NHS Negligence Compensation – No Win No Fee Guide

How Do I Claim NHS Negligence Compensation?

NHS workers have a moral and ethical responsibility to uphold a duty of care to their patients. However, if you’ve suffered because the care you received fell below the standard of competence expected, then you could be entitled to compensation. Providing you can prove that your suffering was caused by a breach in this duty, you could be able to establish grounds for negligence, and thus, grounds to make an NHS medical negligence claim.

NHS medical negligence
NHS medical negligence

In this article, we’ll explain what you need to know if you find yourself in this situation. We’ll detail what a typical claims process looks like and offer our expert tips on how best to navigate it.  However, taking action against an organisation the size of the NHS can be difficult. With this in mind, did you know that having a legal professional handle your case could boost its chances of success as well as maximise your payout? Unlike our competitors, we offer to assess your situation free of charge. What’s more, we could connect you to our panel of lawyers to handle your claim on a No Win No Fee basis. To see how we could help you today, please don’t hesitate to get in touch:

Jump To A Section

  1. Our Guide To NHS Negligence Compensation Claims
  2. What Is NHS Negligence?
  3. NHS Negligence Compensation Calculator
  4. Could I Make A No Win No Fee Claim For NHS Negligence?
  5. NHS Duty Of Care To Patients
  6. How Do I Claim Compensation For NHS Negligence?
  7. Is My Claim Against The NHS Likely To Succeed?
  8. Is There A Time Limit For Making An NHS Negligence Claim
  9. NHS Medical Negligence And Litigation Statistics
  10. Types Of NHS Negligence You Could Claim Compensation For
  11. Request A Call Back
  12. Need Some More Help?

Our Guide To NHS Negligence Compensation Claims 

To help explain what you need to know if you fall victim to NHS medical negligence, we’ll answer the following questions you may have bouncing around your mind right now:

  • Do I have grounds to make a claim?
  • Is my claim likely to succeed?
  • Are there time limits for making claims?

We’ll also offer our expert tips on how best to navigate the claims process and give your case the best chances of success, including:

  • Using a No Win No Fee lawyer
  • What to do if you fall victim to negligence

Alternatively, please don’t hesitate to contact our specialist advisory team to see how our panel of lawyers could get you the compensation that you’re entitled to. 

What Is NHS Negligence? 

If you’ve suffered due to an NHS service falling below the standard expected of them, then it sounds like you could’ve experienced negligence.  NHS workers have a moral and ethical responsibility to uphold a duty of care to their patients. This duty is to provide a reasonable standard of care to everyone. The NHS Constitution outlines certain standards that its workers must follow to help ensure that quality care is provided efficiently. If any negligence is given to this duty or regulations are not followed, you could have grounds to establish liability for any suffering you experienced as a result. If you can prove that your suffering was preventable but due to the failings of those caring for you, you could be entitled to make a claim. It’s also possible to claim on behalf of a loved one that died as a result of medical negligence or can’t take legal action themselves due to incapacity.  To learn more about how to make an NHS medical negligence claim, please continue reading this article. Alternatively, please don’t hesitate to contact our specialist advisory team to see how our panel of lawyers could get you the compensation that you’re entitled to. Unlike some of our competitors, we offer to assess your situation free of charge. So, with no risk involved, why not get in touch today to see how we could help you?

NHS Negligence Compensation Calculator

If you’re wondering how much compensation you could be entitled to receive as part of an NHS negligence claim, this section could help. We’ll explain how medical negligence claims are typically valued and provide some example payout figures for different injuries.  In most cases, two heads of damage are considered when calculating compensation payouts, known as general damages and special damages. General damages account for any physical injuries that you sustained, as well as any mental or emotional harm that you experienced. For example, you could claim for the pain of your injury and the emotional trauma that your rehabilitation caused you. For an idea of how much you could be entitled to as part of your general damages claim, please see the table below. It provides some estimated compensation brackets taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, an organisation responsible for training judges:

InjuryNotesEstimated Award
Minor illness caused by a prescription errorMinor symptoms that resolve fully in a short space of timeUp to £3,710
More serious illness caused by a prescription errorMore serious symptoms that may result in hospitalisation for a few days or weeks. £8,950 to £18,020
Misdiagnosed ectopic pregnancySerious outcome, resulting in infertility.£31,950 to £95,850
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (severe)
Overwhelmed by trauma and unable to cope

Back (severe)

£56,180 to £94,470
Psychiatric damage (severe)
Disabled by trauma and unable to cope
£52,460 to £108,620
To get a more specific idea of how much compensation you could receive in your NHS medical negligence claim, please get in touch with our team.

Compensation for Special Damages

In addition to claiming for general damages, special damages can cover any financial losses that you suffered as a result of the negligence in question. Costs incurred as a result of your suffering could include but are by no means limited to:

  • Care costs, whether you hired professional care or had loved ones look after you
  • Travel expenses, whether you paid for fuel or public transport
  • Medical fees, such as prescription costs or specialist treatment
  • Income loss, including any potential future damage caused to your income

However, in order to be able to recover any of these costs, you’ll need to provide evidence of them. This could be done by retaining receipts or bank statements as proof. If you fail to do this, you could risk losing the special damage compensation that you deserve. To find out more about what you could include in a potential NHS medical negligence claim, please speak to our team.

Could I Make A No Win No Fee Claim For NHS Negligence?

If you’re interested in making an NHS medical negligence claim, it’s important that you’re aware of how difficult taking action against an organisation the size of the NHS can be. As well as being expected to be able to prove their negligence, you’ll also need a strong set of evidence to support your claim. With this in mind, did you know that having a legal professional handle your case could boost its chances of success as well as maximise your payout? If you choose to work with our panel of lawyers, they always handle cases on a No Win No Fee basis. Therefore, if they fail to win your claim, you won’t have to pay them a penny. What’s more, you won’t have to pay any fees upfront and there are no hidden charges to be wary of either. If your lawyer wins your case, all they’ll ask for is a ‘success fee’ to cover their legal fees, which is simply a small, legally-capped percentage of your payout.

NHS Duty Of Care To Patients

NHS workers have a moral and ethical responsibility to uphold a duty of care to their patients. If this duty is breached and you suffer as a result, you could have grounds to establish liability.  The NHS Constitution outlines certain standards that its workers must follow to help ensure that quality care is provided efficiently. In addition, honesty and openness are always expected when communicating medical matters to patients and their loved ones. The nature of how information is communicated must also have the right level of sensitivity according to the situation.  Public organisations within the NHS that are required to follow standards outlined in the Constitution include:

  • Hospitals
  • GP surgeries
  • Dental practices
  • Local authorities with public healthcare duties

So, whether the way in which a GP delivered upsetting news to you was particularly insensitive or you experienced unsafe practices while being cared for in the hospital, you could be entitled to compensation for your suffering if you can prove their failings. A duty of care could be left unfulfilled, either as a result of human error or poor practice. However, regardless of how it happened, the result can be extremely distressing if you suffer.  So if you can prove that your suffering was preventable but due to the negligence of those caring for you, you could have grounds to hold them accountable if you can establish liability. However, negligence can be hard to prove, as exceptions can be made for mistakes. For more information on how to establish liability, please see the criteria for negligence outlined in the next section. Alternatively, please don’t hesitate to contact our specialist advisory team to see how our panel of lawyers could get you the compensation that you’re entitled to.

How Do I Claim Compensation For NHS Negligence?

As mentioned above, negligence can be hard to prove, as exceptions can be made for mistakes. Generally, negligence can be established if the following criteria are met:

  • The NHS owed you a duty of care
  • A breach in this duty of care was demonstrated by the NHS
  • This breach by the NHS led you to suffer

In other words, you could have grounds to hold the NHS liable if you can prove that your suffering was caused by their standards of care falling below what’s expected of them. Making a claim for NHS medical negligence can be traumatic, as you will have to revisit the situation in question several times. By making legal proceedings, you could secure the compensation that you deserve for your suffering. However, this isn’t about holding whoever was responsible to account, as the justice system doesn’t offer discipline to healthcare professionals.  With this in mind, why not seek help from a legal professional to give your claim the best chances of success? Unlike our competitors, we offer to assess your situation free of charge. In doing so, we can gather the information we need to advise you on your next steps, while you can learn more about your situation without any financial risk. What’s more, if you want to work with our panel of lawyers, they always handle cases on a No Win No Fee basis. Therefore, if they fail to win your claim, you won’t have to pay them a penny. For more information on how we could help you, please speak to one of our friendly advisors today. In the meantime, please see the next section of this article to see whether you could have valid grounds to make a claim.

Is My Claim Against The NHS Likely To Succeed?

Do you believe that you’ve experienced NHS medical negligence but are unsure whether you have grounds to make a valid claim? If so, it may be useful to follow the NHS’s official complaints procedure in attempts to learn more about the incident in question. After they investigate your situation, they’ll create a report on their findings that you’ll be able to access. From this report, you could get a better idea of whether the care you received fell below the standard of competence expected, thereby suggesting whether you have grounds to make a claim. If you then choose to bring legal proceedings for compensation, you can expect to be faced with the NHS’s Resolution team. However, taking action against an organisation the size of the NHS can be tricky to achieve. As well as being expected to be able to prove their negligence, you’ll also need a strong set of evidence to support your claim. With this in mind, you can rely on our panel of lawyers to give your claim the best chance of success. Amongst other things, they can set-up an independent medical assessment using their extensive network to help build your case. The subsequent report produced could be used as evidence, evaluating everything from your physical injuries to how your overall quality of living has been affected.  For more information, please contact our specialist advisory team for them to assess your situation free of charge. In doing so, they can gather the information needed to advise you on your next steps, while you can learn more about your case without any financial risk. What’s more, if you want to work with our panel of lawyers, they can handle your case on a No Win No Fee basis. Therefore, if they fail to win your claim, you won’t have to pay them a penny. So, why not get in touch today to see how we could help you?

Is There A Time Limit For Making An NHS Negligence Claim

If you’re interested in making an NHS medical negligence claim, it’s important that you’re aware of the limitation periods that apply to your eligibility. If you ignore these time limits, you risk not being able to claim and losing out on the compensation that you deserve for your suffering. In most cases, claimants have up to 3 years to make a medical negligence claim. This period is effective from the date that the incident in question occurred or the date that they discovered they’d been harmed as a result of it. However, claim limitation periods differ if the claimant is under 18. Minors can appoint a parent or guardian over 18 to claim on their behalf as a litigation friend or wait to bring legal proceedings themselves once they come of age. At this point, the 3-year time limit will come into effect.  If the claimant is unable to make a claim for themselves, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 allows any limitation periods to be frozen until they can do so. However, in the case that their ability to claim is never gained, a litigation friend can put forward their claim on their behalf. To see whether you’re within the relevant limitation period for your case, please contact one of our specialist advisors today. Unlike some of our competitors, we offer to assess your situation free of charge. In doing so, we can consult you on your next steps and allow you to learn more about your situation without any financial risk.

NHS Medical Negligence And Litigation Statistics

To help illustrate how common NHS medical negligence claims are and the types of incidents that they concern, this section will provide some recent statistics. In 2020, an NHS report found that the organisation suffered over 200 Never Events between April and October of that year alone. The NHS defines a Never Event as a type of serious incident that could have been prevented if appropriate standards had been met. In other words, an event that never should have happened.  Of the 205 serious incidents logged in the NHS system as Never Events, the report found that most frequently occurring included:

  • Surgeries being performed on the wrong part of the body
  • Foreign objects being left inside the body after surgery
  • Feed being given via an incorrectly positioned gastric tube
  • Misconnected oxygen masks to airflow meters
  • Incorrect implants or prosthesis
  • Medication being administered via the wrong route

Furthermore, an NHS report into medical negligence within the organisation found that more than 10,000 claims were placed between 2018 and 2019. And this increased by another 1,000 in 2019/20. Though the report showed that more cases were being successfully mediated before trial at a rate of 6 cases to 1, the organisation still valued these claims to cost a total of £83.4 billion. Of the 10,678 claims for medical negligence noted in the report, the most common included the following nature:

  • Emergency medicine
  • Orthopaedic surgery (concerning musculoskeletal systems)
  • Obstetrics (concerning pregnancy, labour and postpartum)

Furthermore, the claims that were valued the highest could be found in the following departments:

  • Obstetrics 
  • Emergency medicine 
  • Paediatrics (concerning infants, children and young people)
  • Orthopaedic surgery 
  • Neurology (concerning the nervous system, involving the brain and the spinal cord)

As these statistics show, you’re not alone if you fall victim to medical negligence at the hands of the NHS. To see how our panel of lawyers could help get you the compensation that you’re entitled to, please get in touch with our specialist advisory team today for a free consultation. In the meantime, please continue reading if you’d like to see some more specific examples of negligence that the NHS could demonstrate.

Types Of NHS Negligence You Could Claim Compensation For

As mentioned above, if you’ve suffered due to an NHS service falling below the standard expected of them, it sounds like you might have experienced negligence. A duty of care could be left unfulfilled, either as a result of human error or poor practice. However, regardless of how it happened, the result can be extremely distressing if you’re caused to suffer.  NHS workers have a moral and ethical responsibility to uphold a duty of care to their patients. The NHS Constitution outlines certain standards that its workers must follow to help ensure that quality care is provided efficiently. If this duty or regulations are not followed, you could have grounds to establish liability for any suffering you experienced as a result.  In the following few subsections, we’ll explore some examples of how negligence could occur to help illustrate how you could have valid grounds to make a claim.

Misdiagnosis / Delayed Diagnosis

Have you been given a diagnosis that you believe to be incorrect? Alternatively, have you been given no diagnosis at all but believe you have an underlying issue with your health? If you’ve suffered as a result of a misdiagnosis, you could have grounds to make an NHS medical negligence claim if you can prove their failings to be responsible. Whatever your situation, you should always follow your instincts if you have reason to doubt a diagnosis (or lack of one). In this case, you may wish to raise your concerns with a healthcare professional. From there, you could set out to explore what other options could explain your issue.

Wrong Medication Errors

An NHS medical negligence report from 2012 noted that 1 in 20 prescriptions given to their patients were incorrect. In addition to being ineffective at helping the patient’s condition, taking the wrong medication can also be extremely dangerous.  Some errors demonstrated by healthcare professionals that led to patients being incorrectly medicated included:

  • Incorrect doses being taken due to insufficient instructions attached to prescriptions
  • Patients being incorrectly monitored after taking their newly prescribed medication
  • Healthcare professionals being inconsiderate of patients’ other medication before prescribing them another

Fatal NHS negligence

As mentioned earlier, it’s possible to claim on behalf of a loved one that died as a result of medical negligence.  Whether you believe they received a misdiagnosis or the wrong prescription, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances were. If they suffered or even lost their life because the care they received fell below the standard of competence expected, then you could be entitled to make a claim on their behalf.

Request A Callback 

Unlike most of our competitors, we offer to assess your situation free of charge. In doing so, we can gather the information we need to advise you on your next steps. What’s more, we could connect you to our panel of lawyers to handle your claim on a No Win No Fee basis. To see how we could help you today, please don’t hesitate to get in touch:

Need Some More Help?

Thank you for reading our guide to NHS medical negligence claims. Below, you can find some more articles you may find useful.