This guide tells you how to sue a hospital for negligence if you have suffered avoidable harm due to substandard care in a hospital.
Firstly, we tell you the steps that are required when making a hospital negligence claim and how we can help make the claims process as straight forward for you as possible.
Following this, we discuss the medical negligence claims eligibility criteria as well as the time limit you have to begin legal proceedings. Then, we look at examples of how medical negligence could happen in a hospital setting due to negligent care.
Towards the end of this guide we discuss how much compensation could be given in a successful hospital negligence claim, plus what the benefits are of claiming compensation on a No Win No Fee basis.
Hospital Negligence
If you wish to sue a hospital for negligence, continue reading. Or, if you have any further questions, get in touch with our advisors. They can assess your case (free of charge or obligations) and tell you whether you can connect with our specialist hospital negligence solicitors. Here is how you can get in touch:
- Call 0800 073 8801.
- Fill in your details on our start a claim page.
- Talk live with an online claims advisor using our on-screen chat feature.
Select A Section
- How To Sue A Hospital For Negligence
- When Could You Sue A Hospital
- Types Of Hospital Negligence Claims
- How Much Could You Sue A Hospital For Negligence For?
- Can You Sue With Medical Negligence Solicitors On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Discover More About Medical Negligence Claims
How To Sue A Hospital For Negligence
If you are wondering whether you have an eligible medical negligence claim, you could confirm the eligibility of your claim with our advisors. What classifies as medical negligence is when a patient suffers harm that could have been avoided (avoidable harm) due to medical professionals or healthcare providers breaching the duty of care which they owed to that patient. This is also called clinical negligence.
If you do have an eligible hospital negligence claim and get connected with one of our hospital negligence solicitors, it is advised to start the claims process as soon as possible.
While medical negligence solicitors often take care of a lot of the hospital negligence claims process for you, it is beneficial to collect as much evidence as you can to prove your hospital negligence claim. Although, if you are struggling with this, there’s no need to worry, since your solicitor will also collect evidence as part of their service.
Important evidence to try and collect include:
- Keeping a record of the financial losses that your avoidable harm has cost you.
- Requesting medical records from when you received negligent hospital treatment.
- Seeking further medical care that shows the severity of your avoidable harm. If the effects of your avoidable harm are visible, take pictures.
- Keep a diary of the symptoms you are suffering from your avoidable harm.
- Gather witness statements if anyone was there with you in the hospital when a medical professional breached their duty of care towards you.
The second section now discusses what a medical professional’s or healthcare provider’s duty of care is and who is eligible to sue a hospital for negligence and claim hospital negligence compensation.
When Could You Sue A Hospital
Every medical professional or healthcare provider owes a duty of care towards the patients that they treat. Fulfilling this duty of care requires providing the correct standard of care. If a practitioner or healthcare provider provides a standard of care that does not meet the minimum expectation, this could cause the patient to suffer harm that they wouldn’t have otherwise suffered. If this is the case, then this is the grounds for a medical negligence claim.
In simpler terms, here are the eligibility criteria that must be proven if you wish to sue a hospital for negligence:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- This medical professional did not meet this duty of care.
- From this, you sustained avoidable harm.
You can confirm the eligibility of your hospital negligence claim with our team since not all cases of a practitioner or healthcare provider breaching their duty of care will lead to a claim. And, not all cases of a patient suffering harm will be due to a medical professional falling below the minimum standard of care. For example, a cancer patient may suffer harmful side effects from chemotherapy, but receiving that chemotherapy is needed as part of their medical treatment.
Contact our team to see whether you may be able to claim compensation today for hospital negligence.
How Long Do You Have To Sue A Hospital For Negligence?
You must begin making your hospital negligence claim within the medical negligence claims time limit, as legislated by the Limitation Act 1980. Those looking to initiate court proceedings for a medical negligence claim legally have 3 years to do so. This time limit begins from either:
- The date you experienced medical negligence.
- The date you realised that you experienced medical negligence.
Hospital Negligence Claim Time Limits
There are also a couple of cases where the time limit will be paused. For those who have limited mental capacity or for minors, there are different time limits. Ask our team to learn what these exceptions are.
Types Of Hospital Negligence Claims
There are different ways hospital negligence could occur. Here are just a few examples of how a hospital could potentially breach its duty of care and cause avoidable harm to a patient:
- Acquiring a hospital infection. For example, there are poor hygiene standards when you are having surgery in the hospital. Therefore, you acquire an MRSA infection.
- An allergic reaction from being given the wrong medication. For example, you have disclosed your allergy to penicillin. Despite your allergy being on your medical records, you are prescribed penicillin in a hospital. This causes you to experience anaphylaxis.
- Surgical errors. For example, your right arm is amputated rather than your left arm. This is known as wrong site surgery.
- If a doctor or nurse makes an error while a patient is being kept or moved on a bed, this may lead to an accident where the patient falls out of the bed.
Surgical Error
How Much Could You Sue A Hospital For Negligence For?
If you successfully sue a hospital for medical negligence, there are potentially two heads of claim which you could be awarded.
General damages, the first head of claim, compensate for the physical and mental effects of the avoidable harm. This includes the considerations of:
- Your pain severity.
- How your quality of life has gotten worse.
- The length of time of your recovery.
- The extent of your treatment.
A medical assessment conducted produces a medical report and is referred to alongside the Judicial College Guideline (JCG). These guidelines have different guideline compensation brackets for different injuries.
Guideline Compensation Table
There is no definite answer to how much compensation you could receive for a hospital negligence claim, because all hospital negligence cases are unique. But, we have included in this table different types of harm which you may have suffered due to negligent care in a hospital. The injuries and guideline compensation brackets are from the JCG (the top figure is the only one not in the JCG).
| Injury | Severity | Guideline compensation brackets | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple types of serious harm plus financial losses | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ | Compensation for experiencing multiple types of serious harm plus the finances that the harm has incurred. For example, home or car adaptations. |
| Brain damage | Very severe (a) | £282,010 to £403,990 | This bracket will also include cases involving ‘locked in’ syndrome with substantially restricted life expectancy. |
| Moderately severe (b) | £219,070 to £282,010 | Disabilities may be physical, for example, limb paralysis, or cognitive, with marked impairment of intellect and personality. | |
| Moderate (c) (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 | There will be a moderate or severe intellectual deficit, effect on senses such as speech and sight, and personality change. | |
| Amputation of arms | Loss of one arm (b) (i) | Not less than £137,160 | Loss of one arm at the shoulder. |
| Loss of one arm (b) (ii) | £109,650 to £130,930 | Loss of one arm between the shoulder and elbow. | |
| Kidney | Serious and permanent damage or loss (a) | £169,400 to £210,400 | To both kidneys. |
| Significant future risk or other total loss (b) | Up to £63,980 | The risk of developing a urinary tract infection (UTI) or loss of natural kidney function. | |
| Bowels | Total Loss of Function | Up to £150,110 | Total loss of natural function and dependence on colostomy. |
| Chest | Total removal of one lung and/or serious heart damage. | £100,670 to £150,110 | With serious and prolonged pain and suffering. |
Special Damages
Special damages, the second head of claim, make up the financial losses of the avoidable harm. Here are some financial losses that your avoidable harm could lead you to have:
- Lost wages from missing work due to your recovery.
- Home or car adaptations if the effects of your avoidable harm are long-lasting.
- Medication costs, such as over-the-counter pain relief.
However, you will need proof of the financial losses that your avoidable harm has caused you, since special damages are not always awarded in successful medical negligence claims. Thus, keep any receipts, bank statements, payslips, invoices, etc., that can support your special damages.
Learn more about what effects of your avoidable harm are considered when claiming compensation for hospital negligence.
Can You Sue With Medical Negligence Solicitors On A No Win No Fee Basis?
Once connected with our hospital negligence solicitors, you will be offered a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) for them to represent you in your hospital negligence claim. A CFA is a No Win No Fee type of contract.
For your solicitor’s services, you will not need to pay any fees:
- Before the clinical negligence claims process.
- Throughout the entire clinical negligence claims process.
- If your clinical negligence claim fails.
Alternatively, if your claim is successful, there will be a small percentage withdrawn from your medical negligence compensation. This percentage is called the success fee. To ensure that you are still awarded the majority of the decided settlement, there is a legal cap to the percentage of the success fee.
Speak To An Expert About Your Claim
Our hospital negligence solicitors have expertise in all areas to represent your hospital negligence compensation claim to the best standard possible. Contact us today to find out whether you can sue a hospital for negligence:
- Call 0800 073 8801.
- Fill in your details on our start a claim page.
- Talk live with an online claims advisor using our on-screen chat feature.
Make A Medical Negligence Claim
Discover More About Medical Negligence Claims
If you have found this guide helpful, you may find some of our other guides helpful too:
Our guides:
- Learn how to make a medical negligence claim if you had delays in treatment which caused you avoidable harm.
- Find out what the Bolam test is and how it can apply to medical negligence claims.
- See how much compensation could be awarded for a medical misdiagnosis.
External material that may also be useful:
- General Medical Council (GMC) – patient guide and materials about what level of care to expect from your doctor.
- Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – learn about a nurse’s duty of care.
- Gov.UK – if you are having time off work, then see if you can receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).
Thank you for reaching the end of our guide on how to sue a hospital for negligence. All of our services are live 24/7 for your support.