What Is Medical Negligence?

Legally speaking, medical negligence claims are subject to a two-part test:

1. You must be able to prove that the care provided to you has been substandard. Unfortunately, we don’t have the right to excellent or gold standard healthcare, but rather a “reasonable standard”. This reasonable standard is decided by independent medical experts.
2. You must be able to prove that the substandard care provided to you has ‘more likely than not’ been the cause of your injury or made your condition worse.

Everybody’s compensation amount is different due to the individual nature of each claim. This makes it difficult for us to advise on how much you could claim before we know more about your circumstances.

In recent years we've helped our clients claim amounts ranging from £18,000 to £10.2 million. The amount of compensation you can claim for medical negligence will vary depending on:

• The extent of your injury/illness
• Any expenses you’ve incurred
• Your future care needs

When we work out how much compensation you should receive, we look at things such as:

• Expenses (including travel or medical expenses)
• Any loss of earnings (now and in the future)
• Any adaptations needed to your home or car
• Care costs.

For more information visit our dedicated compensation amount page.

Medical negligence cases rarely go to court, with only the more complex cases ending up there. However, if your case goes to court, we’ll help you through the process. Many clients are surprised that the court atmosphere is much more relaxed than they expected.

There’s a three-year time limit for starting a medical negligence claim. This time limit will run from either the date that:

• The negligence occurred
• You became aware that the treatment you received was negligent.

There are some exceptions to this three-year ruling. These are:

• Children – doesn’t apply to under 18s. It’ll only come into effect on their 18th birthday and expire when they turn 21
• Adult without mental capacity – the time limit doesn’t apply to adults without the mental capacity to make their own decisions.

For more information we have a page on the time limits for claims including some videos from our experts.

Claims shouldn’t affect your treatment and it’s very rare that our clients think this has happened. If you have any concerns about this, we’re always happy to assist. We’ll advise you on your rights and in some cases advise you how to transfer your care to another hospital if you don’t feel comfortable being treated in the hospital where you suffered negligence.

Yes, the rules that govern NHS complaints allow the two processes to run at the same time.

For more information see our guide to the complaints process.

Every medical negligence case is unique. This means every case’s timescale will differ but often they will take around 18 months to settle. When you tell us more about your situation, we'll be able to advise you further.

Once we’ve sent formal notification of your claim to the person or body responsible for negligence, they’ll have 14 days to acknowledge your claim, and four months to respond in detail.

If your claim does need to go to court, this’ll extend the timeframe of your case. However, we’ll always work to finish your claim as soon as reasonably possible. 

In most cases, where we are able to accept instructions, we are able to offer our clients a no win no fee agreement with delegated ATE Insurance.

This insurance policy fully protects you if your claim is unsuccessful. It also means that you can claim compensation without paying a penny upfront. You only ever pay anything if your no win no fee claim is successful, and even then, your opponent will pay most of your legal costs.

Any remaining costs are deducted from your compensation settlement. We’ll advise you of this in advance, so there won’t be any surprises.

As we can offer our clients this method of funding, we aren't able to offer clients the option of legal aid. 

For more information on legal aid in medical negligence cases see our guide.

Cerebral palsy can be caused by medical negligence when substandard care is provided during the labour or delivery of a child, causing a brain haemorrhage or lack of oxygen to the child’s brain. If a brain infection is diagnosed late, cerebral palsy can also be caused.

After a free initial chat about your claim, our team of medical negligence experts will review what happened to you and decide if your claim is likely to succeed. Your case will then be passed to one of our solicitors, who will talk you through the most suitable funding options for your case and advise you of the likely timescales.

We'll then request your medical records so we can share them with independent medical experts, who will review your case and give their view on whether your care/treatment was negligent. We'll tell you each time we receive new evidence and explain what it means for your claim. If the medical evidence supports your claim, we’ll begin legal proceedings.

Parents or guardians can make medical negligence claims on behalf of their children. We’ve worked on many claims for children, so can talk you through how the claim will run and other information such as time limits.

We’re one of the only law firms in the UK who have a specialist Court of Protection team who can liaise with the court directly to help manage your child’s affairs. We can also help you set up personal injury trusts that can help you manage any compensation that’s awarded in order to protect your child’s future.

To make a claim for compensation, we must prove that you have suffered an injury or that your condition got a lot worse because of negligent medical treatment. To prove medical negligence claims we’ll need to gather supporting evidence. This might include:

• Medical records – we’ll get these for you (this will include all x-rays, scans etc.)
• Photographs – these are sometimes helpful to show an injury when it occurred
• A detailed statement from you.

Our independent medical experts will review your medical records, looking at your injuries and future care needs. They’ll advise us on whether your treatment was negligent and can provide crucial evidence for your case.

You can help your claim by collecting as much information about your treatment and injury/illness as possible, starting from when you first became aware that you might have experienced negligent medical treatment.

This can include keeping your own records of medical appointments, including the treatment given and advice received. Keeping receipts and invoices of all expenses that you have incurred as a result of the negligent treatment will help us to put a value to your claim. Potential expenses can include:

• Travel expenses for medical appointments
• Time off work and estimated loss of earnings
• The cost of private treatment and therapy
• Equipment and aids to help you to move around your home or out in public, such as a wheelchair, walking sticks, or grab rails.

We’ll include all of your specific expenses when working out how much compensation you could claim. 

We have experience in a wide range of medical negligence cases, including:

• Misdiagnosis – diagnosing a medical condition or injury incorrectly, which might result in a delay in receiving the necessary treatment, or incorrect treatment being given.
• Incorrect treatment or medication being prescribed – giving treatment or prescribing medication that’s not recommended for your medical condition, failing to prescribe necessary treatment or medication, such as antibiotics at the appropriate time.
• Delay in the diagnosis of a medical condition – failing to diagnose the correct medical condition early enough to give correct treatment
• Poor management of a medical condition – failing to review a patient as often as is required or providing substandard care.
• Failure to refer – failing to refer a patient to the appropriate specialist for further investigations or treatment.
• Inadequate surgery – making mistakes during surgery or failing to notice mistakes made during surgery that could have been corrected.
• ‘Never events’ – these are serious, preventable events such as medical objects being left inside a patient following surgery, or the incorrect limb being amputated during surgery. 

We handle a variety of clinical and surgical negligence claims. Some of the most common cases can include:

• Failures to diagnose appendicitis
• Failures to diagnose ectopic pregnancy
• Perforation of the bowel during abnormal pregnancy
• Haemorrhage after gynaecological surgery
• Wrong size prosthesis being used in surgery e.g. knee or hip joint
• Damage to the bile duct following gall bladder surgery.

It’s likely that you’ll need to see an expert doctor to assess the extent of any damage/injury you’ve suffered as a result of negligent treatment. It’s important to get the professional opinion of another medical expert to help with your claim.

Our support coordinators can help you through any medical examinations.

Negligence can cause or worsen pressure sores if:

• A person remains in the same position for too long
• The patient isn’t provided with a suitable bed
• Staff don’t correctly clean or dress wounds
• Staff fail to spot a pressure sore developing and take action to avoid it.

Visit our pressure sores page for more information on the different types and the long-term effects.

Causation is a term used by lawyers which simply refers to the extent of the damage that has been caused by negligent treatment.

For example, if you have suffered a pressure sore that has developed into severe skin tissue damage, we can prove causation by reviewing the delay in diagnosis, or the level of treatment you received to prove the worsening of the condition over time.