03. What should I do if I have been a victim of a medical accident?

If you have been injured during treatment, you must first make sure that you are getting the right treatment to try and correct the injury. You may need to get a second opinion or ask your doctor to refer you to another hospital or clinic.

You will probably be feeling distressed and confused by what has happened, and will need advice and support. This could be from friends or family or from specialist support groups. You could also talk to your doctor about what has happened to see if they can help, if you think they will be understanding.

If you or your partner cannot work because of the accident, you should get advice about claiming benefits and how to deal with any debts that have built up. Your local Citizens Advice Bureau is a good place to start. There are also two Community Legal Service Direct leaflets that could help:

• 'Dealing with Debt'; and
• 'Welfare Benefits'.

What action can I take?
After you have taken steps to take care of your health, you should think about what you want to do next. You should think first about what you want to happen. You  right want:

• an explanation and an apology;
• to make sure that the same mistake is not made again (which might include the person responsible being disciplined or retrained, for example); or
• compensation.

You might first think of going to solicitor. But before you do this, you should think about the other options for working out what happened, and what you want done about it.

It is important to understand that taking legal action is only about getting compensation. Other things, like an apology, might be more important to you. And, once you start a legal claim, you may not be able to take another course of action. Also, you may need to make some enquiries about what happened to you first, before you know whether you are likely to have case for a legal claim.