Clinical Negligence

At some time in their career, a medical professional may receive a civil claim for damages, from a current or former patient, who claims that they have caused them harm or personal injury due to poor clinical care or negligence. Some clinical negligence claims are speculative and can be resolved with a strong defence or mediation early, while others may take some considerable time to resolve.

Carson McDowell is a leader in the field of clinical negligence, with a dedicated team of clinical negligence solicitors advising on the defence and resolution of clinical negligence claims, management of complaints and serious incident investigations in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Our medical negligence team provides legal services to many healthcare professionals in the healthcare sector, including doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and opticians. Through our work with private clinics, healthcare providers, medical defence organisations, medical malpractice insurers and residential & domiciliary care homes, we understand the complexities of all areas of clinical practice and the challenges faced by practitioners and organisations daily.

We are adept at defending high-value clinical negligence claims. We recognise the importance of protecting reputations and minimising the impact of pre and post-litigation matters, including complaint handling, serious incident investigations and managing risk, as we guide our clients through the litigation process.

Our claims work is regularly undertaken in the following areas:-

• Birth and catastrophic injuries;

• Negligence claims across the full range of clinical disciplines;

• Claims arising from cervical cancer and the use of vaginal mesh products; and

• Fast tracked/expedited claims (relating to terminally ill patients).

Clinical errors are at times intertwined with a range of regulatory risks, which demand expert knowledge to manage and prepare an approach to potential disciplinary procedures, coroner’s inquests, criminal prosecutions and public inquiries. Therefore, our Clinical Negligence team works closely with our Regulatory and Professional Discipline team to provide a complete healthcare service offering.

Our work in this area is highly respected, not only within the legal profession, but also within the medical profession.