Claiming Medical Negligence Compensation for Hepatitis

What is Hepatitis C?

In 2019, it was estimated that around 118,000 people in the UK had chronic hepatitis C, which proves the seriousness of this disease; though it is possible to be fully cured.

Hepatitis C is the most common form of viral hepatitis in the UK and is often treatable. In fact, a person with the virus may not even notice any symptoms or suffer only a mild illness, so would recover without ever knowing they were infected.

But the virus can stay in a person’s body for a long time, and if it’s not identified, it can cause serious complications such as liver failure and cirrhosis

There aren’t always symptoms, but when they do occur, they can be mistaken for something else. Some of the most common symptoms include:

• Flu like symptoms
• Muscle pains
• High temperature / fever
• No appetite or lack-of
• Stomach pains
• Sickly feeling or actual sick

These symptoms are all signs of other conditions, so the best thing for you to do if you suspect you have Hepatitis C, is to get tested as soon as possible.

How Can I Claim Compensation for Hepatitis C?

To successfully claim compensation for Hepatitis C because of medical negligence, it needs to be proved that you received substandard medical care and that these mistakes caused your condition.

Our expert Medical Negligence Solicitors can seek to prove this by consulting independent medical experts and gathering evidence such as medical records. It may be that you aren’t sure what exact circumstances led to you contracting Hepatitis C, in which case this evidence will be vital in building a clear picture of what specific mistakes were made.

If you contracted Hepatitis C because of mistakes made in a healthcare setting, you should get legal advice from a specialist as soon as possible, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Simpson Millar.

A Senior Associate and Medical Negligence Lawyer at Simpson Millar said: “It’s really important that anybody who has symptoms which could be due to Hepatitis C has this investigated. Symptoms can be flu-like in nature, such as tiredness, tummy pain, nausea and vomiting. A blood test can confirm whether you have Hepatitis C or not.”

If you believe you developed Hepatitis C because of medical errors or doctors failed to diagnose your condition quickly enough, get in touch with our expert Medical Negligence Solicitors for a free claims assessment and legal advice. 

Transmission of Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is transmitted by contaminated blood, which is why you could have caught it under the care and supervision of a medical professional. Strict sterilisation is required in all hospitals requiring a clinical environment to ensure that contamination doesn’t occur – but sometimes, it does happen.

You may have a successful case if a doctor, nurse or hospital treating you was in breach of their duty of care to you.

This duty of care includes:

• Giving adequate healthcare
• Keeping proper records
• Administering medication
• Cleaning and keeping the equipment sterile
• Performing surgery to an adequate standard
• Diagnosing conditions accurately or early enough

Duty of care involving blood:

• Conduct screening procedures with blood before it reaches the hospital to identify and eliminate any contaminated blood;
• Exclude high-risk blood donors, for example people with Hepatitis or HIV;
• Treating blood with heat or solvent to prevent contamination;
• Ensure patients are fully informed about a blood transfusion and the risks involved where possible;
• Ensure the correct blood type is given to a patient e.g. providing a patient with a wristband that displays their blood type or correctly labelling blood at a laboratory.

How Could I Get Hepatitis C?

There are many ways in which a hospital or GP could be held liable (at fault) for you developing Hepatitis C. For example, they may have failed to:

• Clean medical equipment properly
• Protect you from contaminated blood
• Diagnose your condition quickly enough
• Let you know that you’ve tested positive for Hepatitis C
• Give you the right medication or treatment

A recent inquiry has found that tens of thousands of people received contaminated blood and blood products through the NHS as far back as 1970. Our specialist team of solicitors are here to offer support to claim compensation for victims who have been affected. Our team has helped countless people claim millions in compensation after suffering because of medical negligence. Nothing can take back what has happened to you, but we can help you get the justice you deserve.