A medical negligence solicitor handles your case when you have a possible claim for medical negligence compensation. If you suffer an injury or worse outcome due to medical negligence caused by someone else, you may well be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

Medical negligence claims are for the injury suffered and the effects on your life of possible negligence by a medical professional. You may have suffered due to medical negligence, and you might be able to claim damages.

Your medical negligence personal injury solicitor seeks to recover compensation through a claims process. If you have been injured, and your life impacted by medical negligence, a claim for compensation seeks financial redress for your injuries and financial losses.

If you have been injured because of medical negligence, The Personal Injury Team No Win No Fee solicitors can file your compensation claim for the money you deserve.

Table of contents

What is medical negligence?

Medical negligence is when you receive medical treatment below an acceptable standard. What is an acceptable standard is generally governed by what a reasonable body of medical professionals would find acceptable in similar circumstances.

Medical negligence could be an injury such as an avoidable surgical error, a misdiagnosis or the missing of the obvious signs of a stroke or heart attack.

If you experienced possible medical negligence, you may have a medical negligence claim for compensation.

A No Win No Fee solicitor can handle your claim for medical negligence compensation.

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Common medical negligence claims

Medical negligence is when you receive medical treatment below an acceptable standard. What is an acceptable standard is generally governed by what a reasonable body of medical professionals would find acceptable in similar circumstances.

Medical negligence could be an injury such as an avoidable surgical error, a misdiagnosis or the missing of the obvious signs of a stroke or heart attack.

If you experienced possible medical negligence, you may have a medical negligence claim for compensation.

A No Win No Fee solicitor can handle your claim for medical negligence compensation.

  • GP medical negligence
  • Hospital negligence
  • Surgical negligence
  • Pharmacy negligence
  • Maternity negligence
  • A and E negligence

GP medical negligence

GP medical negligence can be when your GP misses the signs of a condition you may have, fails to refer you for further tests, fails to carry out standard tests at the GP surgery or does not follow up on your test results.

A GP might for example misdiagnose a serious condition as being a minor one or may dismiss a broken wrist as only a sprain. They may prescribe incorrect medication or fail to refer a patient for further investigations when needed.

GP medical negligence

Hospital negligence

Hospital negligence could be receiving low-standard care when in a hospital. It could be an infection you might contract due to poor hygiene standards, delays in your treatment due to hospital management or errors in your care while in the hospital.

If your illness got worse or you suffered more pain due to low-standard hospital care, you might have a medical negligence claim.

Hospital negligence claims

Surgical negligence

Surgical negligence might be operating on the wrong part of the body, surgery on the wrong patient or damage to a nearby organ or nerve.

Your surgeon should know what each surgery is for and any possible complications to avoid. You might have a surgical negligence claim if the surgeon does not follow protocol and you suffer an injury or worse outcome.

Surgical negligence claims

Pharmacy negligence

Pharmacy negligence might be when the pharmacist gives you the wrong medication from your prescription, the incorrect dose instructions or even someone else’s medication.

The pharmacy should check all medications and seek to avoid a prescribing error that could cause you harm.

Pharmacy negligence claims

Maternity negligence

Maternity negligence might be an error in your care while having a baby that could injure your child or you.

Maternity negligence might be damage due to late delivery of your baby, not noticing the signs of stress in your baby during delivery, and an injury to your baby during birth.

Maternity negligence may also include missing the signs of infection in a newborn or failure to treat for possible haemorrhaging in the mother.

Maternity negligence claims

A and E negligence

A and E negligence might be when a doctor misses the signs of a stroke in a patient arriving at the emergency department or if they fail to diagnose a serious infection such as sepsis.

You might also suffer A and E negligence if there are unreasonable delays in your treatment or a doctor does not refer you for further tests when needed.

A and E negligence could also be not sending you for an X-Ray or not putting you on an antibiotic or drip when needed.

Other medical negligence claims

Other medical negligence claims might be experienced in any of the medical situations patients experience daily. You might get very ill, or your symptoms could worsen if you suffer from medical negligence.

Some of the other medical negligence claims handled by a medical negligence lawyers are:

  • Nursing negligence
  • Brain injury negligence
  • Cancer treatment negligence
  • Gynaecology negligence
  • Misdiagnosis negligence
  • Spinal cord injury negligence
  • Cardiology negligence
  • Kidney surgery negligence

If you suffer from possible medical negligence, you might have a medical negligence claim for compensation.

Medical negligence may not always be obvious, you may only become ill sometime later, but you may well still have a medical negligence claim for negligence.

A No Win No Fee solicitor can look at the details of your case and see if you have a possible medical negligence claim for compensation.

Our Process

We make the claim process as simple and streamlined as possible, and that’s one of the reasons we’re maintain a 4.9 / 5 ★ rating from our customers!

Enquiry

The first step is to get in touch and tell us what went wrong. It’s free and easy. Call our 24-hour helpline: 0800 027 0370 or request a callback here.

Claim Evaluation

Once you have spoken with our team we’ll let you know how we can help. This will involve a thorough case review and understanding of the incident, financial damages and physical injuries.

Legal Letter

Once we are satisfied we have all the information we require and have a full understanding of your circumstances. We send a letter of claim to the negligent party outlining your claim and compensation requirements.

Compensation for medical negligence

Compensation for medical negligence can range from a few thousand pounds to more than £10 million. How much compensation you can claim depends on the injuries suffered and the financial effect of those injuries on your life.

A medical professional or a hospital could be responsible for your injury due to medical negligence, and you might be able to seek compensation in a medical negligence claim.

Sample compensation amounts in a medical negligence claim are as follows. Please note these are figures for the injuries only. Financial losses would apply in addition:

  • Pain and suffering due to stoma errors, from £4,000
  • Pharmacy medication errors, from £1,500
  • Staining from leaking cannula, up to £20,000
  • Pain and suffering from Caesarean errors, up to £40,000
  • Moderate brain injury from £43,060 to £219,070
  • Paraplegia from £219,070 to £284,260

(The figures given here are for General Damages amounts only. You might also receive compensation for any financial losses you suffer due to the medical negligence. Figures are taken from Judicial College Guidelines 16th Edition and are accurate as of April 2023.)

There is not one fixed amount in medical negligence claims. The circumstances differ from person to person and claim to claim, and the amount of compensation awarded is tailored to the circumstances of your claim. 

A No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor can give you an idea of what to expect from their experience in compensation claims.

Compensation calculator

What can you claim for compensation in a medical negligence claim?

In a medical negligence claim, you claim compensation for two types of damages: General Damages and Special Damages.

The amount of compensation awarded is the total of these two types of damages.

General Damages

General damages is the claim you make for what is known as PSLA, or the Pain, Suffering and Loss of Amenity you experience directly from the medical negligence. 

Pain is that suffered as a direct result of the injury or any treatment for it. 

Suffering is the discomfort in your life as a result of the injury

Loss of Amenity is the disruption to your daily life, such as difficulty or restriction in walking, sitting, playing sports, and sleeping.

Special Damages

Special damages cover your past and future financial losses. These could include loss of earnings, care costs, medical treatment or specialist rehabilitation, aids, adaptations and any other out-of-pocket expenses you have or might suffer due to the medical negligence injury.

Loss of earnings is for income lost directly from being off work and any reduction in income expected from not being able to return to your current type of employment.

Care costs include the care needed to recover from the injury and any long-term care and treatment costs, whether provided by friends and family or professionally.

Out-of-pocket expenses are for your medical appointments, travel and accommodation and any other costs incurred after the injury.

Compensation is awarded to cover all losses, including loss of life, medical expenses and long-term care needs arising from the injury in a medical negligence case.

You need records such as payslips, all day-to-day receipts, and any other paperwork showing your losses from the injury.

A No Win No Fee solicitor handles your medical negligence claim and seeks the compensation you deserve.

How Much Is Your Claim Worth?

Take a few minutes to fill in our claim assessment form and find out how much compensation you will be entitled to.

Who is responsible for medical negligence?

A medical professional can be responsible for a medical negligence claim. A tired doctor on duty at the hospital, a poorly-trained nurse or a surgeon doing surgery at the end of a busy day might be responsible for your injury.

Medical negligence is treatment by medical professionals that is below acceptable standards. If you experience medical treatment that another professional doctor would not provide, you may suffer due to medical negligence.

The hospital or clinic where you are a patient may also be responsible for medical negligence. It could be the hospital that employs a doctor or nurse not qualified for the work involved. A hospital or clinic that does not practise good hygiene standards may also be responsible for medical negligence.

If the hospital or GP clinic does not follow accepted guidelines for patient treatment, they may be responsible for medical negligence. NICE guidelines outline how a patient should be treated, and a breach of those guidelines could be medical negligence.

Your No Win No Fee solicitor can help you make a claim against those who could be responsible for your medical negligence injury.

who is responsible

What are the steps in making a medical negligence claim?

To make a claim for medical negligence compensation, there are usually a few standard steps to follow. We will guide you through the entire process from first contact through to the conclusion of your claim.

Instruct a No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor as soon as possible. A solicitor can look at your case and see the extent of your injuries and how it might form a medical negligence compensation claim.

Only a No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor will have the experience and the team to handle your claim. They will know what your claim may be worth and how to get the best results for you.

You may require medical treatment or investigation if you have suffered an injury due to medical negligence. It is important that the nature and extent of your injuries are contemporaneously recorded in your medical records.

This may be in a consultation with your GP if you have less severe injuries which do not require immediate treatment but do not clear up in a reasonable timeframe. You may need investigations, referral to a specialist, or maybe physiotherapy.

Of course, in a serious or life-threatening medical negligence claim, you will attend A&E, and the hospital medical records will detail your injuries and treatment.

The solicitor gets all details and evidence to support your case in the next step of the claims process.

Your Personal Injury Team solicitor will speak to you and obtain a detailed description from you of what happened, all injuries suffered, and the financial losses you sustained.

An experienced medical negligence expert will assess the case. If they confirm you have a valid medical negligence compensation claim, they can discuss the next steps in the process with you and answer any of your questions.

The solicitor submits the claim for medical negligence to the NHS Trust, GP Clinic or private medical provider who may be responsible for your injury. Your solicitor submits the claim by writing to the negligent party to outline your possible claim.

The negligent party has to give a written response to your solicitor’s letter within 4 months of receiving it.

Your Personal Injury Team lawyer will advise you of the time limit applying to your case and what to expect during the process.

Getting the response from the negligent party informs your medical negligence solicitor how the case is likely to proceed.

The negligent party can either admit liability (known as admitting breach of duty) in the case or state that they intend to defend it and set out why.

When the negligent party decides to defend the case, it is known as ‘denying liability’ in legal terms.

If the negligent party admits liability, which often happens, your medical negligence solicitor might obtain medical evidence. You may need to have a consultation with a medical expert that your solicitor will arrange. Medical evidence when needed,  and details of your financial losses will be sent to the insurer of the negligent party.

The negotiation period then starts, often resulting in the settlement of your claim. You would be closely involved in this process and given expert advice throughout – no compensation would be agreed upon without your authority.

In very large claims, you are likely to have to see a number of medical experts over a longer period. When the injuries suffered are significant, it can take a long time until the final prognosis is known. Your solicitor will advise you on the likely timescales and when, tactically, will be the best time to enter settlement discussions with the defendant.

Often, claims for life-changing injury will be negotiated at a “settlement meeting” with the defendants. The two sides may meet, and during the meeting, your case will be outlined, and negotiations will take place.

You would be at this meeting and be closely involved in this process, and no settlement would be agreed upon without your authority.

At this stage, your solicitor, and sometimes a barrister, will handle the meeting and advise you on what is on offer and what level of compensation to accept.

Going to court is the final step if the negligent party does not accept responsibility for the medical negligence or if the negligent party admits liability but refuses to pay a fair amount to you in compensation.

Issuing court proceedings is handled by your solicitor.

Although court proceedings are started in some cases, very few medical negligence cases make it to a court case before a judge. The vast majority will settle before having to issue court proceedings, and even where proceedings are issued, few cases end up at a trial.

Your Personal Injury Team solicitor will advise you through the entire process from start to finish.

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Have you been involved in a personal injury? We specialise in pursuing damages to make sure you get the maximum compensation possible.

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No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor

A No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor should be your only choice when making a claim. A No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor fights your case and does not take a fee if you do not win.

A No Win No Fee solicitor only charges you for winning the case, and you can agree to all the terms before the claim begins. The insurance company may pay some of the legal fees, and a No Win No Fee solicitor will agree with you on how much of the shortfall might come from your compensation.

It is usually a percentage of up to a maximum of 25%, although the deduction may be nothing in larger cases.

You should be cautious about instructing a solicitor who does not have experience with medical negligence cases and who will not agree to take your case on a No Win No Fee basis, as you could end up with a large bill if your claim fails. 

An experienced No Win No Fee solicitor handles your medical negligence claim to try and get you the compensation you deserve.

No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor

Medical Negligence FAQs

A few medical negligence FAQs and answers should help you when deciding on making a clinical negligence claim for compensation.

You might have a claim for compensation if you possibly experienced medical negligence, and a No Win No Fee solicitor can answer any of your questions.

You have three years to make a medical negligence claim for compensation. The three years usually begin from when you suffered possible medical negligence.

Medical negligence compensation claims must generally be brought and court proceedings issued within three years of the negligence.

If a loved one has passed away, the family can start a medical negligence compensation claim within three years of the date of death.

There is no time limit for medical negligence claims for those who lack mental capacity.

Your No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor will know all claim limits and how to make a possible claim within the relevant time limit. Calculation of limitation periods in medical negligence claims can be complex so you should seek advice as soon as you suspect you have been the victim of medical negligence.

Yes, you can make a claim on behalf of a child for possible medical negligence compensation. Parents or guardians can start a medical negligence claim for children under the age of 18.

Parents and guardians can make a claim for possible medical negligence up until the date of the child’s 18th birthday. 

Ask your No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor for guidance in making a possible claim for your child.

If you were under 18 at the time of the possible medical negligence, you have until your 21st birthday to make a claim for medical negligence.

You can generally only make a claim as a young adult if there was not a claim made for the clinical negligence when you were a child.

You are very unlikely to have to go to court to make your claim for medical negligence compensation.  

If you follow our advice, the claim process usually goes smoothly, and the vast majority of claims will be settled long before court proceedings are needed.   

Our medical negligence team will fight your case. Even if court proceedings must be issued because, for example, the defendant unreasonably denies liability, the case is still unlikely to have to end up at a trial. 

Very few compensation claims require court proceedings, and even fewer, no more than 1%, will end up at trial.

Find out how much you can claim for today

Find out how much you can claim for today by using our online assessment tool. It will give you an idea of what you might be able to claim for and what compensation you might be able to expect in a medical negligence claim.

Compensation amounts are guidelines only on what to expect from your claim. Our solicitors can advise you using their expertise and experience and can quickly tell you if you have a valid medical negligence claim and what to do next.

Our team of No Win No Fee specialist medical negligence solicitors can take your case to seek the compensation you deserve. We have the experience to handle your claim for compensation and see it through to a successful conclusion, whether the claim is worth £1,500 or more than £10,000,000.

Take our online assessment today to get an idea of claim amounts and what you could be due for the pain, suffering and impact on your life.

Contact your Personal Injury Team today for immediate expert advice tailored to you.

how much can you claim for personal injury