How long do I have to make a claim?

There is a standard time period to bring your claim known as the Limitation Period. The usual time limit is 3 years from the date of the accident or the injury. So far example if you were injured in a simple road traffic accident, you would have three years from the date of the accident with which to bring the claim.

Usually after the 3 years has expired you will not be able to bring your claim. However there are many exceptions to this depending on the circumstances of the accident or the causes of the injuries.

If a child is involved then the limitation will not expire until the child is 21. If the individual is under a mental disability, the time to bring a claim will run indefinitely.

Contact us so that we can advise you about the time limits involved.

My child has been injured, how can I bring a claim?

If someone under the age of 18 or someone under a disability has been injured a claim can be brought on their behalf. A parent can bring the claim on behalf of the injured party. They do this by taking on the role of a “litigation friend”. This means that they take all the responsibility of running the claim, but the compensation is provided to the child.

Any compensation that is awarded to a child is subject to Court approval to ensure that it is a fair and reasonable award. 

How can I pay for my case?

There are several ways of funding your case. McMillan Williams can advise you on the best way to fund your claim. The general rule in England and Wales is that the loser pays the winner’s costs. This is the same principle that is applied to clinical negligence cases.

Public Funding

McMillan Williams is one of the few firms that have a franchise from the Legal Services Commission to do publicly funded clinical negligence work. This means that if you are eligible for public funding, we can apply for this to enable you to fund your claim. The Legal Services Commission assess your eligibility for public funding based on the income and savings of yourself and your partner.

If you are bringing the claim on behalf of a child, then it is the child’s income and savings that are assessed.

Legal Expenses Insurance

More and more individuals are now able to fund their claims through Legal Expenses Insurance. This is sometimes known as “before the event insurance”. You may have this legal expenses provision attached to some of your insurance policies. Some people have this on their household, contents, buildings or credit card insurance. Most car insurers also provide for legal expenses insurance. If you do have this provision, we will be able to determine whether your insurers will fund your claim or part of your claim for you.

Conditional Fee Agreements (No Win No Fee)

There are many misconceptions about no win no fee agreements, however McMillan Williams offer fair and accurate information about the terms, the advantages and the disadvantages of the agreement.

Before we will offer to fund a claim in this way, we will consider the merits of your claim in full and conduct a thorough risk assessment.

The no win no fee, is an agreement between us as your solicitor and you as our client and relates to our costs in bringing the claim on your behalf. If your claim is successful and you are awarded damages, the other will normally pay all our costs in addition to the damages, which means that you pay nothing. There are some exceptions but we will be able to explain this fully to you before your claim starts. You will receive 100% of any compensation awarded to you unless there are any exceptions.

Sometimes, it may also be necessary to take out an “after the event” insurance policy to protect your position should your case be unsuccessful.

How much compensation can I win?

The level of compensation (or damages) that you receive is entirely dependent on the individual facts of your case. At the start of the case, we will attempt to provide you with an estimate of the damages that we would expect you to receive. This estimate will be based on our previous experience and also past caselaw. As the case progresses and we obtain more evidence we will be able to provide you with more accurate estimates of what we expect you to receive.

McMillan Williams pride ourselves on getting the maximum results for our clients. We work to a consistently high level to achieve the compensation that our clients are entitled to.

I want to make a complaint to the Hospital what do I do?

Before you begin the process of litigation, we advise you to make a complaint to the Hospital Trust or Doctor.

If your complaint is against an NHS Hospital, we advise you to follow the NHS Complaints procedure.

McMillan Williams can advise you how to make a complaint and the following steps that need to be taken.

How do I get my medical records?

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Access to Health Records Act 1990, you are entitled to access your own medical records. There are however certain circumstances when the law states that you are unable to access your records.

McMillan Williams will obtain your authority to access you medical records to enable us to pursue your clinical negligence claim.

There is a maximum fee that can be charged for your medical records. This is currently £50.00, and this fee includes the copying and postage charges.

If records are being obtained on behalf of a deceased person, or the records are automated, there is a maximum charge of £10.00.

Will I have to go to Trial?

Most clinical negligence cases do not get to the Trial stage. Most cases settle before Trial. However this is not a hard and fast rule. There are cases that will end up at Trial.

A clinical negligence Trial is heard before a single Judge who makes the final decision.

From the very start of your claim McMillan Williams, will conduct your case on the basis that it may go to Trial. This means that we attempt to cover every eventuality to protect your position should your case go to a Trial.