Sepsis, otherwise known as septicaemia or blood poisoning, occurs when your bodies immune system overreacts to an infection and consequently begins to damage your body’s own organs and tissues. It happens when an infection you already have triggers a chain reaction in your body. Without immediate medical treatment, sepsis can even be potentially life-threatening, particularly to those with weak immune systems.

Sepsis can lead to long term health problems and can directly affect your quality of life, even after you have recovered from it. This can include septic shock, post sepsis syndrome, and in more extreme cases, it can result in amputation.

Therefore, when sepsis is caused as a result of medical negligence at the hands of a medical professional, it can leave you feeling confused and mistreated. If you have suffered injuries related to sepsis following medical negligence, you may be eligible to claim for sepsis compensation.

 

Common symptoms of sepsis

 

Identifying sepsis in adults can be difficult as it shares similar symptoms to other diseases and can also cause flu-like symptoms. However, common recognisable symptoms of sepsis include acting confused or slurred speech, difficulty breathing or breathlessness, pale or blue blotchy skin or a rash that does not fade when pressure is applied to it.

If you find that you have any of these symptoms, you should seek medical attention straight away to receive a sepsis diagnosis, as if you are not treated quickly, the effects could worsen dramatically.

 

Causes of sepsis medical negligence

 

There are a variety of reasons that you may have suffered as a result of medical negligence. Some of the most common reasons include:

 

· Incorrect medication – If you were given the incorrect medication for sepsis, the treatment that you received may not have been as effective.

 

· Misdiagnosis – When a medical professional fails to diagnose sepsis or diagnoses it as a different condition, the sepsis could be left to worsen.

 

· Delays in diagnosis – Delays in the diagnosis of sepsis can lead to more severe effects of sepsis. Therefore, when medical treatment is delayed by a medical professional, it can impact you dramatically.

 

· Test mistakes – This occurs when the proper tests to diagnose sepsis were not correctly carried out; therefore, you could not receive the correct medical care required.

 

If you have suffered any injuries as a result of any of these forms of medical negligence, you may be entitled to make a sepsis negligence claim. These forms of negligence are important as severe sepsis can lead to multiple organ failure and death, so these cases must be taken seriously.

Sepsis can also damage the small blood vessels if it is left untreated. This in turn, affects your heart’s capability to pump blood to your organs which can lower your blood pressure.

 

Making sepsis claims

 

In order to make a medical negligence claim, it is important that you are aware of how to prove medical negligence. Medical negligence cases must be built on evidence, so it is essential that you can prove what happened to you caused injuries as a result of someone else’s actions.

 

Evidence that could help prove medical negligence are:

 

· Medical records, including any ultrasounds or X-rays

· Witness statements (these can be from family members and friends)

· Any reports from medical experts that could be used as evidence

· Detailed statements from the claimant

· Photographs of any injuries or illness related symptoms

· Financial evidence

 

If you are able to obtain this evidence, it will make your case stronger, which will make securing compensation more likely.

It is in your best interest to talk to a solicitor as soon as possible as they can discuss your entitlements with you and advise you on your options going forward. Our medical negligence solicitors can provide clarity on whether you have been wrongfully injured due to medical negligence.

 

Sepsis claims: How will my clinical negligence claims compensation be calculated?

 

Medical negligence claims are made up of two areas, general damages and special damages. General damages cover physical injuries; the severity of your injuries will be taken into consideration as cases of sepsis differ along with the injuries associated.

Special damages cover the financial impact the medical negligence had. This includes loss of earnings which again, will depend on the severity of your injuries and the type of career you have.

There is no maximum amount that you can be awarded for medical negligence. A medical negligence claim is considered on a case-by-case basis as each claim is unique with its own set of circumstances.

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 assistance in daily living or urgent medical care.

 

Time limits for making sepsis claims

 

The law on time limits for sepsis claims is similar to most other medical negligence claims. 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 when the injury occurred.

The three-year deadline commences from the date that the injury occurred or from the date on which you realized that your injuries were associated with sepsis complications as a result of medical negligence.

The three-year time limit does not apply to those under the age of 18; however, it will come into effect after they reach this age. If you are claiming on behalf of someone that lacks the mental capacity to pursue the claim themselves, the time limit does not apply to you.

 

How much do sepsis claims cost?

 

We will always be 100% transparent about what our charges are. If we take on your medical negligence case, we will almost always do so on no win no fee agreements (also known as a conditional 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 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 medical negligence can be devastating. If you have suffered from this, you need to seek legal advice – That’s where we come in.

We see all too often the significant effect that medical 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 with any financial losses.

Our core strength is in personal injury claims including sepsis 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 firms are 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.

If you’ve suffered as a result of medical negligence, get in touch with us, and we can help you start your claim– we’re only a phone call away. You won’t regret it. To make an enquiry, get in contact with us either email us info@winstonsolicitors.co.uk or call us 0113 320 5000 for a free initial consultation.