This is a question we are often asked. Unfortunately, there is no easy or certain answer.

The time your claim will take depends, among other things, on how easily we can source an appropriate expert prepared to review your case and comment on your medical care and the reasons for your poor outcome. It also depends on how serious your health problems resulting from the negligent care are. In some cases, birth injury cases in particular, it is commonly a period of years before the full consequences of medical negligence can be assessed and so appropriate compensation evaluated. Finally, in the small minority of cases that proceed to trial, there is always extra time required waiting for such a trial to occur, for the Judge to deliver their decision and for any appeal to occur.

All of this being said, in a reasonably straightforward case, we aim to resolve the matter and generally find we can do so, within an overall period of about 12 - 18 months from first starting to investigate the claim. This assumes your case (as with most) is resolved by a negotiated settlement at a pre-trial conference.

In exceptional circumstances, we can and have expedited claims through this process far more quickly than this. For example in tragic cases involving delay in diagnosis of cancer, now progressed to a terminal stage we have, on several occasions handled claims from start to finish in a matter of weeks.