If the NHS or your private health service delays your treatment, they may have failed in their duty of care to you. If so, you could be entitled to claim compensation for the prolonged suffering experienced as a result.
What are surgery delays?
Surgery delays are when you have to wait longer than you should for surgery you are entitled to have due to a health condition. Surgery delays could be delays to your initial surgery or a delay between surgeries.
What are the reasons for surgery delays?
There are many reasons that surgery delays occur. These include, but are not exclusive to:
- pressure on the NHS
- errors initially by your GP
- budget deficits
- staff shortages
- more people getting unwell
- IT systems filling
- wrong interpretation of results
- not getting the correct diagnostic tests
- failing to send patients for the correct treatment
- negligent record keeping
- not following up on the situation
When might treatment delays happen?
Medical treatment delays can occur during a range of medical treatments. For example, treatment for a disease or illness, or treatment such as surgery for an injury like a broken bone. Treatment delays can have adverse effects on most medical conditions.
How long is acceptable to wait for surgery or medical treatment?
If your surgery or medical treatment is not urgent, you should not have to wait longer than 18 weeks. If you do, this is a breach of care. Waiting time begins as soon as your referral is received by the hospital you choose.
What can happen if surgery is delayed?
If your surgery is delayed, it can have terrible consequences. This is because time is often of the essence when someone is unwell, and when it passes and actions that could help are not carried out, a patient's condition usually gets worse. Some problems caused as a result of delayed surgery, can be irreversible.
A delay in surgery can at times result in death. The latter is more likely when the surgery is to treat serious illnesses such as cancer. For example, it can cause:
- cancer misdiagnosis
- spinal injury misdiagnosis
- breast cancer diagnosis
- brain cancer diagnosis
- ear, throat and nose issues
- pressure sores
- infections
- birth defect diagnosis
- late diagnosis
A delay in surgery or treatment can also cause you to become anxious and the health issues you have worsen. It can also affect your recovery and shorten life expectancy.
Is delayed surgery medical negligence?
Delayed surgery can be deemed medical negligence. However, this can be difficult to prove so a solicitor must carefully process your claim from the outset.
Generally speaking, delayed surgery is medical negligence when:
- the care given is not to acceptable medical standards due to a mistake
- the mistakes were a direct reason for the delay or contributed to it
- your health suffered due to the delay where if no delay occurred it would not have done
What is a delay in treatment compensation?
Delayed treatment compensation is a payment a person receives when their treatment was delayed due to the negligence of another. The payment comes from that person or body and takes into account the effects the delay in treatment caused.
You may be able to claim compensation as a result of delayed treatment when for example:
- it results in worsening health condition
- the pain gets worse
- it reduces your recovery chances
- you suffer additional illnesses
- it causes a reduced life expectancy
- where the organisation that delayed treatment admitted it should not have been delayed
Can you sue the NHS for the delay in treatment?
If you have suffered a delay in treatment, you may be able to sue the NHS when medical negligence was the reason. Therefore, the care you were given was below acceptable standards. If this is the case you have every right to make a claim. You will need to prove that you had unnecessary suffering as a result of the delay.
Compensation claims for delayed treatment are one the most common medical negligence claims against the NHS.
What types of delays or treatment can I claim compensation for?
You may claim delayed treatment compensation for delays such as:
- a delay in beginning treatment
- delays between treatments
- procrastination
Seeking delayed treatment compensation can help you move forward with your life as it can assist with dealing with the long-term impact the delayed surgery had on you.
How much compensation could I receive?
The amount of compensation you could receive for a claim for delayed surgery or treatment depends mainly on:
- how serious your injuries were or the illness resulting from this
- the impact the above has on you
- earnings lost
- future losses
- degree of negligence
You may be able to claim general damages which cover losses which are not financially based such as for lifestyle changes and pain. You may also be able to claim special and future damages which cover compensation for costs that have increased as a result of the delayed surgery or treatment.
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How long do I have to begin a claim?
If you decide to claim for negligent treatment due to delayed surgery or treatment you have to abide by a legal time frame. This applies to all personal injury or medical negligence claims.
You must start the claim within three years from the date of the delayed surgery or treatment or the date you were aware medical negligence took ; place, which is the date of knowledge.
The time frame for barging a medical negligence claim for delayed surgery or treatment is different when you are claiming medical negligence for a child. If this is the case, toucan starts the claim any time up until they reach 18 years of age. If an adult claims delayed surgery treatment that occurred when they were a child, they can make their claim anytime up until three years from when they turn 18.
How long might a delayed surgery negligence claim take to settle?
It is impossible to give an exact timeframe to settle a medical negligence claim and this includes a compensation claim for delayed surgery. Instead, it depends on various factors such as:
- the extent of repercussions from the delayed surgery
- how accessible evidence is
- whether the NHS or other organisation accepts that they are at fault or they dispute this
What evidence do I need to support my claim?
If you wish to make a delayed surgery or treatment claim you will need evidence to support it. This can include:
- your medical records
- witness statements
- evidence from medical professionals
Once a lot of evidence has been gathered, your solicitor will let the organisation you believe is responsible for your deleted surgery or treatment and let them know you wish to claim.
Can I make a no-win no fee claim?
If you are unfortunately a victim of medical negligence, due to delayed treatment or surgery, you will most certainly suffer as a result. The health condition you were waiting for surgery or treatment for may have got worse and you could have further illnesses as a result. Due to the effect of your GP and hospital negligence, you may have a right to make a compensation claim.
With National Accident Helpline, you can make a compensation claim for delayed surgery or treatment on a no-win no fee basis. Therefore, you can claim medical negligence with absolutely no risk to you. You don't pay anything so if for any unlikely reason you don't win your claim, you won't pay anything.
Frequently asked questions...
We are paid by the specialist personal injury solicitors who we work with because we promote their work through the service we offer.
The person or company responsible for paying your compensation depends on the type of claim you're making. Typically, no one person is responsible for paying any compensation and instead the claim is made against their insurance.
So in the case of a road traffic accident it would be the driver's insurance that covers the cost of your compensation, or if you're making an accident at work claim your employer's liability insurance would pay.
If you'd like more information, please click on your accident type below
Our service is free and advisory - it costs you nothing. We take no payment for connecting you with the right personal injury solicitor for your case.
Our solicitor firms will charge a fee if your claim is successful. This will be paid as a percentage from the amount of compensation you receive, and will have been agreed beforehand.
Can I file a claim on someone else's behalf?
There are situations where you can make a delayed surgery or treatment compensation claim for someone else. You can do this for:
- a child
- someone who has passed away three years from the date they died
- A person who does not have the mental capacity to do so, and there is no time limit for this type of claim.
Will I need to go to court to get delayed treatment compensation?
It is unusual to need to go to court to get delayed treatment compensation. When a person makes a medical negligence claim, going to court can be stressful and add time to the claim. You may find that a court date is set at the outset of your claim but if the other party admits they were medically negligent, court attendance is no longer necessary.
At National Accident Helpline, we are proud that 95% of our personal injury and medical negligence claims are settled out of court meaning less stress for our clients.
How can National Accident Helpline help with my claim?
If you decide to make a delayed surgery or accident compensation claim, National Accident Helpline can help you. We can make a medical negligenceclaim for hospital negligence such as where the NHS is at fault. Choosing National Accident Helpline will make getting the compensation you deserve simple and easy.
National Accident Helpline take pride in our dedicated advisors who care about your situation. They will sympathetically listen to what happened to you and help you with any compensation you can claim. We use only the best specialist medical negligence solicitors to increase your chance of success in your compensation claim.
Let National Accident Helpline help you make a medical negligence claim for delayed surgery or treatment. Give us a call at today. Or why not request a call back here or even begin your claim online?
Meet the team
Amy Stubbs
Senior Litigator
One of our senior litigators, Amy forensically builds the strongest possible claims for our customers.
View profileMeet the teamHow do I start a delayed treatment compensation claim?
It is easy to start a delayed treatment compensation claim with National Accident Helpline. Start your compensation claim here and you are on your way to completing your delayed injury or treatment compensation claim.
Give us a call today at . If you find it easier, you can start your claim online here. If you are curious about how much compensation you may get with us you can calculate your potential compensation online using our compensation calculator.
At National Accident Helpline firstly we will look at how the medical negligence occurred. Once we get a basic outline our specialist medical negligence solicitors will complete your compensation claim. All that is left is for you to do is to wait for that compensation which is rightly yours.
Start your compensation for medical negligence claim today by giving us a call on . Alternatively, request a call back here, or start your claim online.