NHS Negligence Claims

Reviewed by
Peter Rigby, Director of Medical Neglience

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NHS Negligence Claims 

 

The NHS has a duty of care to all patients, and if you feel you have suffered from care that is below the expected standard, you may be able to claim compensation for negligence. 

 

As one of the largest and oldest national, publicly-funded institutions for medical care, the National Health Service (NHS) plays a significant role in treating millions of patients each year. The premise behind the establishment of the NHS was the need for quality healthcare made available for everyone in England. However, the growing patient population puts pressure on NHS trusts each year, and the medical care received is not always the best it can be. 

 

If you have suffered because of poor care you received from the NHS, we can help you with your claims process. 

 

At Patient Claim Line, we have a team of specialist NHS negligence lawyers who have handled thousands of NHS negligence claims and we can support you throughout your whole NHS negligence claim.

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



WHAT IS NHS NEGLIGENCE?

NHS negligence occurs when medical professionals who work for the NHS fail to provide care that is to the accepted standard.

Individuals trust the NHS to provide medical care for an array of health needs, including routine screenings, treatments for mild to severe long-term conditions, emergency services, end-of-life care, surgeries, and prescriptions. Given the breadth of care services offered by the NHS, it is not surprising that things can – and do – go wrong. Unfortunately, the sheer size of the NHS makes it difficult to get answers to your questions when poor-quality care results in devastating outcomes. One of the ways to get justice for poor outcomes caused by poor care provided through the NHS is to make a claim against the NHS. 

The NHS pays out over £2 billion in compensation each year to settle claims of medical negligence. In order to manage these claims, the NHS has a dedicated service in the form of NHS Resolution which serves to deal with all claims, improve practitioner performance and improve safety and services following cases of medical negligence. 

The NHS is dedicated to providing the best healthcare across the UK, which is why they set up NHS Resolution to effectively help patients wishing to make a claim. These claims then initiate continued learning and development for all aspects of healthcare so that outcomes can be improved for all patients.

WHAT TYPES OF NHS NEGLIGENCE CAN I CLAIM FOR? 

There are various types of NHS negligence that you may be able to claim for. These include but are not limited to: 

  • Surgical negligence –  any error that happens during or even post surgery, including anaesthesia related errors

  • Misdiagnosis – where your condition or illness is diagnosed as something else, either at an early appointment or from tests being wrongly interpreted

  • Delayed diagnosis – any unacceptable time lag in your diagnosis, for example, tests not being requested, missed appointments or symptoms being ignored

  • OBG negligence – any injury to a mother or child before, during or after birth. This includes conditions like Cerebral Palsy

  • NHS never events –  events that quite simply should not happen under any circumstances in an NHS setting (serious medical errors, such as wrong site surgery, that are completely preventable)

The NHS healthcare system can be divided into four categories:

  • Primary care – early interactions with healthcare providers like GPs or dentists
  • Secondary care – planned or elective procedures usually in hospital or emergency visits to A&E or out of hours centres
  • Tertiary care – specialist treatment usually involving surgical procedures like transplants
  • Community health – healthcare in your local community, such as district nursing or health visits

You can make an NHS negligence claim for negligent care you received during any of these stages

Every NHS negligence claim is different, but chances are we have worked with an individual who went through a similar situation to yours and decided to make a claim against the NHS. The important thing to remember is that even though it may seem daunting to bring forward a claim against the NHS for any of these common claim types, you have resources through Patient Claim Line to receive the compensation you deserve for your NHS negligence. 

If you believe you have received negligent treatment on the NHS, our specialist team of solicitors can investigate your NHS negligence claim for you and help you receive the compensation that you deserve. To find out more about how much compensation you could receive from your NHS negligence claim, you can visit our NHS payouts guide below.

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WHO CAN MAKE AN NHS NEGLIGENCE CLAIM? 

Anyone who has received negligent treatment from the NHS and has suffered due to the negligence may be able to make an NHS negligence claim. Whether you have suffered negligence from your GP, hospital or any NHS professional in the past three years, you may be able to claim compensation.

 

 

WHAT CAN I EXPECT WHEN I MAKE AN NHS NEGLIGENCE CLAIM? 

When you make a claim against the NHS, at Patient CLaim Line, we work with you to get not only the compensation you deserve, but also the answers you need as to why the issue occurred within the NHS. We will thoroughly go through your case to see whether we believe you can make an NHS negligence claim, plus we work on a No Win No Fee basis, meaning that you can find out whether you can make an NHS negligence claim with no upfront costs. 

As soon as you realise you or a loved one has received medical negligence from an NHS institution, it is in your best interest to reach out to us for guidance on how to move forward with your claim against the NHS. There is a three year time limit on making a claim to get the compensation you need so contact us today to see if you could make an NHS negligence claim. 

WHAT WILL NHS COMPENSATION PAY FOR?

The amount you receive if your claim is successful will depend on the individual damages you have incurred. These damages are split into two categories: general damages and special damages.

GENERAL DAMAGES

General damages refers mainly to the physical damage arising from medical negligence. This includes pain and suffering during the actual injury and during treatment, mental health problems caused by the injury such as anxiety or depression, and permanent physical damage like an amputation that drastically alters quality of life.

 

SPECIAL DAMAGES 

Special damages cover the non physical consequences and can be things like travel costs to and from appointments, extra medical bills or private care, an initial loss of earnings or future loss of earnings if you cannot work, and the cost of any ongoing care or adaptations to your life such as installing rails in your home or needing domestic help.

Each of these damages will be defined and assessed to ensure that you get the maximum amount to cover these costs and the impact of your illness or injury.

 

 

INFORMATION WE NEED TO START YOUR NHS NEGLIGENCE CLAIM

Our claims process begins with the submission of an online contact form, a simple phone call to one of our medical negligence specialists or by taking our simple 30 second claims test. The Patient Claim Line team is expertly trained to ask the right questions while maintaining your confidentiality and easing some of your concerns. Once you are in contact with a claims specialist, we take the time to listen intently to what took place with your NHS experience, and we then determine if you have cause to sue the NHS.

We will also need to know what you or your loved one experienced, adding information about when the incident occurred, what took place, and if you took any steps to rectify the issue on your own or at the request of the NHS. All of this information is pertinent to your claim against the NHS and will help us negotiate for you in terms of compensation. Whether you suffered from misdiagnosis, incorrect medical advice, or a more severe NHS never event, we have the experience to turn your claim against the NHS into compensation to help ease your suffering due to NHS negligence.

For your claim to be successful it is important to gather evidence to support your case. A specialist medical negligence lawyer will guide you through the evidence you need and access much of it without your involvement. Some examples of the evidence you may need include:

  • Photos – photo or video evidence of the impact the medical negligence has had on your life

  • Invoices and receipts – any bills for extra medical care, rehabilitation, therapy or medicines

  • Prescription slips – proof of incorrect prescriptions or extra prescriptions that could have been avoided

  • Medical records – your medical records will be accessed and investigated by both parties

  • Witness statements – you may have had a friend or family member present when the negligence occurred

Your claim may also involve visiting a third party or independent healthcare professional who will make an assessment of your condition or injury to provide expert commentary on the matter. This would be pre arranged and paid for as part of your claim but can be very beneficial in proving medical negligence.

 

HOW DO I MAKE A NHS NEGLIGENCE CLAIM AGAINST MY LOCAL TRUST?

If you have received negligent care from your local NHS trust, you should give us a call on 03301075312 and we will discuss your NHS claim with you. 

Patient Claim Line has helped thousands of claimants in the UK bring cases against their local NHS trusts. You can make an NHS claim against any of the areas listed below: 

 

WHO PAYS FOR NHS NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS? 

The NHS Resolution was set out to pay for NHS negligence claims and in 2022-23 they spent £2.6 billion settling medical negligence claims. The significant amount of money spent for NHS compensation claims is linked to pressure on the staff and doctors providing medical care which ultimately leads to lower-quality service. 

These costs paid by the NHS Resolution can and typically do include compensation for pain and suffering experienced by you or a loved one, ongoing treatment required to restore the quality of life after an error in treatment, NHS misdiagnosis or NHS never event, out-of-pocket expenses like lost earnings, and the costs associated with medical equipment needed at home. These expenses, which are all-too-common when NHS negligence has taken place, ultimately take away from the quality of care provided to patients who enter NHS doors.

OUR EXPERIENCE COVERING NHS NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS

We have worked with the complex nature of NHS negligence claims for years, and currently, we manage one in every 10 claims throughout the country. Because we work on a no win, no fee basis – meaning there is no financial risk to you or your family – you and your loved ones have the opportunity to get the answers you need about your experience with poor-quality care in a simple, straightforward way. We uphold the highest standards of confidentiality when working on any medical claim, and we know how to get you and your family justice for NHS negligence.

SO, IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED NHS NEGLIGENCE, GET IN TOUCH WITH US TODAY TO FIND OUT IF YOU CAN MAKE AN NHS NEGLIGENCE CLAIM.

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Why Choose Patient Claim Line for your NHS negligence claim?


Not just lawyers — medical negligence experts

Patient Claim Line was established in 2014 and consists of a team of medical lawyers specialising in medical negligence and misdiagnosis claims.

At Patient Claim Line we have more than 100 solicitors with combined experience of over 400 years and they will work on your behalf to achieve the best result possible for you.

It’s not enough to use a solicitor who sometimes covers medical negligence. You need someone who knows this area through and through. That is what the solicitors here at Patient Claim Line do. They deal exclusively in this area of law and are experts in the field.


Frequently asked questions about NHS negligence claims

Our expert legal team answer your questions about making an NHS negligence claim

 


Meet our medical negligence team

Peter Rigby

Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence

Christian Beadell

Christian Beadell
Partner, Head of Strategy and Legal Operations

Francesca Paul

Francesca Paul
Associate Solicitor

Sion Wynne

Sion Wynne
Senior Solicitor


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.

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