Medical negligence solicitors

The law says that a doctor, midwife, nurse or other healthcare practitioner is negligent if they act in a way that falls below any acceptable standard of care. The patient is entitled to compensation for any injury that was caused by negligent medical care. They are also entitled to compensation 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. 

For full details on medical negligence please visit our complete guide on medical negligence claims page.

Medical negligence, also known as clinical negligence, is substandard treatment of a patient by a healthcare provider, such as:

• a GP (general practitioner);
• a doctor;
• a nurse;
• a midwife;
• a pharmacist.

Our highly experienced medical negligence lawyers have the proven skills to succeed in high value, complex claims including:

• Accident & Emergency negligence
• Anaesthetic negligence
• Cancer negligence
• Cardiology negligence
• GP negligence
• Hospital negligence
• NHS negligence solicitors
• Obstetric negligence
• Surgery negligence
• Valproate prescription errors

If you think that you or a family member have received negligent medical treatment which has caused serious injury or disability, we recommend that you speak to one of our friendly, experienced clinical negligence team as soon as possible. You can contact us by telephone or by email. Your enquiry will be handled confidentially and preliminary advice in relation to pursuing a claim will be given free of charge.

Our solicitors will ask you to tell us  briefly what has happened, advise you about the limitation deadlines (time limits) which apply to your claim and whether we are able to help you investigate your claim.

Once our initial investigations have taken place, we will notify the defendant (hospital or doctor) of your intention to pursue a claim and invite them to respond, giving them an opportunity to admit liability, before court proceedings are issued.

If liability is admitted, we will enter judgment and apply for an interim payment as soon as possible to meet any urgent needs that you may have as a result of the negligently caused injury.

If liability is disputed, we will discuss with you the further steps that we need to take to progress your claim.

Read more deatails on how to make a compensation claim for medical negligence.

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

Most NHS employees’ claims are handled, defended and/or settled by 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 the Medical Protection Society).

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. 

Medical negligence can occur in any area of healthcare. 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;
• oncological (cancer) errors and delays;
• surgical and anaesthetic errors and delays;
• A&E (accident and emergency) misdiagnoses, mistakes and delays;
• cardiology;
• vascular care;
• orthopaedic care;
• hospital care.

Whilst most mistakes cause temporary harm or distress to the patient, some negligent errors result in serious injury and permanent disability. 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 brain injury;
• maternal childbirth injury;
• serious neurological injury and learning disability from infection or neonatal brain injury;
• brain damage from brain haemorrhage/intracranial bleeding/haematoma, 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 cauda equina (spinal cord compression), spinal tumours and surgical/traumatic spinal injury;
• pain, disability, impaired function, reduced lifespan and psychological damage from cancer;
• cardiac damage from undiagnosed heart attacks or misdiagnosed cardiac conditions;
• bowel injury, peritonitis and sepsis from surgical error;
• permanent, severe disability from delayed diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB);
• brain injury and psychological damage from anaesthetic errors;
• nerve injury from surgical errors;
• severe disability from medication/prescribing mistakes and anaphylaxis.

We also help dependent families claim compensation where their loved one died as a result of medical negligence. Compensation can ease the financial hardship that often follows the unexpected death of a parent or partner, providing some relief for our clients at this extremely difficult time.

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 (NHS 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 the defendant disputes that they were negligent or that the medical treatment given (even where admittedly negligent) caused the client’s injury;
• where the injured person is a child whose 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.

An initial full or partial denial of liability by NHS Resolution or other medical defence organisation does not necessarily mean that the injured person’s claim will fail. In more than half of our successful cases in 2019, we overcame initial denials of liability by the defendant, resulting in settlements for our clients.

We 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 are able to focus on rebuilding their lives whilst we concentrate on valuing and negotiating settlement of the claim.

The law states that, in most cases, someone 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.

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 as a result of negligent treatment, the three-year time limit expires three years after the date of their death;
• if the injured person couldn’t have known that they had been injured by negligence, the court may allow a valid claim to proceed. In these circumstances, the claim must be issued within three years of 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 us as soon as you can after the injury has taken place, even if at that stage you are only considering whether to make a claim. By contacting us early:

• you may avoid later problems with deadlines;
• we can advise you how to collect and preserve essential evidence;
• we can ensure you have the best chance of securing your entitlement to full compensation for your claim.

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. 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 is 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 solicitors and barristers ensure that our clients are always kept informed and supported.

Even in non-contested cases, there will be occasions when the case is brought for shorter hearings before the court, such as after a settlement for a child or brain injured adult without mental capacity takes place.  In these cases, the lawyers for both sides present the agreed settlement to the court for the judge’s approval.

Our nationally acclaimed medical negligence lawyers are recognised by Chambers Directory and Legal 500 as leading experts in clinical negligence. Our clients receive the highest standards of advice and representation and are always treated with compassion, outstanding care and understanding of the physical, emotional, psychological and financial impact that life-changing injury can have upon their lives.

We are known for obtaining the highest compensation awards and our track record of successful settlements speaks for itself.  In the last 12 months we have recovered over £100 million in compensation for our clients.

Our highly experienced medical negligence lawyers have the proven skills to succeed in high value, complex claims involving catastrophic injury and severe disability.

Interim payments to aid recovery

We work hard to secure early admissions of liability. This enables us to obtain substantial interim payments to begin easing the financial hardship which often follows a devastating injury. We use interim payments to make a real difference to the injured person and their family by getting care, rehabilitation and therapies underway as soon as possible. Depending on the client’s injury, we can help meet their needs for:

• personal care and assistance;
• physiotherapy;
• occupational therapy;
• speech and language therapy;
• psychological counselling;
• adapted accommodation;
• wheelchairs;
• transport;
• prostheses;
• assistive technology and other specialist equipment.

By understanding and targeting provision for our clients’ individual needs early in the claims process, we help restore our clients’ mobility, independence and ability to participate fully in family and social life, long before the claim has concluded.

Educational and workplace support

Depending on the type of injury, we can also facilitate our clients’ access to educational and vocational (workplace) support. We work closely with our special educational needs (SEN) specialists to achieve the right school placements for our disabled child clients.