Sepsis Claims

What is sepsis?                                            

Sepsis refers to a potentially life threatening and extreme response to an infection in the body.  

Sepsis occurs when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body’s own tissues and organs. It is sometimes called septicaemia or blood poisoning.

Anyone with an infection can get sepsis. Some people are more likely to get an infection that can lead to sepsis, including young babies, the elderly, people with diabetes and people with compromised immune systems.

If left untreated, sepsis can progress into septic shock which can cause permanent damage to vital organs or death.

What are the early symptoms of sepsis?

The symptoms of sepsis can come on suddenly or they can start gradually and get progressively worse. It can be difficult to spot as the symptoms can also be indicative of other conditions, including flu or a chest infection. The symptoms of sepsis in adults include:

• Acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense
• Blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue
• A rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it (the same as meningitis)
• Difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast

The additional symptoms to help spot sepsis in children include:

• With difficulty in breathing you may notice grunting noises or their stomach sucking under their ribcage
• A weak, high pitched cry that’s not like their normal cry
• Not responding like they normally do, or not interested in feeding or normal activities
• Being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake

Most often sepsis occurs in people who are hospitalised or who have recently been hospitalised. People in the intensive care unit are especially vulnerable to developing infections which can lead to sepsis.

Why is sepsis an emergency?

Sepsis is a medical emergency because, if left untreated, the symptoms can get worse quickly until permanent damage to vital organs or death occurs. Sepsis can progress into septic shock which causes blood clots and/or your blood pressure to drop dramatically. This can lead to impaired blood flow to vital organs and ultimately, varying degrees of organ failure or death.

It’s recommended that patients with sepsis receive treatment straight away to have the best possible chance of recovering with minimal damage to vital organs. The treatment required is usually antibiotics and large amounts of intravenous fluids.

How do I claim compensation for sepsis medical negligence?

Sepsis needs urgent medical investigation, diagnosis, and treatment to ensure permanent injury to vital organs or death is avoided. Unfortunately, the early signs of sepsis can be missed by medical professionals and if it is misdiagnosed or not picked up this can have a devastating impact on the patient and their family, which may have been avoidable had earlier diagnosis and treatment been given.

You can claim medical negligence compensation for the mismanagement of sepsis where you’ve suffered a related injury caused by and act or omission by a medical professional, including:

• Where a medical professional has failed to diagnose you or diagnosed you too late
• Where a medical professional failed to refer you to treatment in time
• Where the sepsis has been caused by inadequate or negligent medical treatment, such as inadequate infection control

Our friendly and compassionate medical negligence solicitors will listen thoughtfully to the circumstances of your case and provide knowledgeable advice on your options and the merits of a potential medical negligence claim.

To start your medical compensation claim, get in touch with our expert sepsis claim solicitors by contacting your local office. We can deal with every aspect of your claim on your behalf, from obtaining copies of your medical records and any scans, to preparing and submitting the application, to negotiating settlement and compensation.

How much compensation should I expect for sepsis medical negligence?

Depending on the type and extent of your injuries, you could receive medical negligence compensation for things such as:

• Pain and suffering caused by the negligence
• Loss of earnings and future earning capacity
• The costs of home help, childcare or care
• The cost of transport to and from hospital or medical appointments
• Adaptations to your home and any specialist equipment you need

The exact amount will depend on the individual circumstances of your case. For example, someone who’s received minor injuries from which they will recover will probably receive less compensation than someone who has permanent damage to vital organs and needs long-term care.

What is the time limit to claim for sepsis medical negligence?

The time limit for sepsis claims is three years from the date of the injury, or from the date that you discovered your injury. This means you must start your medical compensation claim within three years. However, we strongly recommend starting your claim at the earliest opportunity to ensure that there is sufficient time to conduct a thorough investigation.

The exceptions are for if you are bringing a claim on behalf of:

• A child: you have until the child turns 18 years old to start the claim, then the child has a further three years to submit the claim themselves.
• An adult who lacks the mental capacity to start their own claim and the injury happened after they lost capacity: there are no time limits unless the person recovers capacity, in which case the three year clock starts ticking.
• Somebody who has passed away: you have three years from the date of death arising from negligent treatment or, alternatively, if the person’s death is unrelated to the negligent treatment, the clock will reset on the date of death and the executors/administrators will have three years from that date to bring a claim.

How do No Win No Fee sepsis claims work?

No Win No Fee claim agreements, often referred to as ‘Conditional Fee Agreements’, are a way to fund compensation claims without the risk of ending up out of pocket.

The way a No Win No Fee claim works is, we accept your case and do not charge you any legal fees for the time we spend working on it. If you win your case, we will seek to recover the costs of our work from the Defendant (the person or organisation you’re suing), with a percentage deducted from a limited part of any damages you are awarded. This percentage is a specific amount set by law and we will discuss how much this is likely to be at your initial appointment.

Unfortunately, if medical experts are required to provide evidence in your sepsis case, they cannot work on a No Win No Fee basis as we do, as they must remain independent. You may also incur separate costs, for example to obtain medical records or to pay court fees, which need to be paid at once.

We understand that you may be worried about finances during this challenging time, particularly if you cannot work due to your injury. Therefore, we can offer you a funding facility to help cover any additional costs while your claim progresses.

At the end of the claim, if you are successful, it is likely the Defendant will pay these costs. In case your claim is unsuccessful, you will be covered by an insurance policy which protects you from any adverse risk.

Why choose JCP Solicitors for your sepsis medical compensation claim?

At JCP Solicitors, we make our clients’ welfare and rights our absolute priority and, as one of Wales’ most trusted law firms, we strive to achieve excellence in every case, no matter the complexity.

When it comes to medical negligence, we understand that you may be feeling vulnerable and anxious or angry about what has happened. We seek to make your sepsis compensation claim as straightforward and stress-free as possible and our flexible and generous No Win No Fee structure will ensure you don’t incur hefty legal costs as your claim progresses.

Our team is the largest specialist team in South West Wales and we are recognised as one of the leading medical negligence teams in Wales in both of the independent directories, The Legal 500 and Chambers.

We are recognised for our skills by the Law Society in the Clinical Negligence Accreditation which is only awarded to law firms with the highest standards of advice and representation in medical negligence claims.

JCP Solicitors is independently regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Get in touch with our medical negligence solicitors today.

Our medical negligence team includes fluent Welsh speakers and JCP Solicitors has a dedicated Welsh language coordinator, meaning our services are fully accessible in both English and Welsh. We are happy to speak with you in person, over the phone, by email or using video messaging, making it as convenient as possible to get in touch.

Get in touch with our sepsis claims solicitors today by calling your local branch, emailing law@jcpsolicitors.co.uk, or by filling in the simple enquiry form at the top of the page.