This guide examines who could be eligible to sue a hospital for negligence. We have provided information on the duty of care owed by medical professionals to their patients, and how avoidable harm can be caused when this duty is not met, including some example scenarios to illustrate these points.
You will also see an explanation of how medical negligence compensation figures are reached and awarded under the two different heads of loss that address the different ways you have been impacted.
At the end of this guide is a section on the type of No Win No Fee agreement that our panel of dedicated medical negligence solicitors can offer potential claimants, and how you can benefit when beginning your claim under such a contract.
To find out more about the medical negligence claims process, or to get a free consultation regarding the validity of your potential claim, contact our advisors today using the contact information provided here:
- Call us on 0333 000 0729.
- You can also contact us through our website.
- Alternatively, click the live chat button at the bottom of your screen.
Select A Section
- How Do I Sue A Hospital For Negligence?
- What Is A Hospital Negligence Claim?
- What Types Of Hospital Negligence Could You Sue For?
- Hospital Negligence Compensation Payouts
- Why Choose Legal Helpline To Sue A Hospital For Negligence?
- Further Medical Negligence Claim Resources
How Do I Sue A Hospital For Negligence?
In order to sue a hospital for negligence, you will need to demonstrate that you have experienced avoidable harm as a result of a medical professional failing to uphold their duty of care. We have detailed some of the steps you could take to demonstrate this here:
- Seek proper medical care for the avoidable harm you experienced due to the medical professional not providing the expected standard of care.
- Request copies of your medical records as proof the correct standard of care was not met during your initial treatment. You can also provide copies of the treatment you later needed due to the medical negligence.
- Maintain a record of monetary losses and costs you incurred as a result of the harm you suffered.
- Keep hold of the contact details of anyone who attended any appointments with you. Witness statements can be taken from them at a later stage.
- Seek legal representation. A solicitor could provide a range of support, including helping you gather evidence, communicating with your healthcare provider’s legal representatives, and ensuring any claim you are considering is brought forward within the relevant time limit.
For a free assessment of your eligibility, talk to one of our advisors. If eligible, one of the specialist hospital negligence solicitors from our panel of experts could take on your case and support you throughout the claims process.
What Is A Hospital Negligence Claim?
Medical negligence or clinical negligence occurs when a medical professional causes their patient avoidable harm by failing to provide care that meets the correct standard. The duty of care owed in a both public and private healthcare settings applies to all medical professionals.
You may be eligible to sue a hospital for negligence if you can demonstrate that you experienced avoidable harm following a breach of this duty of care. Avoidable harm refers to any harm caused that you would not have experienced had you been provided with the correct standard of care to begin with.
A medical negligence claim is made against the healthcare provider, not the medical professional themselves. So if you were being treated by a nurse, doctor, or surgeon and their errors caused you harm, you would claim against the hospital itself.
We will examine how the care provided at a hospital could fail to meet the correct standard later on in the guide. For more information, or to get a free assessment of your eligibility to begin a medical negligence claim, contact our advisory team today.
How Long Do You Have To Sue A Hospital For Negligence?
A typical medical negligence claim must be made within 3 years as established by the Limitation Act 1980. This can be counted from the day medical negligence occurred or from the date of knowledge, where you would have been reasonably first expected to connect the avoidable harm you suffered with the substandard care provided.
Now, there are exceptions that can apply to this general time limit. In cases where the patient was a minor, the time limit is paused until their 18th birthday, giving them until they turn 21 to start a claim. If the patient lacks sufficient mental capacity to claim on their own behalf, then the time limit is paused indefinitely.
In cases such as these, a litigation friend could be appointed by the court to act on the patient’s behalf and begin the claim sooner. You can learn more about the hospital negligence claim time limit and any exceptions that may apply to your potential compensation claim by speaking to our advisors. The team is available at any time using the contact information given above.
What Types Of Hospital Negligence Could You Sue For?
Hospitals provide a broad range of healthcare services to many different patients, from routine scans to major surgeries. If errors occur during the provision of this healthcare, patients could suffer serious harm. We have outlined a few possible scenarios of hospital negligence here:
- Surgical errors: Mistakes can be made during surgery such as operating on the wrong leg, known as wrong site surgery, or a surgical error leading to foreign object retention, where a surgical instrument has been left inside the patient’s body.
- Medication errors: Giving the wrong dosage of medication or mixing up a patient’s medication with a different patient’s.
- Birth injuries: Mistakes during childbirth can result in birth injuries being caused to both the mother and the baby. For example, a failure by a midwife to monitor a baby’s oxygen levels leading to them developing cerebral palsy. Or the incorrect use of forceps causing harm to the mother.
- Misdiagnosis: Misinterpreting scan results or failing to refer patients for further tests can result in medical conditions going undiagnosed or being diagnosed as something completely different. This can then lead to delayed treatment resulting in the condition worsening.
- Unhygienic practices: Hospitals should maintain high standards of hygiene and cleanliness. Failures to change patients’ bandages or bed linens or to move them regularly if they have mobility issues can result in bed sores or outbreaks of hospital acquired infections such as MRSA.
This section is intended to provide an overview, not a complete list of every instance of medical negligence that could occur in a hospital. To find out how to sue a hospital for negligence in your particular circumstances, talk to our advisors using the contact information provided below.
Hospital Negligence Compensation Payouts
If you successfully sue a hospital for negligence, compensation can be awarded under two different heads of loss. The physical and psychological pain and suffering you experienced due to medical negligence will be compensated under general damages. Certain financial losses resulting from medical negligence may be compensated under special damages.
As we mentioned above, one of the many tasks a solicitor from our panel could support you with is the calculation of a potential compensation figure for the avoidable harm you suffered. The legal team assigned this task can make reference to your medical evidence, in conjunction with the Guidelines from the Judicial College. Commonly referred to as the JCG, this detailed publication contains guideline compensation amounts for many different types of harm. We have used some of these figures in our table here.
Compensation Table
We would like to emphasise that the top entry in this table is not a JCG bracket and that this information has been provided for guidance purposes only. Payouts for clinical negligence claims can vary depending on the unique circumstances of your case.
| Type of Harm | Severity | Guideline Compensation Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple very severe illnesses and/or injuries with monetary expenses | Very Severe | Up to £1,000,000 and above | The patient will have experienced multiple illnesses and/or injuries of a very severe nature and incurred substantial financial losses such as lost income, medical bills, travel expenses and care costs. |
| Injuries Involving Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £324,600 to £403,990 | Paralysis of the upper and lower extremities. A case of tetraplegia where the affected person has full awareness, is not in any pain and has a life expectancy of at least 25 years will be awarded in the mid-range of this bracket. |
| Brain Damage | Moderately Severe (b) | £219,070 to £282,010 | Very serious disablement where there is a substantial dependence on others, requiring constant professional care. |
| Female Reproductive System | Infertility with significant complications (a) | £114,900 to £170,280 | Infertility, whether by disease or injury, with aggravating features such as sexual dysfunction, pain and scarring, and psychological impacts. The upper end of the bracket will be awarded for cases involving significant medical complications, such as failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy. |
| Chest Injuries | Total Removal of One Lung and/or Serious Heart Damage (a) | £100,670 to £150,110 | As well as significant organ damage, there will be prolonged pain and suffering, as well as permanent significant scarring. |
| Lung Disease | Serious Disability (a) | £100,670 to £135,920 | Cases involving a young person where there is a probability of progressive worsening in their condition and premature death. |
| Bowels | Faecal Urgency and Passive Incontinence (c) | In the region of £79,920 | Passive incontinence and faecal urgency persisting after surgery causing distress and embarrassment. |
| Digestive System | Illness/Damage from Non-Traumatic Injury (a) (i) | £38,430 to £52,500 | Severe toxicosis resulting in serious acute pain, vomiting, and fever. Hospital admission is required for some days or weeks. |
Special Damages
As mentioned, you could receive compensation for certain financial losses under special damages. This head of loss can only be awarded if general damages are awarded. While compensation for the avoidable harm you experienced is important, and can be substantial, the ongoing impacts of that harm can result in significant monetary expenses. As such, how much compensation you receive from special damages can often be higher than the figure awarded for general damages.
We have provided some examples here:
- You could be entitled to compensation for your loss of earnings if the harm you experienced has left you unable to work.
- The cost of domestic care and support with preparing meals, cleaning or washing yourself if you are unable to safely conduct these tasks on your own can be compensated.
- If you are able to return to work but have been medically advised to not drive, you could be reimbursed for the cost of travel.
- The cost of modifications to your home such as access ramps, an accessible shower or a stair lift could also be awarded as part of your compensation payout.
If you instruct a solicitor to represent you, you can discuss any expenditures relating to the harm you have experienced with them. They can ensure you have the correct evidence to substantiate your claim for monetary losses and that these costs are reflected in your payout.
Remember to keep hold of any documents (your payslips, travel tickets, receipts, other bills) that show you incurred financial losses.
This section is intended as guidance only, not to guarantee a compensation figure. For a more personalised estimate of what your potential claim could be worth, talk to our advisors today using the contact information given below.
Why Choose Legal Helpline To Sue A Hospital For Negligence?
The advisory team at Legal Helpline can assess your eligibility to sue a hospital for negligence. If our advisors decide your potential claim is valid, then you could be put in touch with one of the medical negligence experts from our panel of highly experienced solicitors.
The solicitors from our panel can offer their services under a type of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA offers potential claimants some notable protections as opposed to other contracts. So with a CFA, there will be no upfront fee for the solicitor to begin work on your claim or during the actual claims process, in most cases. You will also not be paying any fees for this work should the solicitor lose the claim.
If your claim is a success, you will receive a medical negligence compensation payout. A legally capped percentage of this compensation will be taken by the solicitor as their success fee. The cap means claimants who win their cases keep the majority of any compensation payout they receive.
To find out more about the hospital negligence claims process, or to get a free consultation regarding the validity of your potential claim, contact our advisors today using the contact information provided here:
- Call us on 0333 000 0729.
- You can also contact us through our website.
- Alternatively, click the live chat button at the bottom of your screen.
Further Medical Negligence Claim Resources
You can see more of our medical negligence claims guides by following these links:
- Learn what a potential claim for X-ray negligence could be worth with this guide.
- Find out more about the eligibility criteria to begin a wrongful death medical negligence claim here.
- Read this guide on how to claim compensation after a head and neck cancer misdiagnosis caused you avoidable harm.
We have also provided some external resources for additional guidance:
- You can learn more about the work of the General Medical Council, the professional regulator for doctors in the UK, on their website.
- The NHS has provided this guidance on when to call 999 following an incident.
- You be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay if you need to take time of work to recover. Find out more on the Government website.
Thank you for reading this guide on how to sue a hospital for negligence. To learn more about the medical negligence claims process or to get a free assessment of your eligibility to claim, contact our team today.
