We've got your stroke claim covered
Stroke claims
100,000 people suffer from a stroke each year, with one occurring every 5 minutes in the UK. A stroke can be devastating, so it is crucial that you receive a quick diagnosis and medical treatment to reduce the damaging impact a stroke can have.
Unfortunately, in some cases, a stroke is misdiagnosed, which can have a serious effect on the outcome of your condition. In cases of stroke misdiagnosis, you are entitled to seek compensation for the suffering caused.
At Patient Claim Line, we understand how vulnerable you can feel when you have experienced a failure in your care. Our specialist medical negligence team has extensive experience in stroke misdiagnosis claims, supporting clients right across the UK. We will guide you through the process and do everything we can to fight for your justice.
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What is a stroke claim?
There are three different types of stroke; known as
- Ischaemic stroke
- Haemorrhagic stroke
- Transient ischaemic attack (or TIA)
A stroke is a serious and life threating condition and should be treated as a medical emergency. Knowing the early warning signs of a stroke can be the difference between receiving prompt medical care and having the condition go unnoticed.
The most common symptoms are described using the word FAST:
- Facial weakness: Can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped?
- Arm weakness: Can the person raise both arms?
- Speech problems: Can the person speak clearly and understand what you say?
- Time to call 999: if you see any of these signs.
Other symptoms include:
- Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, including legs, hands or feet.
- Difficulty finding words or speaking in clear sentences.
- Sudden blurred vision or loss of sight in one or both eyes.
- Sudden memory loss or confusion, and dizziness or a sudden fall.
- A sudden, severe headache.
(Source: stroke.org.uk)
Stroke claims and medical negligence
Medical negligence occurs when medical professionals provide a substandard level of care. In cases of stroke, it may be that a health professional failed to recognise the warning signs of a stroke or there was a failure in treating it promptly.
An effective treatment for stroke is thrombolysis, commonly known as “clot-busting” medication. However, there is a very short window for this to be given. Thrombolysis needs to be given within no more than 4.5 hours of the stroke occurring.
Therefore, all medical professionals need to know the signs of a stroke and how to act correctly at the earliest opportunity.
Common types of stroke claims:
- Misdiagnosis of a stroke
- Missed symptoms or misdiagnosis of stroke symptoms
- Delayed or negligent treatment of a stroke
- Incorrect treatment of high blood pressure
- Surgical errors
- Inappropriate aftercare of a stroke
Is there a time limit for stroke claims?
With capacity
A claim for negligence must be made within three years of the date (“date of knowledge”) on which the affected person became aware (or ought reasonably to have become aware) that he or she suffered as a result of the health professional’s acts or omissions.
The date of knowledge is not the date on which the injury occurred unless you knew or ought to have known about it at that time. Sometimes people do find out that a mistake has been made straight away, but sometimes it can actually be a matter of months, even years, before he or she realises something has gone wrong.
If you or the person the mistake happened to is, or was under the age of 18 at the time the incident occurred, then the time limit is three years from the date of their 18th birthday (i.e. their 21st birthday).
Without capacity
If the affected person does not have the mental capacity, there can be no time limit, unless the person regains capacity. Often a brain injury will cause someone to lack capacity, so it is fairly common in these cases for the time limit not to apply. It is crucial to seek legal advice on this.
Meet the team
Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence Serious Injury
Peter leads the Medical Negligence Serious Injury department, which now boasts some of our most knowledgeable, dedicated and hardworking team members.
Peter is dedicated to supporting victims of catastrophic medical negligence injuries and endeavours to provide a clear and coherent approach to claims. He recognises the effects serious injuries can have and therefore ensures his customers’ need for support is met. Peter also has a vast amount of experience working with customers who have been injured abroad and is able to act under international law to provide the best outcomes.
Email meWhy Choose Patient Claim Line for your Medical Misdiagnosis claim?
Not just lawyers — medical negligence experts
Patient Claim Line was established in 2014 and consists of a team of medical lawyers specialising in medical negligence and misdiagnosis claims.
At Patient Claim Line we have more than 100 solicitors with combined experience of over 400 years and they will work on your behalf to achieve the best result possible for you.
It's not enough to use a solicitor who sometimes covers medical negligence. You need someone who knows this area through and through. That is what the solicitors here at Patient Claim Line do. They deal exclusively in this area of law and are experts in the field.
Meet the medical negligence team
Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence Serious Injury
Peter leads the Medical Negligence Serious Injury department, which now boasts some of our most knowledgeable, dedicated and hardworking team members.
Peter is dedicated to supporting victims of catastrophic medical negligence injuries and endeavours to provide a clear and coherent approach to claims. He recognises the effects serious injuries can have and therefore ensures his customers’ need for support is met. Peter also has a vast amount of experience working with customers who have been injured abroad and is able to act under international law to provide the best outcomes.
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Christian Beadell
Head of Medical Negligence
Christian is Head of Medical Negligence at Patient Claim Line and has specialised in clinical negligence claims since qualifying in 1998; having dealt with a wide variety of claims throughout his career. He is also featured in the Legal 500 as a recommended claimant solicitor in the North West.
Christian qualified as a solicitor in 1998, specialising in clinical negligence. From 2010 onward he has had a particular interest in gynaecological and urogynaecological claims, having represented several hundred claimants in the George Rowland Litigation against the Liverpool Women’s and Aintree Hospitals. This investigated the treatment given to women in the Merseyside area over several decades, and in particular focused on the introduction and development of mesh into the UK in both the treatment of stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. The development of this area involved pursuing claims under a unique ADR protocol with the NHS and also looking to develop the current thinking on the valuation of compensation for complex urinary symptoms. He has successfully recovered hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation on behalf of my clients.
Christian was also involved in setting up and chairing a Claimant Support Group for those involved in the Rowland litigation, which provided a discussion forum for the many women who were left isolated and damaged by negligent gynaecological treatment. He now co-ordinates the firm’s mesh claims and has delivered training and commented extensively on the medico-legal implications of urogynaecological / mesh complications. He is a member of APIL, Liverpool Law Society and Legal 500 recommended.
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Francesca Paul
Associate Solicitor
Francesca Paul is an Associate, Senior Solicitor and Team Leader within the Clinical Negligence Department. She is one of the driving Solicitors in the Group Litigation Team dealing with this niche and specialist area of work that Fletchers undertakes.
Francesca previously worked in Nottingham, dealing with Group Action work. She now works at Fletchers, bringing with her those years of experience heading up a team of 10 people. Francesca is involved in the early identification of potential new Group Litigation Work and analyses information from the collective pool of new enquiries into the business, of which there are hundreds per week looking for hot spots or recurrent issues which might suggest a potential pool of Claimants.
One of the highlights for Francesca and her team is that they have successfully recovered over a million pounds in compensation for clients who have received treatment from a single orthopaedic surgeon who was operating in the Colchester area. Her role requires a specific set of skills, patience and a forensic approach to detail whilst being able to see the wider picture.
Francesca has previously acted for a claimant in a case that reached the Supreme Court in the case of NA v Nottinghamshire County Council.
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Sion Wynne
Team Leader/Senior Solicitor
Sion is a team leader and senior solicitor with many years’ experience in dealing with a wide range of medical specialisms and different types of injuries. He is an experienced medical negligence solicitor and manages a team of lawyers within our department.
Sion joined Fletchers in 2018 as a Team Leader in the Medical Negligence Department. Throughout his 24 year legal career, he has specialised in conducting medical negligence claims on behalf of Claimants, previously working for other highly ranked leading firms in the field.
He has undertaken claims covering the full spectrum of medical specialisms, clinical settings, categories of defendant and types of negligent medical care and treatment.
These include high value and complex maximum severity cases, such as those involving limb amputations and permanent neurological injuries.
Sion is experienced at representing bereaved families at inquests and has a particular interest in fatal accident claims.
Email meSarah's Story
"Now we have peace of mind"
My husband, Nick, went back and forth to the doctors for a long time and tried everything the doctor recommended. But his illness got worse, to the point that he was in agony.
In the end we got so desperate that we asked for a referral. The doctor was reluctant, so we had to consult a private hospital. That’s when we found out there was a tumour. It took years from the onset of his illness to finally start cancer treatment.
He used to be a man with a lot to live for, but in the end he was in so much pain that he withdrew from the family. He became angry that nobody had helped him sooner, and the legal team were able to give him the validation that he was desperately seeking. The NHS confirmed if they had done more, Nick would still be alive today.