Medical Negligence UK 2025 — How to Make an NHS or Clinical Negligence Claim
Last reviewed: May 2025 — Information applies to England and Wales
How to make a clinical negligence claim against the NHS or private healthcare in England and Wales. Time limits, NHSLA, and No Win No Fee explained.
How to make a clinical negligence claim against the NHS or private healthcare in England and Wales. Time limits, NHSLA, and No Win No Fee explained.
What Is Medical Negligence?
Medical negligence — also called clinical negligence — occurs when a healthcare professional or NHS Trust provides treatment that falls below the standard of care expected of a reasonably competent practitioner in that specialty, and that breach of duty causes you harm. Medical negligence is a type of personal injury claim brought in the civil courts. The law is based on the three-stage test established in Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] and refined in Bolitho v City and Hackney HA [1997]: duty of care, breach of that duty, and causation of injury.
Common Types of Medical Negligence
Medical negligence claims arise across all areas of healthcare. The most common types include:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis — failure to identify or diagnose a condition in time, causing it to worsen (e.g., delayed cancer diagnosis, missed heart attack, undiagnosed sepsis)
- Surgical errors — wrong site surgery, leaving instruments inside a patient, damage to surrounding structures, or failure to obtain valid informed consent
- Medication errors — prescribing the wrong drug, wrong dose, or failure to check for contraindications or allergies
- Birth injuries — cerebral palsy caused by oxygen deprivation during labour, Erb's palsy from shoulder dystocia, or injuries caused by delayed C-section decisions
- Anaesthetic errors — awareness during surgery, allergic reactions, or overdose
- Failure to refer — a GP failing to refer a patient to a specialist in time, allowing a condition to progress
- Poor post-operative care — failure to monitor and respond to complications after surgery
The Standard of Care — The Bolam Test
A doctor or other healthcare professional is not negligent simply because their treatment did not achieve the desired outcome, or because another clinician might have treated you differently. The law requires only that the practitioner act in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical opinion. This means that if a respected body of practitioners would have done the same, there is no negligence — even if other practitioners would have acted differently. However, following Bolitho, the courts can reject medical opinion if it is not capable of withstanding logical analysis.
Proving Causation — The "But For" Test
Even if you can prove a breach of duty, you must also prove that the breach caused your injury. The standard test is: "but for" the defendant's negligence, would you have suffered the injury? This is often the most difficult part of a medical negligence claim. In cases of delayed diagnosis, you must show that earlier treatment would have led to a materially better outcome. In some cases involving multiple causes of harm, the courts apply modified causation rules (such as material contribution to harm).
Time Limits for Medical Negligence Claims
The time limit for bringing a medical negligence claim is three years from the date of the negligent act or — if later — the date of knowledge (when you knew or ought reasonably to have known that you had suffered a significant injury and that it was caused by negligent treatment). For children, the three-year period does not start until their 18th birthday, giving them until age 21. The courts have a discretion to extend the limitation period under section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980, but this discretion is not exercised generously.
What Compensation Can You Claim?
Medical negligence compensation (damages) falls into two categories:
General Damages
General damages compensate for pain, suffering, and loss of amenity (PSLA) — the impact of the injury on your quality of life. These are assessed by reference to the Judicial College Guidelines, which set out bracket ranges for different types and severities of injury. The figures are updated periodically.
Special Damages
Special damages compensate for financial losses caused by the negligence. These can be substantial and include: past and future loss of earnings, cost of private medical treatment and rehabilitation, care costs (whether provided professionally or by family members — even gratuitously provided care has a value in law), aids and equipment, adaptations to housing, and travel costs.
The NHS Complaints Procedure
Before bringing a legal claim, many patients first use the NHS complaints procedure. You can complain to the NHS Trust or GP practice directly. If you are not satisfied with the response, you can escalate to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). Complaining does not start or stop the legal time limit, but the complaints process can provide valuable information and documentation for a subsequent legal claim.
Finding a Medical Negligence Solicitor
Medical negligence cases are complex and expensive to run — they almost always require independent medical expert evidence. The vast majority of medical negligence solicitors work on a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), commonly known as "no win no fee." If you win, the solicitor takes a success fee (up to 25% of your damages in most cases); if you lose, you pay nothing (though you may need an insurance policy to cover the other side's costs). Look for a solicitor accredited by the Law Society's Clinical Negligence scheme or a member of AvMA (Action Against Medical Accidents).