covered by general damages.
Special damages cover the financial impact the dental negligence had. This includes loss of earnings which will depend on the severity of your injuries and the type of job that you do. Special damages also cover any care that you may need. For example, if you lost teeth due to dental malpractice, the court would likely reward you with compensation to cover the financial implications of this in the future.
There is no maximum amount that you can be awarded for medical negligence. The amount of financial compensation you receive will be based on the severity of the ongoing disability and losses due to medical negligence. A medical negligence claim is considered on a case-by-case basis as each claim has a unique set of circumstances.
If your family, friends or others have been required to provide you with additional care due to your injuries, then they may also be eligible to receive compensation for their time.
If the Defendant admits liability for your case, you may also be able to receive an interim payment, meaning that you could receive a part-payment of compensation during litigation. These payments are made by the other side before a case is settled in order to aid you to fund a number of vital things such as urgent medical care.
Time limits for making anaesthetic awareness claims
Anaesthetic awareness claims are similar to most other types of medical negligence cases. The general rule is that you have three years from the date of the accident to have either settled your claim or started court proceedings where the injury occurred.
The three-year deadline commences from the date that the injury happened or from the date on which you realised that your injury or illness was associated with the cosmetic procedure. The three-year time limit for claiming compensation does not apply to those under 18; however, it will come into effect after their 18th birthday. There is also no time limit for individuals that lack the mental capacity to make a claim for compensation themselves.
How much do anaesthetic awareness claims cost?
We will always be 100% transparent about what our charges are; if we take on your medical negligence claim, we will almost always do so on a no win no fee basis (also known as a conditional fee agreement).
This means that if you do not win your case, you do not pay us any fees at all. If we win the case, we take a small percentage of your successful claim for compensation, which we will agree with you beforehand, to cover our costs.
We will never ask you to sign anything until you are completely happy with what it is that we are proposing.
How can Wildwood Legal assist?
At Wildwood Legal, we know that the consequences of negligence can be devastating. If you have suffered from this, you need to seek initial advice – That’s where we come in.
We see all too often the significant effect that negligence can have on people’s lives. We can help on the financial side to get you on the road to recovery and help you to maximise the amount of compensation you receive to help you with any financial losses that you have faced.
Our core strength is in personal injury claims. We are experienced in helping you with any negligence claims that you may want to make. We aim to give you not only quality aid but flexibility and clarity as we know that these qualities are just as important.
Our law firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority; therefore, we provide everything that is needed to meet their high standards meaning that we are a trusted law firm.
We offer services to individuals located in England and Wales. To make an enquiry, get in contact with us either email us info@winstonsolicitors.co.uk or please call us 0113 320 5000 or fill in our online form to request a call at a time that suits you.
Testimonials
"Thank you Stephen for resolving our situation so efficiently and quickly.
We would thoroughly recommend you to anyone needing your help."
"Excellent service from start to finish whole process was easy Steven kept me informed every step of the way couldn’t of been more helpful nothing was a hassle at all, I would definitely use again and recommend this company with out a doubt thankyou."
Reach Us
If you are thinking about making a claim, we would love to hear from you. We will give you clear, honest advice.
112 Street Lane, Roundhay, Leeds, LS8 2AL