Medical Negligence Claims

Reviewed by
Peter Rigby, Director of Medical Negligence

What is Medical Negligence?

Medical negligence is substandard care provided by a healthcare professional that directly causes harm to a patient. The care must have fallen below what is reasonable for a healthcare professional under those circumstances, and is usually assessed by an independent expert in the field. Medical Negligence can happen in a number of ways. The patient could be misdiagnosed, or could have been victim to mistakes during surgery. They might have received incorrect treatment, aggravating their existing condition. When medical negligence results in unnecessary suffering and causes further injury or distress for you or your loved ones, you may be entitled to seek compensation.
Negligence can take place at any point whilst receiving medical attention, from an initial GP visit, to surgery and aftercare. This can happen in a number of ways; including misdiagnosis, mistakes made during surgery or being given the incorrect treatment. When medical malpractice results in unnecessary suffering and consequences for you or your loved ones, you may be entitled to make a medical negligence claim.

All medical professionals have a duty of care towards their patients, and when that duty of care is breached – the medical body in question should be held to account. Processing a medical negligence claim can also help prevent the same mistake from happening again; as this forces a thorough investigation to be organised and the mistake is subsequently examined and reported.

 

How do I make a medical negligence claim?

Our expert team will support you throughout the process of making a medical negligence claim, providing guidance and empathy during what can be a difficult time.
The process of claiming against a medical professional or healthcare organisation begins with speaking to an experienced specialist about your situation. Our team of expert medical negligence solicitors can assess your case over the phone for free to determine whether you have a claim for medical malpractice. First, we’ll collect details about the treatment you received to allow the best possible understanding of the care you received and how it has impacted your life, so that we can ensure that you receive the right amount of compensation to cover your current and future needs.

Visit our Medical Negligence Guide

Do you need to know more about Medical Negligence?

Take me there

We're the highest-rated No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitors on Trustpilot

 

How long can a medical negligence case take?

The length of time a medical negligence case takes will depend on the severity of the injury and the details of the specific medical negligence. Straightforward cases may be completed within months, averaging between 12-18 months, whereas more complicated cases of medical malpractice could take a year or more. Your case handler will be in touch with you to regularly update you on the progress of your claim. 

Once your medical negligence claim has been accepted, the next stage is to prepare for the case by obtaining medical records and relevant documentation related to the care you received, as well as a detailed statement. Getting an expert opinion is often also necessary to confirm breach of duty and the subsequent harm that you endured. The process of this can therefore take some time. 

Read more on how long a medical negligence claim can take.

 

icon-strip

How it works:

STEP 1 – INITIAL ENQUIRY

Contact us, free of charge. Chat to our team of experts who are fully trained to ask the right questions, so that our legal teams can quickly advise if you have a case.

STEP 2 – CASE ACCEPTANCE

Our specialist medical negligence solicitors assess your case and get back to you quickly with a decision.

STEP 3 – MEDICAL RECORDS

If your case is accepted, our legal team will request all of your medical records.

STEP 4 – MEDICAL EVIDENCE

Medical evidence will be obtained to confirm that the treatment you received was negligent and that this treatment caused an injury or contributed to making an existing condition worse.

STEP 5 – NEGOTIATION

Once supportive medical evidence has been obtained a claim will be submitted to the defendant and they will be invited to admit fault. We will then negotiate with the defendant to obtain a suitable award of compensation so that you can get back to a similar situation as you were in before the negligent treatment occurred.

STEP 6 – COMPENSATION

It is often difficult for any amount of compensation to fully compensate for pain and suffering. Compensation can, however, allow you to live a life as normal as possible. You could be awarded financial aid for all out of pocket expenses, loss of earnings, and any potential private treatment costs to put things right. It also covers rehabilitation costs and compensation for your injuries and the impact they have had on your day-to-day life.

 

No Win No Fee medical negligence claims

At Patient Claim Line, we believe that everyone should have the right to seek fair compensation and get the justice that they deserve, without being deterred by financial worries during an already distressing time. That’s why we will never ask you for an upfront payment, so you can focus on recovery without the pressure of paying for our service out of your own pocket.

All medical negligence claims are handled on a no win no fee basis. This is basically a legal agreement that makes it easier to pursue financial compensation for medical negligence, no matter what your personal financial status. This arrangement means that if your case is unsuccessful, and you have cooperated fully during the process, you won’t have to pay a penny for your legal representation.

 

How is my medical negligence compensation worked out?

The type of financial compensation granted for your medical negligence claim will differ from case to case, but broadly can be split into two categories. The first is general damages, which compensate for the pain and suffering that you have endured due to an error from a healthcare professional. This will be based on the severity of your injury or illness, and how much the medical negligence has affected your life.

You may also be entitled to special damage compensation, which reimburses any out of pocket losses which were a result of the negligent care you received. It also covers any future losses that may occur due to your injury or illness. This could include:

  • Loss of earnings
  • Medication costs
  • Private treatment
  • Rehabilitation costs
  • Travel expenses
  • Medical equipment

 

How much compensation could I be entitled to?

Compensation for medical malpractice will depend on your individual case. Our medical negligence lawyers will assess your claim and through due process come to an agreement on the amount of compensation you will receive. Outstanding compensation figures for the NHS stand at over £80 billion. For more information on how compensation figures are calculated read our guide to compensation calculators.

 

Medical Negligence Solicitors 

At Patient Claim Line, we have over 100 specialist medical negligence solicitors who have successfully helped individuals claim for medical negligence. Our expert solicitors have over 400 years experience combined and they can provide you with professional guidance throughout your medical negligence claim. 

Contact our medical negligence solicitors today for a free conversation to help you understand your medical negligence claim and whether or not you could claim.

Claim Checker

  • We only need a few details
  • Short, no obligation phone call
  • No win - no fee means it costs you nothing to find out if you have a claim
  • Your contact details

    Details of your claim

    Don't worry about including all details at this stage. Our experts will ask for any further information they require when they contact you.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Medical Negligence FAQs

Meet our medical negligence team

Peter Rigby

Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence

Peter leads the Medical Negligence Serious Injury department, which now boasts some of our most knowledgeable, dedicated and hardworking team members.

Peter is dedicated to supporting victims of catastrophic medical negligence injuries and endeavours to provide a clear and coherent approach to claims. He recognises the effects serious injuries can have and therefore ensures his customers’ need for support is met. Peter also has a vast amount of experience working with customers who have been injured abroad and is able to act under international law to provide the best outcomes.

Read profile
Christian Beadell

Christian Beadell
Partner, Head of Strategy and Legal Operations

Christian is Head of Medical Negligence at Patient Claim Line and has specialised in clinical negligence claims since qualifying in 1998; having dealt with a wide variety of claims throughout his career. He is also featured in the Legal 500 as a recommended claimant solicitor in the North West.

Christian qualified as a solicitor in 1998, specialising in clinical negligence. From 2010 onward he has had a particular interest in gynaecological and urogynaecological claims, having represented several hundred claimants in the George Rowland Litigation against the Liverpool Women’s and Aintree Hospitals. This investigated the treatment given to women in the Merseyside area over several decades, and in particular focused on the introduction and development of mesh into the UK in both the treatment of stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. The development of this area involved pursuing claims under a unique ADR protocol with the NHS and also looking to develop the current thinking on the valuation of compensation for complex urinary symptoms. He has successfully recovered hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation on behalf of my clients.

Christian was also involved in setting up and chairing a Claimant Support Group for those involved in the Rowland litigation, which provided a discussion forum for the many women who were left isolated and damaged by negligent gynaecological treatment. He now co-ordinates the firm’s mesh claims and has delivered training and commented extensively on the medico-legal implications of urogynaecological / mesh complications. He is a member of APIL, Liverpool Law Society and Legal 500 recommended.

Read profile
Francesca Paul

Francesca Paul
Associate Solicitor

Francesca Paul is an Associate, Senior Solicitor and Team Leader within the Clinical Negligence Department.  She is one of the driving Solicitors in the Group Litigation Team dealing with this niche and specialist area of work that Fletchers undertakes.   

Francesca previously worked in Nottingham, dealing with Group Action work.  She now works at Fletchers, bringing with her those years of experience heading up a team of 10 people.  Francesca is involved in the early identification of potential new Group Litigation Work and analyses information from the collective pool of new enquiries into the business, of which there are hundreds per week looking for hot spots or recurrent issues which might suggest a potential pool of Claimants.   

One of the highlights for Francesca and her team is that they have successfully recovered over a million pounds in compensation for clients who have received treatment from a single orthopaedic surgeon who was operating in the Colchester area.  Her role requires a specific set of skills, patience and a forensic approach to detail whilst being able to see the wider picture.   

Francesca has previously acted for a claimant in a case that reached the Supreme Court in the case of NA v Nottinghamshire County Council. 

Read profile
Sion Wynne

Sion Wynne
Senior Solicitor

Sion is a team leader and senior solicitor with many years’ experience in dealing with a wide range of medical specialisms and different types of injuries. He is an experienced medical negligence solicitor and manages a team of lawyers within our department.

Sion joined Fletchers in 2018 as a Team Leader in the Medical Negligence Department. Throughout his 24 year legal career, he has specialised in conducting medical negligence claims on behalf of Claimants, previously working for other highly ranked leading firms in the field.

He has undertaken claims covering the full spectrum of medical specialisms, clinical settings, categories of defendant and types of negligent medical care and treatment.
These include high value and complex maximum severity cases, such as those involving limb amputations and permanent neurological injuries.

Sion is experienced at representing bereaved families at inquests and has a particular interest in fatal accident claims.

 

Notable Cases

JI v Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Trust: £1.25m recovered for client left paraplegic after spinal anaesthesia.

RS v Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: £150,000 recovered for client in respect of a failure to recognise complications after a kidney transplant, where her father was the donor.

JN v MA: £100,000 recovered for a client who suffered 2 years persistent pain and disability after knee replacement surgery undertaken as a private patient.

CS v Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust: £400,000 recovered for a child who sustained Erb’s palsy during her delivery.

WO’C (Deceased) v Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; £450,000 recovered for the family of the deceased who died as a result of a delay in diagnosing a brain tumour.

 

Read profile

Sarah's Story

"Now we have peace of mind"

My husband, Nick, went back and forth to the doctors for a long time and tried everything the doctor recommended. But his illness got worse, to the point that he was in agony.

In the end we got so desperate that we asked for a referral. The doctor was reluctant, so we had to consult a private hospital. That’s when we found out there was a tumour. It took years from the onset of his illness to finally start cancer treatment.

He used to be a man with a lot to live for, but in the end he was in so much pain that he withdrew from the family. He became angry that nobody had helped him sooner, and the legal team were able to give him the validation that he was desperately seeking. The NHS confirmed if they had done more, Nick would still be alive today.

You don’t have to go through this alone – take the first step now