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Hospital Negligence
Reviewed by
Peter Rigby - Managing Director of Medical Negligence | Last updated on: 18th December, 2025
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When you receive treatment in a hospital, whether through the NHS or privately, you expect safe, timely and professional care. Most patients experience exactly that, but when hospital standards fall below what they should be, and avoidable harm occurs as a result, you may be entitled to start a hospital negligence claim.
If you believe a mistake was made in A&E, during surgery, while prescribing medication, or at any point during your hospital stay, you have the right to find out what went wrong. Our specialists can assess your situation, explain your legal options, and guide you through what happens next.
Find out if you can make a hospital negligence claim today.
What is Hospital Negligence?
Hospital negligence happens when the care you received fell below the standard that a competent healthcare professional should have provided, and you suffered avoidable harm as a result. This can occur during diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, or aftercare. Not every negative outcome is negligence, but where clear failings have contributed to your injury or worsened your condition, you may have a valid claim.
Duty of care
Hospitals and all clinical staff owe every patient a duty of care. This means providing treatment that meets accepted medical standards based on your symptoms, condition and circumstances.
Breach of duty
A breach occurs when that standard is not met, for example, when signs of a serious condition are missed, surgery is carried out incorrectly, or you are discharged too early.
Causation
To claim, the breach must have directly caused your injury or made an existing condition worse. Establishing this connection is done through independent medical evidence and expert review.
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Common Types of Hospital Negligence
Hospital environments are complex, fast-paced and often pressured. When systems fail or care is rushed, mistakes can happen. Negligence can arise in any department, but particularly in A&E, surgery, maternity, and during inpatient monitoring.
Surgical errors
Surgery carries risks, but certain mistakes should never occur. Surgical negligence may involve damaging surrounding structures, performing a procedure incorrectly, or failing to give proper aftercare.
Wrong-site surgery: This includes operating on the wrong part of the body or performing the wrong procedure entirely.
Retained instruments: Leaving instruments, swabs or other items inside the patient after surgery is a serious and avoidable breach of care.
A&E mistakes
A&E departments are often overcrowded and time-pressured, but clinicians must still provide safe triage, accurate decision-making and timely treatment.
Failure to triage: If a patient with urgent symptoms is not assessed appropriately, their condition can deteriorate quickly.
Incorrect discharge: Premature discharge or failure to recognise red-flag symptoms can lead to worsening harm.
Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
Conditions such as cancer, strokes, infections, fractures, appendicitis and heart issues require prompt identification. If misdiagnosis occurs or results are overlooked, this can have long-term consequences.
Medication & prescription errors
Hospital medication errors include prescribing the wrong drug, giving an incorrect dose, or failing to check for interactions or allergies. These failings can cause serious, sometimes life-threatening, complications.
Birth & maternity negligence
Negligence might involve mismanaging labour, failing to monitor foetal distress, delays in delivering emergency care, or errors that lead to harm for either mother or baby. At Patient Claim Line, we are experts at handling pregnancy and birth injury claims.
Hospital-acquired infections
While some hospital infections are unavoidable, others are linked to poor hygiene, inadequate monitoring or failures to treat complications early.
MRSA: MRSA can spread quickly without proper infection control, leading to severe complications.
Sepsis: Delayed recognition or treatment of sepsis can cause organ failure and long-term harm. If this happened to you, you may be able to make a hospital negligence claim.
Do I Have a Hospital Negligence Claim?
To have an eligible claim, something must have gone wrong in the hospital setting that should not have happened, and you must have suffered avoidable harm because of it. This could include an injury during surgery, deterioration caused by delayed treatment, a missed diagnosis, or complications that should have been prevented with proper monitoring.
Our team will evaluate the details of what happened, review your symptoms and treatment timeline, and explain clearly whether your situation meets the legal test for negligence.
Eligibility checklist
You may have a claim if:
- You were owed a duty of care by a hospital or its staff
- That duty was breached
- You suffered harm as a direct result
- The harm could reasonably have been avoided with proper care
If you’re unsure, we can assess this for you during your initial consultation.
What Evidence Helps Prove Hospital Negligence?
Evidence is used to understand what happened, whether standards were breached, and how the failings affected your health. You do not need to gather this alone; we assist with the process. Evidence collected might include:
- Medical records: These include hospital notes, test results, referral letters and treatment logs.
- Notes from consultations: Information from A&E, ward rounds, follow-up appointments and specialist assessments helps build a clear picture of your care.
- Witness statements: Where relevant, accounts from family members, carers or those present during your treatment can support your claim.
- Photographs of injuries: These can help document visible harm caused by the negligent event or poor aftercare.
- Symptom timelines: A simple record of when symptoms began, how they progressed and what advice you received can be extremely valuable.
How to Start a Hospital Negligence Claim
You can begin a claim simply by contacting our team. We will talk through what happened, answer your initial questions and guide you through the next steps.
Step-by-step hospital negligence claims process
- Get in contact with us today: Your first conversation is free. We listen to your experience and gather the information needed to understand what happened.
- Free case assessment: Our medical negligence specialists review your situation and advise whether we believe you have a valid claim.
- Evidence gathering: If your claim can proceed, we will obtain your medical records and any other relevant documentation.
- Independent medical review: An external clinical expert assesses whether the care you received fell below acceptable standards and caused your injury.
- Claim submission: We present your case to the hospital or their insurer and invite them to respond.
- Negotiation: Where liability is accepted, we negotiate the appropriate outcome on your behalf.
- Settlement & resolution: We guide you through the final stage of the claim, ensuring everything is handled smoothly.
No Win No Fee Hospital Negligence Claims
Our hospital negligence claims are handled on a no win, no fee basis. That means:
- No upfront costs: You do not pay anything at the beginning of your claim.
- You only pay if the case succeeds: There is nothing to pay if your claim is unsuccessful.
What You Can Claim For After Hospital Negligence
Here is a little insight into understanding the kinds of impact a hospital negligence claim can address:
Pain and suffering: This includes the physical effects of the injury or condition caused or worsened by the negligent care.
Required treatment: If you needed additional procedures, corrective surgery or further medical support, this forms part of the claim.
Ongoing care: Long-term physical needs or reduced independence may be considered.
Loss of earnings: Changes in your ability to work or return to your previous role may be included.
Psychological impact: Anxiety, trauma, distress or loss of confidence linked to the hospital negligence can form part of your case.
Travel and medical expenses: Additional journeys or medical requirements caused by the negligent event may be covered.
For more information relating to compensation, head to our dedicated NHS compensation payouts page.
How Long Do I Have to Make a Hospital Negligence Claim?
In most cases, you have three years from the date the negligence occurred or from when you first became aware of the harm. For children, the deadline usually runs from their 18th birthday, and claims involving individuals without mental capacity may operate under different rules.
If you’re unsure whether you are still within the time limit, we can confirm this during your initial consultation.
Why Choose Patient Claim Line for your Hospital Negligence Claim?
Hospital negligence is one of the most complex areas of medical law. We have over 100 medical negligence specialists with over 400 years of combined experience, and they can provide you with professional guidance throughout your claim.
Our team specialises exclusively in medical negligence claims and understands the unique pressures within hospital settings, including A&E, surgery, maternity, inpatient wards and intensive care. With experienced specialists, independent clinical experts and a no win, no fee structure, we offer clear guidance from the first conversation to final resolution.
Frequently asked questions about Hospital Negligence Claims
Our expert legal team answer your questions about making a Hospital Negligence Claim
Hospital negligence is when the care you received fell below accepted medical standards and caused you avoidable harm. This could involve delays in diagnosis, mistakes during surgery, incorrect treatment in A&E, medication errors, poor inpatient monitoring or failures to prevent or treat infection.
Proving negligence involves showing that the hospital breached its duty of care and that this directly caused your injury or worsening condition. This is done through medical records, independent clinical review, treatment timelines and witness accounts where relevant. You don’t need to gather this alone; our team obtains the documentation and works with specialists to build the evidence for you.
Yes, you can make a claim whether your treatment took place in an NHS hospital or a private facility. Private hospitals and their staff are held to the same clinical standards, and the process for bringing a negligence claim is similar. We handle both NHS and private cases.
No, you do not need to request anything yourself. Once you decide to proceed, we obtain your records directly from the hospital, including A&E notes, surgical reports, observation charts and diagnostic findings. These help our experts understand what happened and whether the care you received fell below an acceptable standard.
Yes, you may be able to claim on behalf of a child, someone who lacks mental capacity, or a loved one who has passed away due to negligent hospital treatment. In these situations, a family member or appointed representative can act on their behalf, and our team can explain how this works in practice.
The length of a hospital negligence claim depends on the complexity of the case and whether the hospital accepts responsibility early on. Straightforward claims may resolve more quickly, while cases requiring in-depth medical investigation or expert dispute can take longer. We keep you informed at every stage so you always know what to expect.
Meet our Hospital Negligence Team
Case Study
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.
