When you receive treatment from the NHS, you have a reasonable expectation that medical professionals will do their best to help you with your symptoms. Unfortunately, patients do not always receive the correct standard of care, and if this does happen, you can suffer harm. Unnecessary harm caused by substandard medical treatment could lead to a medical negligence claim (sometimes known as a clinical negligence claim). In this medical negligence guide, we will discuss if you can claim against the NHS for harm caused by substandard treatment.
We discuss what negligence is, how to claim damages as a result of it and answer some practical questions about whether you can claim on behalf of someone else or if your NHS treatment will be affected if you decided to make a medical negligence claim.
If your case is accepted, our solicitors will be able to offer you a No Win No Fee agreement, and we will explain the benefits of this and then leave you with some further resources to consider.
You can get in touch with us now if you wish to discuss your potential case by filling in an online claim form and we will get back to you as soon as we can. There is no obligation to proceed further.
Select A Section
- What Is NHS Negligence?
- How To Claim Against The NHS For Negligence
- How Long Do I Have To Make A Medical Negligence Claim?
- Can I Claim NHS Compensation On Someone Else’s Behalf?
- Will I Still Be Able To Receive NHS Treatment After Making A Claim?
- Will I Have To Attend A Medical Appointment As Part Of My NHS Negligence Claim?
- How To Claim Against The NHS On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- More Resources About Medical Negligence
What Is NHS Negligence?
Every medical professional that treats you or offers you advice owes you a duty of care. NHS negligence claims can be brought if someone from the NHS breaches this duty and you suffer harm as a result. This could be a nurse, physiotherapist or even negligence from your doctor. All medical professionals owe this duty to their patients.
The duty of care that is owed to you is that the medical professional must meet the minimum expected standard. If they fall below this standard and there is some form of avoidable injury or harm caused, then a claim can be made. The injury or harm could be that it takes you longer to recover from your existing symptoms, or it could be that you receive the incorrect treatment, and this causes completely new symptoms.
Some examples of medical professionals breaching their duty include:
- A surgeon operates on someone and leaves a piece of medical gauze inside them. This causes them to contract sepsis and become seriously ill.
- Symptoms are not properly dealt with by a GP, and this leads them to misdiagnose a patient with chronic indigestion when they actually have cancer. This could be a cancer misdiagnosis claim.
- A medical professional forgets to administer a test that would have revealed that a patient needed emergency surgery.
- Doctors in a hospital negligently fail to perform an emergency caesarian section despite there being a clear need to do so. This causes birth injuries to a child.
- There is a medication error, and a patient is given the wrong medication, and this causes them to become sick and suffer permanent symptoms.
If you think you have received negligent treatment from the NHS, please get in touch to discuss your circumstances.
How To Claim Against The NHS For Negligence
Successful NHS negligence claims need to show a breach of duty and that you suffered harm as a result. To do this, you will need to provide evidence of both of these things. Evidence that could be used to show a breach of duty could include:
- Your medical records that detail your treatments.
- Scans such as X-rays, MRIs or ultrasounds.
- Witness statements (these can be taken by a solicitor if there is a dispute about what you said to your treating doctor or medical professional). Make a note of contact information from anyone who attended appointments with you so statements can be taken at a later date.
- Expert evidence showing that the care you received was not of the minimum standard.
To prove the harm that you suffered and any financial losses that this caused, you could provide the following:
- A medical report detailing your injuries
- Wage slips showing financial loss
- Photographs of your injuries
- A diary of your symptoms and how they have impacted you.
- Receipts or invoices
Not all of these items will be needed in every case, and some of them, such as an independent medical report or witness statements, could be handled by a professional. For a free assessment of your case, please get in touch and we can also discuss how to claim against the NHS.
How Long Do I Have To Make A Medical Negligence Claim?
Medical negligence claims are subject to a time limit in which you must begin claiming compensation. In general, you have three years to sue the NHS, and this time frame runs from the date of the negligent treatment or from the date that you knew (or reasonably should have known) that this negligent treatment caused you harm.
This is set out in the Limitation Act 1980, although there are exceptions. The main ones are for minors (people under the age of 18) or people who lack the mental capacity to bring a claim. In both instances the time in which to bring a claim is extended. In the case of minors, this is extended until their 21st birthday, and for people who lack capacity, they have 3 years to begin a claim from when they regain capacity.
We will look at the circumstances when you can bring an NHS negligence claim on behalf of someone else in the next section. If you would like to discuss time limits with us further, or any other information on how to claim against the NHS, please use the contact us form.
Can I Claim NHS Compensation On Someone Else’s Behalf?
It is possible to bring a claim on behalf of someone else, but only if they cannot legally act on their own behalf. The two main reasons for this could be if the claimant is a child (under the age of 18) or someone who lacks the mental capacity to handle their legal affairs.
In both of these cases, a claim can be brought, but a litigation friend would be required. This is usually a suitable adult, such as a parent or sibling, but it does not always have to be a family member. The court will appoint a litigation friend as part of the claim.
If medical negligence has resulted in the death of a patient, then a fatal medical negligence claim can be made. This could involve their estate or dependants bringing a claim and if you would like more information about this, please get in touch.
Will I Still Be Able To Receive NHS Treatment After Making A Claim?
You might feel strange about receiving NHS treatment if you are making a claim against them but you are still entitled to full access to NHS services. If you feel comfortable, you can continue with your treatment, but if you feel like there is a lack of trust or confidence, you could always ask to see a different medical professional.
The most important thing with ongoing symptoms and injuries is that you recover as best you can. The NHS would also want this, regardless of whether or not you are exploring the claims process. You should make the best decision for yourself and your overall recovery.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of medical or clinical negligence, you can contact our team with no obligation.
Will I Have To Attend A Medical Appointment As Part Of My NHS Negligence Claim?
You will have to provide evidence that you suffered harm and loss as a result of the negligent treatment when claiming compensation. Often, to detail injuries suffered and give a prognosis of your condition moving forward, arrangements for an independent medical examination might be needed.
This will be done at a convenient time for you and a medical report will be used by the parties to litigation to value the damages for the injuries in the case. Without a medical report, it would be difficult to provide you with accurate information about the value of your claim. This is very important if there is an offer of settlement from the NHS for your case.
How To Claim Against The NHS On A No Win No Fee Basis?
It is possible to fund an NHS compensation claim with a No Win No Fee agreement. If you are eligible to start an NHS compensation claim, you may like to work with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis. Our solicitors can offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement if your case is accepted. This is a type of No Win No Fee agreement.
This agreement offers some advantages, which include:
- You will not be required to pay upfront for any of your solicitor’s fees
- Nor will you be required to pay for ongoing solicitor fees
- There won’t be any solicitor’s fees to pay following an unsuccessful claim.
If your compensation claim is successful, then a ‘success fee’ is payable to your solicitor. This is at the conclusion of the claim. A success fee is a percentage of the compensation from your claim, and there is a legal limit on the size of the percentage deducted. This percentage will be agreed upon with you before your claim begins.
To find out how one of our solicitors can help you, or for any further assistance with how to claim against the NHS, you can fill in an online claim form and we will call you at your earliest convenience.
More Resources About Medical Negligence
Thank you for reading our guide about making an NHS medical negligence claim. Hopefully, we have answered some of the questions that you may have had about making a claim against the NHS.
Here are some external resources that you may find useful if you have further questions:
- The General Medical Council (GMC) sets out professional standards for good medical practice.
- Learn how to make an NHS complaint with this resource.
- Consider this report about the NHS key statistics.
Please contact us for any further information on how to claim against the NHS.