Medical negligence solicitors

Medical negligence refers to care by a medical professional, such as a doctor, midwife, nurse, or other healthcare practitioner, which is not of a reasonable standard. Medical negligence is also known as clinical negligence.

The patient is entitled to compensation for injuries caused by negligent medical care and for the financial consequences of that injury.

Medical negligence claims involving severe injury and disability should always be handled by specialist solicitors. It takes experience and skill to successfully prove that medical negligence has caused a patient’s injuries, and to secure the highest levels of compensation.

Anyone who has suffered serious injury or disability as a result of negligent NHS or private medical care can make a medical negligence claim for compensation. Special rules apply to children, adults with mental incapacity, and claims arising from a fatal injury.

Children and teenagers under the age of 18, or anyone with mental incapacity, must make their claim via a ‘litigation friend’. This is usually a parent or guardian in the case of a child, or a partner or other adult family member in the case of an adult with mental incapacity. The solicitor handling the claim takes instructions and works closely with the litigation friend whilst ensuring that decisions are made in the best interests of the child or mentally incapable adult who is making the claim. You can find out more about making a claim for a child.

Some important decisions, such as agreements to settle a child or mentally incapable adult’s claim, must be approved by the court. Arrangements must also be made to safeguard the child or mentally incapable adult’s compensation, whether from an interim payment, lump sum settlement or agreed future payments. Depending on the claimant’s circumstances, this may be done by paying the money into a Court Funds Office account until the child is 18, by appointing a Court of Protection deputy or setting up a personal injury trust. Find out more about managing compensation.

If the claim is for bereaved family members and dependants after medical negligence caused someone’s death, the claim must be made by the deceased’s personal representative (executor or administrator of their estate) on behalf of all who are entitled to compensation as a result of the death. You can find out more about making a fatal injury medical negligence claim.

Our medical negligence claims are handled on a no win no fee basis. This means that there are no upfront costs to investigating and starting a claim and nothing to pay at all if the claim is not successful. If you win your case, your opponent (usually NHS Resolution) will have to pay the compensation and contribute towards your legal fees. Any remaining fees are paid in accordance with our no win no fee agreement from the compensation. We provide clear, straightforward advice before you enter into the no win no fee agreement, and at every stage of the process, so you know how much compensation you are likely to receive.

The NHS has a responsibility to provide its patients with a safe and acceptable level of care. If a patient is injured or their condition is made worse as a result of negligent NHS care, the patient may be entitled to claim compensation.

Compensation can help meet the costs of care, therapies, equipment and home adaptations that are needed when an NHS mistake causes injury or disability that permanently affects the patient’s life.

We are experts at helping clients receive the compensation they deserve from NHS Resolution, who are sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). We understand the concerns that patients and their families sometimes have about claiming against the NHS. You can read our answers to many of the most common questions on our NHS claims page, or speak to one of our solicitors about your own claim by contacting us.

Whilst we cannot guarantee that any particular claim will settle out of court, we take great care in investigating and preparing each claim that we take on. Well over 90% of our clients’ claims usually settle successfully without the need for a contested trial.

Occasionally, cases can only be concluded by a formal court hearing, such as where:

• NHS Resolution, the NHS’s defence organisation, decides to test the courts’ approach to a particular type of claim by taking a case all the way to court;
• there is a point of law in a claim which needs clarification to avoid confusion in future cases;
• where there is strong disagreement between the medical experts for each side about whether treatment amounted to negligence or caused the injury, needing the court to decide;
• where there is a factual dispute about what happened between the parties, which must be decided upon by the court before liability can be determined.
• Where our client’s claim is complicated by any of the above, we may advise our client that for the case to proceed, it must go to a court hearing. Our caring and highly experienced medical negligence solicitors and barristers ensure that our clients are always kept informed and supported.

Even in non-contested cases, there will be times when we need to ask the court for directions or approval during short hearings, such as after a settlement is agreed in a case involving a child or brain-injured adult without mental capacity. These short hearings are not trials, and are often only attended by the lawyers. Where we are asking the court to approve a settlement for a child or vulnerable adult, the family often find it helpful to attend whilst the lawyers for both sides present the agreed settlement to the court for the judge’s approval.

Compensation in medical negligence claims assesses the full, financial impact of the patient’s injury and disability, based on their individual circumstances. Compensation for medical negligence should put the injured person back in the position that they would have been in if the negligence hadn’t happened, in so far as money can.

In a medical negligence claim, the amount of compensation depends on:

• the injury or disability that was caused by negligent care, and its severity;
• the cost of meeting the individual’s needs arising from that disability in the past, present and future, e.g. for care, home adaptations, therapies, and equipment;
• the financial losses that were caused by the injury, such as loss of earnings;
• the injured person’s life expectancy and any predicted changes in their condition, which determine how long they will have the need or suffer the loss.

Compensation for medical negligence usually includes a sum for the injury, and sums to compensate for financial losses and the cost of meeting the needs that arise from the disability. Our medical negligence solicitors ensure clients receive their compensation in the way that is best suited to meet their needs.

Depending on our clients’ injuries, individual circumstances and needs, we can recover compensation to pay for:

• pain, suffering, and disability;
• care (professional or provided by the family) and case management;
• rehabilitation, such as therapies and psychological counselling;
• medical treatment and surgery;
• home adaptations or additional costs of suitable accommodation;
• specialist equipment, vehicles, mobility aids and assistive technology (IT);
• special educational needs (SEN);
• loss of earnings/pension;
• Court of Protection deputyship costs.

Where medical negligence caused someone’s death, compensation may be claimed by the deceased’s dependants and on behalf of the deceased’s estate. Compensation in a fatal injury medical negligence claim can be paid for the deceased’s pain, suffering, disability and financial losses prior to their death, as well as the loss to the dependent family of the deceased’s income and services, such as child-care, driving, shopping and housework, DIY, and the costs of the funeral. In some cases, the family may also be entitled to claim a statutory, fixed sum bereavement payment.

There are three ways to fund a medical negligence claim, Legal Aid (available only for cerebral palsy birth injury and neonatal severe brain injury claims), no win no fee, and legal expense insurance.

We provide full and straightforward advice to our clients about the funding options that are available to them and best suited for their own or their child’s claim.

Most medical negligence claims are handled on a no win no fee basis.

A medical examination is usually needed to assess our client’s injury. Where our client has suffered multiple injuries or both physical and psychological injuries, they may need to be examined by specialists in each area. This is important to make sure that our client’s injuries are fully assessed and understood, so that they can be properly compensated.

If a medical examination is needed, we instruct the specialist and make the arrangements. We ensure that they have access to our client’s medical records and are aware of the background to the claim. NHS Resolution may also ask for our client to be examined by their medical experts at a later stage of the claim.

If NHS Resolution contacts you directly following your NHS treatment or after the birth of your child, you should seek independent legal advice before agreeing to any medical examinations or genetic testing.

The law states that, in most cases, a patient who has been injured as a result of medical negligence has three years from the date of the negligence which caused the injury to issue court proceedings. If they fail to issue court proceedings within that time, their claim will be statute barred, meaning that they lose their right to bring a claim. The three-year deadline is known as the limitation period.

There are the following exceptions to the three-year rule:

• if a child is injured before they are 18, their three-year deadline expires on their 21st birthday. In other words, their time doesn’t start to run until they are 18;
• if the injured person is mentally disabled (lacks mental capacity) then their time doesn’t begin to run at all, unless their mental capacity is restored;
• where the injured person has died before the limitation period has expired the three-year time period expires three years after the date of their death;
• if the injured person did not suspect or could not reasonably think they had been injured by negligence, the three-year time period will start to run when the injured person first became aware (or should have suspected) that they had been injured by negligent care;
• the court has a general discretion to extend the time limit in cases where none of the above exceptions apply, but only does so in exceptional circumstances.

Regardless of your time limit, we recommend that you contact our medical negligence solicitors as soon as you can, even if you are still only considering whether to make a claim.

By contacting us early, we can help you avoid later problems with deadlines and advise you on how to collect and preserve essential evidence, to ensure you have the best chance of securing your entitlement to full compensation for your claim.

If a baby, child, or teenager under the age of 18 makes a medical negligence compensation claim, their claim is made on their behalf by a ‘litigation friend’. This is usually a parent or guardian.

As the child’s solicitor, we have a responsibility to make sure that all decisions relating to the claim are made in the best interests of the child. To do this, we work very closely with the child’s family. Some important decisions, such as settlement agreements or the amount of money that is allocated to a child in a claim involving more than one claimant, must be approved by the court.

We are specialists in helping families obtain full compensation for children who have been very severely injured, leaving them with permanent disability and lifelong specialist needs. Our expert children’s claims service includes a dedicated Court of Protection team who help our clients protect, budget and access their compensation via deputyship and trusts, and an SEN team to ensure that their special educational needs are met.

Find out more about how we help families, children, and teenagers with children’s claims.

The duration of a medical negligence claim depends on the individual circumstances of the client’s case. The claim is likely to take less time to conclude where:

• liability is admitted by the defendant (usually NHS Resolution on behalf of the hospital or doctor);
• the injured person’s injuries have stabilised and their prognosis (long-term outcome) is clear;
• the injured person’s needs, the costs of meeting those needs, and other financial losses are straightforward and easy to assess clearly.

Circumstances which make the claim more complex and, therefore, take longer to resolve include:

• where NHS Resolution or the defendant disputes that they were negligent or that the medical treatment given (even where admittedly negligent) caused the client’s injury;
• where an injured child’s disability is expected to change with their growth and development over time;
• where multiple experts in different disciplines are needed to assess complex injuries and the likely long-term outcome.

Our medical negligence solicitors work hard to secure early admissions of liability and substantial interim payments so that we can begin to alleviate financial hardship and provide essential care, respite, specialist equipment, therapies and home adaptations long before the claim has settled. With liability judgments secured and interim funds in place, the individual and their family can focus on rebuilding their lives whilst we concentrate on valuing and negotiating settlement of the claim.

Compensation is carefully structured to ensure the best provision for the injured person’s needs. Our clients often benefit from different types of compensation, including:

Interim payments – advance part payments of compensation, obtained as soon as possible after liability is established, to ease financial hardship and meet urgent needs, such as therapies, home adaptations and care.

Lump sum payments – most final settlements include a lump sum payment, either as the full compensation payment or to cover capital costs when combined with a PPO.

Periodical payment orders (PPOs) - provide severely disabled claimants who have lifelong needs for care with the guarantee of lifelong, index-linked, tax-free annual payments. PPOs can also be paid to cover other ongoing costs, such as case management or special educational placements.

Where healthcare is found to be (legally) negligent, then the claimant (the person making the claim) must prove that their injury was caused or significantly worsened by the negligent care.

This is important because the patient may already be very ill when they receive negligent medical care. In those circumstances, they must prove that their injury (and its financial consequences) would have been avoided or greatly reduced if correct treatment had been given. This aspect of the medical negligence claim is known as ‘causation’.

Causation must be proven, even if negligence is admitted, for the claim to succeed and compensation to be awarded. Negligence and causation must be proven by supportive opinions from medical experts. We instruct experts in the same field of medicine as the negligent care to tell us whether the care that was given was of a reasonable standard. If negligence is proven, we ask medical specialists in the type of injury suffered to confirm whether our client’s injury was caused or made worse by the negligent treatment, or would have been reduced or avoided with correct care.

In a medical negligence claim, compensation will only be paid for injuries and loss that we can prove were caused by the healthcare provider’s negligence. Once we know what mistakes were made, the next step (causation) is to identify the extent of the injury or disability that was caused by those mistakes.

Proving causation in complex medical negligence cases requires both medical expertise and understanding of the law. We often succeed in claims where NHS Resolution (the NHS’ defence organisation) has denied ‘causation’.

You can read more about how we overcome difficulties with causation in complex birth injury cases.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or are permanently disabled from negligent medical treatment, you may be able to make a medical negligence claim.

A medical negligence claim will only succeed if we can prove that the patient’s medical care fell below what would be considered a reasonable standard of care and that the harm suffered was caused by the negligent care or negligent failure to act.

Medical negligence claims are complex, and must be handled by solicitors with specialist experience in claims for patients. If you think you might have grounds for a claim, you should contact us as soon as possible, so that we can advise you about time limits and help you protect your entitlement to claim compensation.

Mistakes can occur in any area of healthcare. In many cases, mistakes only cause temporary harm or distress to the patient. Where a negligent error causes serious injury and permanent disability, the injured patient or bereaved family may be able to make a medical negligence claim.

Most commonly, we act for clients whose serious injury arose from negligent:

• maternity care (obstetric and midwife care of mother and baby);
• neonatal care (within the first few weeks of a baby’s life);
• GP (general practitioner) misdiagnosis and delays;
• errors and delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment;
• delayed diagnosis and treatment of infection, such as sepsis and meningitis;
• surgical and anaesthetic errors and delays;
• cardiology and cardiac care;
• VTE (venous thromboembolism) and vascular care;
• delays and mistakes in A&E (accident and emergency) and hospital care.

These life-changing injuries affect every aspect of the injured person’s life, including their independence, mobility, ability to communicate, self-care, work and participate in social and leisure pursuits. Their lifespan may be shortened, and they may become totally dependent on others for care to keep them safe and healthy, and for assistance with all the usual activities of daily life.

Our clients who have been severely injured/disabled by medical negligence have suffered:

• cerebral palsy and other birth-related neonatal brain injury;
• maternal injury in childbirth or maternal death;
• serious neurological injury, autism/ADHD and learning disability;
• brain injury from brain haemorrhage (intracranial bleeding/haematoma), blood clots and stroke;
• amputations from meningitis, septicaemia/sepsis, peripheral ischaemia, negligent diabetic care, anticoagulation and surgical errors;
• paralysis, pain, impaired function and psychological damage from spinal cord injury (SCI), cauda equina syndrome (CES from spinal cord compression), spinal tumours and surgical/traumatic spinal injury;
• physical and psychological injury from advanced cancer;
• brain injury and other serious disability from delayed diagnosis and treatment of heart/cardiac conditions;
• nerve injury, bowel injury, peritonitis, and sepsis from surgical error;
• permanent, severe respiratory disability from delayed diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB);
• brain injury and psychological injury from anaesthetic errors and anaphylaxis;
• severe disability from valproate and other medication errors.

We also help dependent families claim compensation where their partner or parent died as a result of medical negligence, to ease the financial hardship that is often experienced by bereaved dependants at this difficult time.

Where a healthcare professional is employed by an NHS or private healthcare organisation, their employer is usually responsible for their mistake.

Most claims which relate to NHS treatment and care are handled, defended and/or settled by the NHS’ defence organisation, NHS Resolution.

In some cases, particularly where the healthcare was provided privately, the doctor or other healthcare professional may be indemnified and represented by their professional defence organisation (such as the Medical Defence Union or Medical Protection).

Patients have a right to be compensated for injuries (and their financial consequences) which are caused by unacceptable errors in their medical treatment. Healthcare professionals have professional indemnity insurance, either through the NHS or their own insurers, to cover them for compensation claims in the event that they make a mistake which results in injury to a patient.

Patients and families who are approached directly by NHS Resolution or their healthcare provider after something has gone wrong during their treatment should seek independent legal advice immediately from solicitors with specialists experience in medical negligence compensation claims for patients. NHS Resolution’s role is to reduce claims and compensation paid by the NHS to patients, and cannot provide unbiased advice to patients and families about the viability or size of their potential claims.