If you have endured unnecessary harm due to a medical professional breaching their duty of care towards you, one of the medical negligence solicitors on our panel may be able to help you make a claim for compensation.
Medical negligence solicitors guide
Within this guide, we will discuss the duty of care all medical practitioners owe their patients and the eligibility criteria you must meet to make a medical negligence claim. Additionally, we will provide examples of the different types of medical negligence claims a solicitor could help you with. We will end this guide by sharing some of the benefits of making a claim with one of the solicitors on our panel on a No Win No Fee basis.
To discuss your potential claim and receive free advice, you can contact our advisory team. They are available 7 days a week to help answer your questions.
If you would like to speak to an advisor, you can:
- Call them on 0800 652 3087.
- Message them using our live chat.
- Complete our ‘claim online’ form for a callback.
Select A Section
- How To Claim With Medical Negligence Solicitors
- Types Of Claims Medical Negligence Solicitors Could Handle
- Evidence Which Could Help Medical Negligence Claims
- Examples Of Medical Negligence Payouts
- How A No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitor Could Help You
- Learn More About Claiming For Medical Negligence
How To Claim With Medical Negligence Solicitors
In order to have a valid medical negligence claim, you must be able to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- A medical professional owed a duty of care.
- They breached this duty of care.
- As a result, you suffered unnecessary harm.
All medical professionals owe a duty of care. Per their duty, they must ensure that they provide their patients with the minimum standard of care when treating them. A breach of this duty of care could cause you to suffer unnecessary harm, and in this instance, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.
However, it is important to note that there may be some instances where a medical practitioner has adhered to their duty of care and you still suffer harm. In these instances, you would not be able to make a medical negligence claim.
Some forms of harm are necessary when administering medical treatment. For example, if you undergo an operation, then an incision might be required, and you might be left with a scar and undergoing some recovery time. However, provided the duty of care was met, this would not be grounds for a claim.
Time Limits
As well as meeting the eligibility criteria, you must also ensure that you start the legal proceedings for your medical negligence claim within the correct limitation period. Under the Limitation Act 1980, you will generally have three years to start your claim from the date you suffered harm or from the date of knowledge. This is the date you first connected the harm you experienced with medical negligence.
There are certain exceptions to this time limit. For example, the time limit is frozen indefinitely for claimants who lack the mental capacity to make their own claim. During this time, a litigation friend could act on their behalf. If the claimant were to become mentally capable of making their own claim, they will have three years to start one from the date of recovery, if a claim has not already been made on their behalf.
To learn more about the other exceptions that apply to this three-year time limit, you can contact our advisory team. They could also let you know whether you are within the time limit to begin your medical negligence claim and may also connect you with one of the medical negligence solicitors on our panel.
Types Of Claims Medical Negligence Solicitors Could Handle
There are various types of medical negligence claims that one of the medical negligence solicitors on our panel could help you with. For example, this could include claims being made for:
However, you must remember in order to have a valid medical negligence claim, you must prove that the harm you suffered was caused by a medical practitioner breaching the duty of care they owed you. If you suffered harm despite them providing the correct standard of care (for example, a delay in diagnosis and treatment because your symptoms were atypical for the condition you were suffering from), you’d be unable to claim.
To find out if you have an eligible claim, you can contact our team of advisors. If your case is valid, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
Evidence Which Could Help Medical Negligence Claims
If you meet the eligibility criteria to make a medical negligence claim, collecting sufficient evidence could help support your claim. Some examples of the evidence you could gather include:
- Correspondence between yourself and your healthcare practitioner.
- X-rays and other test results, such as blood tests.
- A copy of your medical records stating any diagnosis and treatment you’ve received.
- The contact details of any relevant witnesses.
In certain cases, the findings of the Bolam test may also be used to support your claim. This is when a panel of relevantly trained healthcare professionals asses whether you received an appropriate standard of care. If they say the standard of care wasn’t acceptable, then this could indicate medical negligence.
One of the medical negligence solicitors from our panel could help you with gathering evidence. Contact our advisors to see if you could be eligible to work with them.
Examples Of Medical Negligence Payouts
In the event of a successful medical negligence claim, you will be awarded compensation for the harm that medical negligence caused you. This head of a claim is referred to as general damages.
When medical negligence solicitors and other legal professionals are valuing this head of claim, they may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document provides guideline compensation brackets for various types of harm. We have, in the table below, provided some examples of the amounts stated in the 16th edition of this publication, which is the most recently updated version.
Please only use this table for guidance. If you’d like a personalised assessment of your claim, get in touch with our team today.
Compensation Guidelines
| Type of Harm | Notes | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Reproductive System: Female - (a) | Infertility caused by disease or injury, with severe depression and sexual dysfunction. Cases where an ectopic pregnancy has failed to be diagnosed resulting in significant complications are applicable to the higher end of this bracket. | £114,900 to £170,280 |
| Bladder - (b) | A complete loss of the control and function of the bladder. | Up to £140,660 |
| Lung Disease - (b) | Lung cancer (usually in an older person) that causes the lungs function to be impaired with severe pain and an impact on quality of life. | £70,030 to £97,330 |
| Brain Damage - Moderate (iii) | Memory and concentration are affected, there is a slight risk of epilepsy, and working ability has been reduced. | £43,060 to £90,720 |
| Bowels - (c) | Passive incontinence that persists after surgery, along with faecal urgency, causing distress and embarrassment. | In the region of £79,920 |
| Digestive System - (b)(i) | Severe toxicosis that causes vomiting, diarrhoea and acute pain and may require hospital admission for a few days/weeks. | £38,430 to £52,500 |
| Kidney - (c) | One kidney has suffered no damage despite the other one being lost. | £30,770 to £44,880 |
| Spleen - (a) | Loss of the spleen with damage to the immune system that causes a continuing risk of internal infections. | £20,800 to £26,290 |
| Hernia - (a) | Even after repair, there is continuing pain with a limitation on employment, sport or physical activities. | £14,900 to £24,170 |
| Reproductive System: Male - (f) | Some psychological consequences following an orchidectomy but there is no impotence or loss of sexual function. | £20,070 to £22,580 |
How Special Damages Could Also Compensate You
You may also be entitled to receive special damages as part of your medical negligence claim settlement. This head of a claim aims to compensate you for the financial losses and expenses you have experienced that have been directly caused by the harm you suffered. Under special damages, you may be able to recoup the cost of:
- Lost earnings if you required time off work to recover and heal.
- Prescriptions and over-the-counter medications.
- Travel, such as taxis to and from medical appointments.
Providing copies of receipts, invoices and bank statements relating to these losses could help support your claim for special damages.
One of the medical negligence solicitors on our panel could help with valuing your claim, as well as gathering evidence regarding your financial losses. Contact our advisors today to learn more about how a solicitor could help you with your case.
How A No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitor Could Help You
One of the solicitors on our panel may offer to support your claim on a No Win No Fee basis with a Conditional Fee Agreement in place. With this type of arrangement, your solicitor will not ask you to pay anything for their services if your claim is not a success.
You will pay your solicitor a success fee if your claim is a success. This fee will be taken from the compensation awarded to you, and the percentage that the success fee can be made up of is legally capped.
Contact our advisors today to discuss your medical negligence claim and to see if you could be eligible to work with one of the medical negligence solicitors on our panel.
Speak To Our Expert Team
To discuss your potential claim, and to learn more about how one of the medical negligence solicitors on our panel could help you with your claim, you can contact our advisory team. Our friendly team members are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide you with free advice and answer your queries.
If you would like to speak to an advisor, you can:
- Call them on 0800 652 3087
- Message them using our live chat.
- Complete our ‘claim online’ form for a callback.
Learn More About Claiming For Medical Negligence
Additional guides by us about medical negligence claims:
- How to claim compensation for a misdiagnosed buckle fracture?
- Could I sue my pharmacy for giving me the wrong prescription?
- Can you claim for the failure to treat breast cancer?
Or, if you are looking for further resources:
- Department of Health & Social Care – The NHS Constitution for England.
- Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – Duty of care.
- Care Quality Commission – Find a hospital.
For more information on how medical negligence solicitors could help you with your claim, you can contact our advisory team.
Guide by Megan
Edited by Fern