Learn About Hospital Negligence Claims

When you are staying in a hospital as a patient, you expect that any treatment you receive will meet the minimum expected standards. If a doctor, nurse or other medical professional has failed to do so and this has caused you to suffer unnecessary harm, you could be eligible to make a compensation claim. In this guide we explain who could be eligible to make hospital negligence claims, as well as providing examples of how medical negligence could occur within a hospital.

Additionally, we also look at whether you could sue a private healthcare provider and how long you have to begin a medical negligence claim. Our guide then looks at how clinical negligence compensation may be calculated. Furthermore, we share the various benefits of making a claim with the help of a No Win No Fee solicitor.

If you would like to discuss your potential hospital negligence claim, you can contact one of our friendly advisory members by:

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What Are Hospital Negligence Claims?

All healthcare and medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses, surgeons and pharmacists, owe their patients a duty of care. Per their duty of care, they need to provide their patients with the correct standard of care. This duty of care extends to different types of service providers, such as hospitals, pharmacies and GP surgeries. If the care they provide were to fall below this standard, this could be considered as them breaching their duty of care.

All hospital negligence claims must be able to meet the following eligibility requirements in order to be considered valid:

  1. You need to have been owed a duty of care by a healthcare professional.
  2. They have breached their duty of care. E.g. they failed to consider all of your symptoms.
  3. This breach caused you to experience unnecessary harm.

Together, these three factors form the basis of medical negligence. You must prove medical negligence occurred in order to have an eligible claim.

To check your eligibility to claim compensation for hospital negligence, please contact our team.

What Are The Different Types Of Hospital Negligence?

As previously stated, all hospital negligence claims must prove that medical negligence occurred in order to be eligible for compensation. There are various different ways that medical negligence could occur within a hospital, some examples include:

Misdiagnosis Claims

Medical misdiagnosis is where a medical professional, such as a doctor, wrongly diagnoses your illness or condition as a different one. Examples of misdiagnosis could include:

  • Due to sharing similar symptoms and not referring you for further testing, your lung cancer is misdiagnosed as a chest infection. This could cause the cancer to spread, and you need more aggressive treatment.
  • Due to only performing a physical example, your breast cancer is misdiagnosed as a swollen lymph node. Again, this could cause the cancer to progress and you experience more symptoms and need more aggressive treatment.

Medication Error Claims

Medication errors are when an error has occurred during the prescribing, preparing, dispensing, and administering, monitoring of medication. Some examples of medication errors that could occur within

  • A hospital pharmacist dispenses the wrong medication to a patient due to administration errors. Taking the wrong medication could cause various symptoms. Additionally, not taking the medication you need could cause your condition to worsen.
  • A nurse in a hospital provides you with too large of a dosage of your medication. In certain situations, this can be fatal.

Hospital Infection Claims

You could claim compensation if you acquired a hospital infection, such as MRSA, during a stay in the hospital. Some examples of how hospital-acquired infections could occur include:

  • Surgical equipment not being properly sanitised before being used on you for surgery.
  • Lack of handwashing between patients by the medical professionals treating you.

In certain circumstances, if the signs of an infection are not spotted, they could potentially become life-threatening, such as cases of sepsis.

Surgical Negligence Claims

Surgical negligence refers to errors that occur during a surgical procedure. Some examples of how surgical negligence could occur include:

  • Wrong site surgery, such as operating on the wrong limb, for example.
  • Retained foreign objects left behind in the patient after surgery, such as a medical sponge or scalpel.

Birth Injury Claims

Birth injuries are any injuries suffered to the baby or mother during the birthing process. Some examples of how a birth injury could be suffered include:

  • A mother could suffer damage to her bladder or bowels due to errors during a caesarean.
  • Due to unnecessary force being used with obstetrical forceps during the birthing process, a baby could suffer a head injury or brain damage.

These are just a few examples of instances that could potentially lead to hospital negligence claims. To discuss your specific case, you can contact our advisors.

An empty hospital coridoor has an empty bed in it.

Can I Sue A Private Healthcare Provider For Hospital Negligence?

Healthcare and medical professionals owe patients the same duty of care regardless of whether they work for the NHS or a private healthcare provider. All healthcare professionals must follow the same professional standards and must meet the same minimum standards of care.

If they have failed to do so causing you to suffer unnecessary harm, one of our specialist medical negligence solicitors could help you to make a hospital negligence claim against them. If you claim against a private healthcare provider your claim will be against their insurance provider.

To find out how to claim for medical negligence in a private hospital, please contact our team.

Is There A Time Limit For Hospital Negligence Claims?

All medical negligence claims, including hospital negligence claims, must be started within the time limit.

The standard time limit is three years from the date of the medical negligence or the date of knowledge (which is when you became aware of the medical negligence). This time limit is set out in The Limitation Act 1980.

To see whether you are still within the time limit to begin a claim for your medical negligence case, you can contact our advisors.

A surgical team performs an operation.

Can I Claim Hospital Negligence Compensation On Someone Else’s Behalf?

As previously aforementioned, the general time limit to begin a medical negligence claim is 3 years. However, in certain circumstances, this time limit is frozen. This applies to:

  • Those who lack the mental capacity to handle their own claim: In these instances, the time limit is frozen and will only begin if the claimant regains this capacity. From which, the time limit will run from this recovery date.
  • Those under the age of 18: The time limit is frozen until the claimant’s 18th birthday. They will then have 3 years from this date to begin their claim.

In both instances where the time limit is frozen, you could be appointed by or apply to the court to be a litigation friend and make a claim on their behalf. As their litigation friend, you will be expected to act in their best interests.

If you have any questions about claiming on behalf of someone else, you can contact a member of our advisory team.

What Evidence Would I Need In A Hospital Negligence Claim?

All hospital negligence claims need to be supported with sufficient evidence that proves unnecessary harm was suffered due to a medical professional failing to provide the correct standard of care and, therefore, breaching their duty of care.

Examples of evidence that could support medical negligence cases could include:

  • Copies of your medical records detailing what harm you suffered, what treatment this required and the impact that has had on you.
  • Copies of bank statements or invoices which prove expenses or losses related to the harm caused.
  • The contact details of anyone who witnessed the care you received.
  • Any correspondence with the hospital you received your treatment from.

If you work with a solicitor on your claim, they could help you with gathering further proof that medical negligence took place. Contact our advisors today to see whether you could work with one of our solicitors for your clinical negligence claim.

How Much Medical Negligence Compensation Could I Receive?

Hospital negligence claims payouts are calculated on a case-by-case basis, with the various factors of each case affecting how much could be awarded. This means we cannot provide you with an accurate portrayal of how much compensation you would get for your specific claim.

However, compensation awarded for a medical negligence claim may be made up of two parts. These are general damages and special damages.

General damages are awarded in all successful cases and compensate you for the pain and suffering the medical negligence has caused you.

To work out what general damages you could be eligible to claim, reference could be made to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG containsguideline compensation brackets for various forms of harm. We have listed some of these in the table below. Please note, however, that the first entry does not come from the JCG.

Compensation Table

Type Of HarmSeverityNotesCompensation Guidelines
Multiple and serious forms of harm and special damages.SeriousMultiple serious forms of harm with additional compensation for financial losses such as lost earnings and medical expenses.Up to £1,000,000+
ParalysisParaplegiaFactors such as degree of independence, extent of pain and age will impact the amount awarded.£267,340 to £346,890
Brain DamageModerately severeThe award will take account of factors such as the person’s degree of insight, their life expectancy and physical limitations.£267,340 to £344,150
KidneyLoss of or serious permanent damageAffecting both kidney's.£206,730 to £256,780
BladderDouble incontinenceAffecting both bladder and bowel function along with other medical complications.Up to £224,790
Female Reproductive SystemInfertilityCaused by disease or injury also causing sexual dysfunction.£140,210 to £207,260
BowelsLoss of natural functionDepending on the claimant's age, they may also require a colostomy.Up to £183,190
Male Reproductive SystemUncomplicated sterilityWithout impotence or any aggravating features in a young person with no children.£68,430 to £87,080
EyeLoss of sight in one eyeComplete loss of sight in one eye. £60,130 to £66,920
ChestContinuing DisabilityAffecting the chest and lungs.£38,210 to £66,920

Contact our advisors for more information on how compensation is calculated in hospital negligence claims.

Can I Claim For The Financial Impact Of Hospital Negligence?

In addition to receiving general damages, special damages could also be awarded in successful hospital negligence claims. This provides you with compensation for any financial losses the medical negligence has caused you to experience.

Since a special damages award can often be larger than a general damages one, you should provide evidence of the losses you wish to claim for. For example, paylsips could help with proving a loss of earnings.

Examples of other costs you could claim for include:

  • Care at home, whether provided as a professional service or by a friend or family member.
  • Home adaptations, such as installing a stairlift.
  • Prescription fees.
  • The cost of travelling for essential appointments, such as medical appointments.

For a free valuation of how much your medical negligence claim may be worth, you can contact our advisors.

Use Our Hospital Negligence Solicitors To Claim

Although it is not a requirement to claim, it could be beneficial to you to work with a solicitor who is expereinced with hospital negligence claims for your case. Our experienced solicitors could help guide you through the claiming process and help ensure that you receive the highest compensation settlement amount that accounts for both general and special damages.

Additionally, our medical negligence solicitors can take on their client’s claims on a No Win No Fee basis under a Conditional Fee Agreement. This allows you to access their services without paying for them:

  • Upfront.
  • During the duration of your claim.
  • If it ends unsuccessfully.

Should the claim be a success, however, a success fee will be paid out of your compensation to your solicitor. The law limits the percentage that this success fee can be.

Contact our advisors today to see how one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you with your medical negligence claim. They can be reached by:

Solicitors work on hospital negligence claims.

More Resources About Medical Negligence Claims

Further medical negligence claims by:

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If you received negligent treatment while in hospital and would like to learn more about the hospital negligence claims process, you can contact our advisors.