Suing the NHS for Negligence

The grounds for suing the NHS

You must show that the healthcare provider who gave NHS care acted negligently, resulting in harm or injury to you or a loved one. When you sue the NHS, you need to prove that the healthcare professional failed to meet the expected standard of care and, as a result, you suffered harm.

Bolam test

The legal standard of medical care in England & Wales is objective and based on the general practice of doctors in England and Wales. Often called the ‘Bolam test’, after the legal case which first used it, the test provides that a doctor must exercise the skill and care of a reasonably competent member of their profession. A doctor is not considered negligent if they acted “in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical men skilled in that particular art”.

Causation

Even if a breach of a duty of care is established, you must prove that the breach has caused or materially contributed to your harm or injury. Another way of looking at this is to prove that the harm or injury would not have occurred anyway.

What types of NHS negligence can you sue for?

There are various types of NHS negligence that you can sue the NHS 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
• Errors in prescriptions – failing to prescribe the correct medication or prescribing the wrong dosage 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)
• Failure to provide adequate care – when a doctor or other healthcare professional fails to provide the necessary care to a patient, which can lead to complications or even death

The NHS healthcare system can be divided into four categories:

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

You can sue the NHS for negligent care you received during any of these stages.

Can I sue the NHS?

If you think that you want to sue the NHS and believe you have a claim, here are a few points to consider:

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

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

The process of suing the NHS

Suing the NHS is a complex and detailed process. Below is an overview of the steps needed.

Pre-action protocol

Before you begin legal proceedings to sue the NHS, you must follow the pre-action protocol for the resolution of clinical negligence disputes. The protocol outlines the steps a court expects you and your healthcare provider to follow before starting any court proceedings when you sue the NHS. It applies to any medical negligence claim against a hospital, GP, dentist, and other healthcare provider (both NHS and private).

Obtaining health records

If you have already made an NHS complaint or decide not to do so, the first step when you want to sue the NHS is to request a copy of your medical records. The records should be sent to you within 40 days of your request.

Letter of claim

The next step (usually after getting initial advice from medical experts) when you sue the NHS is to send a letter of claim to the healthcare provider and NHS Resolution. The letter should clearly summarise the facts and your allegations of negligence, describe your injuries, present condition and prognosis, and outline your financial losses.

Letter of response

The healthcare provider will acknowledge your letter of claim in 14 days and provide a full response in four months when you sue the NHS. The response should state if liability is admitted, part of the claim is admitted, or the claim is denied.

Court proceedings

To start court proceedings when you sue the NHS, various documents must be filed in court with the courtissued fee. These include a claim form, particulars of claim, and a schedule of loss.

What can I expect when I sue the NHS?

When you sue 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. Suing the NHS can benefit others, as it can help make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to someone else.

We will thoroughly go through your case to see whether we believe you can sue the NHS, plus we work on a No Win No Fee basis, meaning that you can find out whether you can sue the NHS 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 when you want to sue the NHS. There is a three year time limit on suing the NHS, from the date you first realised you had been a victim of negligence,  to get the compensation you need, so contact us today to see if you could sue the NHS.

Time limits to sue the NHS

In England & Wales, there are strict time limits for filing a claim in court when you want to sue the NHS.

Generally, you have three years from the incident date or when you became aware of the negligence to sue the NHS; however, there are exceptions, such as claims by children or someone lacking mental capacity.

You must speak with a specialist solicitor as soon as possible, as they will advise you on the likely limitation period when you want to sue the NHS.

No win, no fee when you sue the NHS

No-win, no-fee agreements are the most common way to fund your case when you sue the NHS, providing a solution for people who cannot afford to pay for legal expenses upfront.

In a no-win, no-fee arrangement when you sue the NHS, your solicitor shares the risk of the case losing, as they will not charge you their costs if you lose. However, other expenses such as expert witness and court fees must still be paid, so you should take out insurance cover to pay these expenses if you lose.

If you win when you sue the NHS, the other side usually pays your solicitor’s fees; however, your solicitor will also charge you a success fee, a percentage of your compensation, which is capped at 25%.

NHS compensation payouts when you sue the NHS

If you win when you sue the NHS, they will pay you compensation, which is meant to put you back in the position you were in before the medical negligence. The amount depends on various factors, such as the severity of the harm and its impact on your life.

General damages

General damages refers mainly to the physical damage arising from medical negligence when you sue the NHS. 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 when you sue the NHS 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 when you sue the NHS.

Information we need to start your case to sue the NHS

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 when you want to sue the NHS.

For your claim to be successful when you sue the NHS, it is important to gather evidence to support your case. 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

Who pays when you sue the NHS?

NHS Resolution was set up to pay for NHS negligence claims and in 2023-24 they spent £2.8 billion settling medical negligence claims when people sued the NHS. 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 NHS Resolution when you sue the NHS 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.

How to sue your local NHS trust

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

Patient Claim Line has helped thousands of claimants in the UK sue their local NHS trusts. You can sue the NHS in any of these areas:

London | Northern Ireland | Scotland | East Midlands | East of England | North East | North West | South East | South West | West Midlands | Wales | Yorkshire & The Humber | Liverpool | Manchester | Middlesbrough

Our experience with cases where people sue the NHS

We have worked with the complex nature of cases where people want to sue the NHS 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 when you sue the NHS – 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 where someone wants to sue the NHS, and we know how to get you and your family justice for NHS negligence.