Medical law words and phrases explained
What is a Medical Accident?
If something goes wrong when you are having medical treatment, this is sometimes called a medical accident. It does not always mean there has been a mistake, or that someone is to blame. In some cases, complications are unavoidable.
‘Clinical negligence' or ‘medical negligence' are the legal terms used to describe a medical accident where a patient has been harmed, not because of unavoidable complications, but because the doctor or other healthcare professional has not given the proper standard of care.
Clinical negligence includes things like:
- Making mistakes during surgery
- Giving you the wrong drug
- Making the wrong diagnosis or delaying diagnosis unnecessarily
Clinical negligence can also include NOT doing something that should be done, such as:
- Not giving you the treatment you need
- Not getting your consent (agreement) to treatment
- Not warning you about the risks of a particular type of treatment
If you or a relative have been the victim of clinical negligence, you may be able to claim compensation (damages). If you have more questions try our Frequently Asked Questions page by clicking here.
Call the medical law and clinical negligence team on 0870 609 3630