When you have medical treatment that does not quite go to plan, your first thought might not be to get in touch with a solicitor for legal advice. You may have other pressing concerns like rehabilitation, further treatment, getting back to work and a normal life before you turn your mind to making a claim.
At TBI we have close ties with a charity that works with patients to ensure safety and justice, Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA). AvMA have a helpline that you can call if you need advice, and you aren’t sure if you need a solicitor to be involved. The helpline is staffed by medical and legal professionals who will listen to you and let you know what your options are, free of charge. They can also help explain what your medical records mean or make things clearer for you if you do not totally understand what treatment or options are being offered to you.
On AvMA’s website, you can access a whole range of self-help guides to point you in the right direction for where you need to direct your complaint, if that is what you want to do, where to find a solicitor that AvMA trusts and recommends, what will happen in various situations like when an Inquest is required or if you are feeling low or depressed and don’t know where to turn. You can find these guides here AvMA - Help and advice
We quite often receive referrals of new clients from AvMA, where their advisors believe we can help the client to navigate the claims process or to obtain compensation for their injuries and John Hall, one of our senior Partners, is AvMA accredited and is a member of their Specialist Clinical Negligence Panel. AvMA also hold regular get-togethers for clinical negligence professionals in the region, where we can meet and discuss changes in regulations, different types of claims (totally anonymously, of course) and learn about what different firms and practitioners do differently to improve our own systems and procedures. Katie Beddoes, one of our clinical negligence team based in our Stockton office, recently attended one such get-together where she was able to speak to other solicitors and practitioners from the region, and with representatives of AvMA and another charity, Headway, who specialise in head and brain injury cases – check them out if you have any questions about brain injuries Headway - the brain injury association | Headway
At TBI, we are keen to foster a good working relationship with medical and legal practitioners in the region and beyond, because we understand that when someone has a serious medical injury, the last thing they want is a huge fight on their hands to try and get the justice and compensation they need. Our ties with AvMA, and aiming to work more closely with Headway, allow us to offer a fantastic service to anyone who has had a medical accident and needs legal advice. As a full service law firm, we can go beyond just getting you compensation – we can sort out any probate issues you might need, such as obtaining a Grant of Probate if someone you love has died through medical negligence, or updating your will if that is something you need to do following a medical accident, the sale and purchase of property if your injuries mean your current home is no longer suitable and you need somewhere new to live, and we can act as Deputy for you or a family member if you are not able to manage your own affairs following your injury and need someone else to do it for you. We have specialist practitioners in many different areas of legal practice, so the chances are if you need more than just compensation for your injuries, we will have someone who can advise you and help you.
So, if you have had medical treatment that didn’t go to plan and you aren’t sure whether you need a solicitor, check out AvMA’s website or give them a call and they’ll be able to advise you about what you need. If they think you need a solicitor, feel free to get in touch with us and we’ll review your case and let you know whether we can help.
If you have been affected by a medical injury and would like to speak to our team, contact us on 01429 225200 and we will provide some more specific advice to your circumstances.
Call: 01429 225200