Have you suffered due to the negligent actions of the NHS? The resulting injury or illness may have life-altering consequences. If this is the case, you may be wondering how to sue the NHS.
Key Takeaways When Suing The NHS
- You may be able to sue the NHS if you’ve suffered harm due to negligent medical care from an NHS practitioner.
- All healthcare professionals must follow certain standards while administering treatment.
- Your clinical negligence claim against the NHS usually must be within 3 years.
- You may be able to claim compensation from the NHS for fatal medical negligence if you lose your loved one due to improper treatment.
- Our solicitors offer No Win No Fee services to support your medical negligence claims.
Need advice on medical negligence claims? Speak to us now:
- Claim online through our form.
- Call 0800 073 8801.
- Reach one of our advisors directly through live chat.
Jump To A Section
- What Is Medical Negligence?
- Do I Have Grounds To Claim Against The NHS
- How To Sue The NHS
- How Much Compensation Could I Get?
- Time Limits When Suing The NHS
- Can Accident Claims Help Me?
- Learn More
What Is Medical Negligence?
Before learning how to sue the NHS, it is important to understand what medical negligence is.
The term ‘medical negligence’ is when a medical professional or healthcare institution deviates from professional standards causing harm that would have otherwise been avoidable. When a medical professional agrees to provide you with treatment, they automatically owe you a duty of care. This means that they must provide care and treatment that meets the expected standard.
For more information on what is classed as clinical negligence, reach out to our friendly team of advisors.
Types Of Medical Negligence
Here are the most common types of medical negligence, which may form the basis of NHS compensation claims:
- Surgical Negligence: While surgeries always have inherent risks, some errors are avoidable. These include foreign objects being left inside a patient’s body, conducting an unnecessary operation or improper stitching.
- Misdiagnosis: This happens when a medical professional diagnoses you with a different condition. However, this is not always an example of medical negligence. To make a claim for a misdiagnosis, it must be proven that this happened because the practitioner acted negligently. For example, the doctor failed to recognise clear symptoms of a stroke and misdiagnosed you as having a migraine.
- Prescription Errors: This could include the prescription of incorrect medication or incorrect dosage or the administration of medicines to which the patients are allergic despite knowledge of this allergy.
- Birth Injuries: These could be birth injuries to the mother or child (or both) during or after the pregnancy. For example, not monitoring the baby’s heart rate resulted in a delay in ordering a Cesarean section, which caused the baby to suffer a brain injury.
Want to make a plastic surgery negligence claim? Contact our advisors now.
Do I Have Grounds To Claim Against The NHS
To have a valid medical negligence claim, you must prove the following:
- You were receiving treatment from a medical professional. In other words, they had a duty of care towards you.
- There was a breach of this duty.
- You suffered an avoidable illness or injury due to this breach.
If your NHS doctor fails to follow the above and provides sub-standard care and treatment, you may have a medical negligence claim against them.
Fatal Medical Negligence Claims
There could be a fatal medical negligence claim against the NHS if their breach of duty of care results in the patient’s death. Under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (FAA), qualifying dependants can claim for how the death has impacted them.
For more information on how to sue the NHS for wrongful death, speak to our advisors.
How To Sue The NHS
In order to claim for medical negligence, you will need to submit evidence that proves liability for the unnecessary harm you suffered. Some examples include:
- A copy of your medical records.
- Any copies of scans, test results or X-rays you may have.
- Copies of prescriptions.
- If a friend or family member joined you at appointments, take down their contact information so they can be reached for a statement later on.
- Details of the appointments, such as an appointment card.
- Correspondence between yourself and the doctor or institution that provided your care.
How Much Compensation Could I Get?
After learning how to sue the NHS, you may wonder how much compensation you could get. If your claim against the NHS is successful, your medical negligence compensation may comprise two heads:
- General Damages: This head includes compensation for your physical and psychological injuries caused by the medical negligence.
- Special Damages: This head includes compensation for the financial losses incurred due to your injuries.
Your medical negligence solicitor or the person valuing your compensation will refer to the Judicial College guidelines (JCG) for your general damages. The JCG lists out various injuries and illnesses and the compensation range you could seek for them.
We’ve summarised some of the figures on medical negligence in the table below, barring the top row. You must note that the table only provides guidelines on compensation, and the JCG applies only to claims within England and Wales.
| Injury | Compensation Guidelines | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries and Special Damages | Up to £1,000,000+ | Settlements could compensate for multiple types of harm and related costs, such as nursing care and lost earnings. |
| Paralysis- Tetraplegia | £396,140 to £493,000 | The award considers pain, awareness and life expectancy. |
| Paralysis- Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 | The award considers level of independence, depression, age and life expectancy, sexual functioning and whether the claimant is in pain and to what extent. |
| Brain Damage- Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 | The claimant shows little to no environmental responses and has severe physical and cognitive disabilities. They require nursing on a full-time basis. |
| Brain Damage- Moderately Severe | £267,340 to £344,150 | The injured party suffers very serious disabilities with a substantial dependence on others. |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- Severe | £73,050 to £122,850 | The effects impact all aspects of the injured person's life badly and are expected to be permanent. |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- Moderately Severe | £28,250 to £73,050 | The claimant will suffer a significant disability for the foreseeable future, however, some recovery is possible with professional help. |
| Male Reproductive System- (c) | £52,490 to £108,310 | Impotence or significant sexual dysfunction in a person who already has children, or would not have had them. This is expected to be permanent. |
| Female Reproductive System- (c) | £68,440 to £87,070 | Infertility in a young person without children. There are no aggravating features or sexual dysfunction. |
| Spleen Injury- (a) | £25,380 to £32,090 | The loss of the spleen lead to a continuing risk of internal infection. |
Can I Claim Special Damages?
Very often, those who suffer due to medical negligence will also face financial losses. Special damages is the second head of compensation that can be claimed if you successfully claim general damages. This head of claim is extremely important as it reimburses out of pocket expenses and provides financial support for the future. Here are some of the special damages which you could claim:
- Medical expenses
- Changes made to your car or home due to a resulting disability
- Professional care or time devoted by a family member
- Loss of earnings and benefits
- Disability equipment and support
- Travel costs
For more clarity on calculating your clinical negligence compensation, reach out to us now.
Time Limits When Suing The NHS
After learning how to sue the NHS and the possible compensation payouts, let us discuss the time limit.
The Limitation Act 1980 provides 3 years to start a medical negligence claim. This time limit is calculated from the date of occurrence or knowledge (the date you realised, or should have done so, that medical negligence occurred). However, there are some exceptions to this time limit:
- There will be no time limit for those who suffered from medical negligence as a minor. Once the harmed party turns 18 and can make a claim, the time limit of three years will apply.
- If an individual doesn’t possess the mental capacity to claim, the time limit is suspended indefinitely. However, if the person regains their mental capacity, they’ll have three years to make their claim from that date.
Suing On Behalf Of Someone Else
In both the above cases, the individual’s loved ones can claim on their behalf by applying to become litigation friends. The court will make the appointment by determining the suitability according to the following criteria:
- Absence of conflict of interest
- Ability to make decisions fairly and competently
Contact our advisory team now to make a medical negligence compensation claim on behalf of your child.
Can Accident Claims Help Me?
Our medical negligence solicitors have years of experience dealing with NHS negligence claims. They’ll work hard to secure compensation for you.
Our clinical negligence solicitors offer No Win No Fee agreements. If you choose to claim with one of our solicitors, they’ll work on your case under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which means:
- You won’t have to pay your solicitor for their services while the claim is pending or if you lose your case. There also won’t be any solicitors’ fees at the start of the claim.
- If you receive compensation, your solicitor will subtract a certain percentage from it, known as the success fee.
- There is a legal cap on the success fee that can be charged to ensure that you can retain most of your compensation.
Get In Touch
To get connected to our No Win No Fee solicitors for your NHS medical negligence claims, contact us now:
- Claim online through our form.
- Call 0800 073 8801.
- Reach one of our advisors directly through live chat.
Learn More
Thank you for reading our guide on how to sue the NHS. You can read some more guides related to clinical negligence claims from our website:
- Our guide for claiming for paralysis after surgery.
- Information on X-ray negligence.
- Details on ambulance delay compensation.
Here are some additional resources for more information:
- Information on NHS Complaints Advocacy by VoiceAbility.
- Details on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from the government.
- Guidance to complain about healthcare service to the CQC.
