Clinical negligence 

Contact us

You can contact our clinical negligence team by calling 01865 781000 or via email at welcome@henmansllp.co.uk

The clinical negligence team

Clinical negligence used to be known as medical negligence, and this may be the term that you are more familiar with. The change of name has come about in recognition that this area of law covers not just claims against doctors, but includes claims arising from treatment by any health care professional.

Our clinical negligence team, led by Cecily Cameron, is made up of specialists who work exclusively in this field. The team is highly ranked by both Chambers and Legal 500, and includes three lawyers who are accredited by the Law Society as clinical negligence specialists. In addition, all of our lawyers are members of the Action against Medical Accidents Panel (AvMA). Cecily Cameron is also a member of APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) and The Oxford Medico-Legal Society.

We specialise in birth injuries, including Erb’s palsy and cerebral palsy, and in spinal or brain injuries, including cauda equina.

We believe that you need to have your claim handled sympathetically and efficiently by a solicitor with particular expertise in this area.  If you think you might have a claim, it’s important to act quickly, as there are limits on the time you can take. Generally you will have three years from the date of sustaining injuries in which to bring a claim, (this means formally commencing proceedings in the Courts). There are exceptions to this rule, for children, for example.

Also, in a clinical negligence claim, you might not be aware of errors in treatment for some time after that treatment has taken place. In such cases, it is possible to extend the three year limitation period to three years from the date you first knew or ought reasonably to have suspected that there were problems with your treatment.

Some cases we have been involved with include:

• H v Milton keynes NHS Foundation Trust (shoulder injury)
• H (by her litigation friend, MF) v South Central Strategic Health Authority 2010 (hyponatraemia)
• C & ORS (as executors of the estate of M, deceased) v E (2011) (infarction following injections)
• D v Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust  (obstetric care)
• DK v Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust  (brain damage following surgery for throat infection)
• T v South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust (Erb's palsy)
• M v Dr W (delayed diagnosis of cancer)
• JR v Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust   (complications following surgery)
• W v Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust  (delayed diagnosis of pulmonary embolism)
• M v Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust   (cauda equina syndrome)
• Luke Anthony v Hereford Hospital NHS Trust  (cerebral palsy)
• Terence O'Donoghue v Milton Keynes Hospital  (delayed diagnosis of pulmonary embolism)
• X v London Strategic Health Authority (surgical and post-operative care)
• C v Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust  (delayed diagnosis of congenital hip dysplasia/ developmental hip dysplasia)
• Karen Saunders v Luton & Dunstable NHS Foundation Trust
  Carolyn Lowe acted for a lady who suffered severe complications following negligently performed foot surgery. The operation was carried out by a surgeon brought over from France to cut waiting lists. Article in Daily Mail.
• Milton Keynes Hospital maternity ward

For further information, please contact Cecily Cameron, head of the clinical negligence team.

Useful links

• The Law Society accreditation page
• Spinal Injuries Association
• Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
• Child Brain Injury Trust
• Headway Brain Injury Association
• AvMA (action against medical accidents)