You trust healthcare professionals with some of the biggest moments in your life. When that trust is broken by substandard care — a missed diagnosis, a surgical error, a birth injury, a medication mistake — the harm can be serious and lasting. Medical negligence law exists to put you, as far as money can, back in the position you'd have been in if that care had been competent.
You trust healthcare professionals with some of the biggest moments in your life. When that trust is broken by substandard care — a missed diagnosis, a surgical error, a birth injury, a medication mistake — the harm can be serious and lasting. Medical negligence law exists to put you, as far as money can, back in the position you'd have been in if that care had been competent.
This page walks you through how medical negligence (or 'clinical negligence') claims work in the UK: what you have to prove, who the claim is against, how the NHS Resolution process runs, what you could be awarded, and how long you have to bring a claim. Every case we take on is run on a no win, no fee basis.
What is medical negligence?
Medical negligence — known in English law as 'clinical negligence' — is substandard care by a healthcare professional that causes avoidable harm to a patient. A poor outcome on its own is not negligence. Medicine is uncertain, and many conditions get worse despite perfectly good treatment. What the law looks for is a specific failing by the clinician, and a specific injury that failing caused.
To win a medical negligence claim, two separate things have to be proved — and both are equally important.
The two-part legal test: breach of duty AND causation
1. Breach of duty — was the care below the standard reasonably expected?
The standard was set in Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] 1 WLR 582: a doctor is not negligent if their conduct would be supported by a responsible body of competent medical opinion in the same specialty. That means the same actions taken by another competent doctor in the same situation wouldn't be negligent.
Bolitho v City and Hackney Health Authority [1997] UKHL 46 then added an important qualifier: even if a body of opinion supports the clinician, the court can still find the care negligent if that opinion isn't logically defensible.
In consent cases — where the allegation is that a patient wasn't properly warned of risks — the test is now Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11: the clinician must take reasonable care to ensure the patient is aware of material risks and reasonable alternative treatments.
2. Causation — did that breach cause the harm?
Causation is the harder hurdle, and the reason many 'this feels wrong' stories don't turn into winnable claims. You have to show, on the balance of probabilities, that the negligent act or omission actually caused or materially contributed to the specific injury you're claiming for — as opposed to the underlying condition doing so anyway.
For example: a GP misses a cancer diagnosis for six months. That is almost certainly a breach of duty. The claim only succeeds on causation if, at the earlier point it should have been diagnosed, treatment would have made a material difference to the outcome. If the cancer would have progressed the same way regardless, there's a breach but not a compensable injury.
When you might have a medical negligence claim
We see the same categories of claim come through again and again — all of them have dedicated pages on this site with much more detail. The short list is:
Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
Including cancer, sepsis, stroke, heart attack, meningitis, DVT, appendicitis and fractures. The law's focus is on what would have happened with correct, timely diagnosis. See misdiagnosis claims.
Surgical errors
Retained instruments, wrong-site surgery, nerve damage, bowel perforation, post-operative infection. See surgical error claims.
Birth injuries
Injuries to mother or baby caused by substandard maternity care — including cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, third or fourth-degree perineal tears, delayed caesarean. Birth injury claims are some of the highest-value clinical negligence claims because lifetime care costs dominate the award. See birth injury claims.
GP negligence
Failure to refer, mis-prescription, missed red-flag symptoms, failure to review test results, failure to call patients back. See GP negligence claims.
Hospital negligence
Ward-level failings: falls, pressure ulcers, medication errors, inadequate monitoring, nursing negligence. See hospital negligence claims.
Dental negligence
Failure to diagnose periodontal disease or oral cancer, nerve injury during extractions, poor implant placement, avoidable tooth loss. See dental negligence claims.
Cosmetic surgery claims
Private cosmetic procedures gone wrong — botched breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, liposuction, dermal fillers. Claims are against the private provider (or the practitioner's insurer), not the NHS. See cosmetic surgery claims.
NHS negligence vs private negligence — the practical difference
For the legal test, nothing changes — it's the same Bolam/Bolitho/Montgomery analysis whether the care was in an NHS trust or a private hospital.
Where it differs is in who defends the claim. NHS claims in England go through NHS Resolution, which handles clinical negligence claims on behalf of NHS trusts under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). In Wales, claims against the health service are handled by the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership Legal & Risk Services. Scotland uses the Central Legal Office of the Scottish Government. Private claims are defended by the clinician's indemnifier — typically the Medical Defence Union, the Medical Protection Society, or the provider's commercial insurer.
A legal claim is not the same as an NHS complaint. The NHS complaints procedure (overseen ultimately by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman) can get you answers, an apology, and changes in practice — but it cannot award compensation. For compensation, you need a civil claim.
How much compensation can you receive?
Every clinical negligence award is built from general damages (the injury itself, valued under the Judicial College Guidelines 17th edition, April 2024) and special damages (the financial losses). Special damages are often very large in medical negligence cases because the harm is typically long-term.
Illustrative general-damages ranges from the JCG 17th edition:
- Moderate brain injury: ~£52,550 - £267,340
In serious cases, future-loss items typically dwarf general damages: lifetime care, case management, accommodation adaptation, loss of earnings, private treatment, specialist equipment. Total settlements in serious birth injury claims regularly exceed £10 million over the claimant's lifetime, usually paid as a lump sum plus a periodical payment order. For a deeper walkthrough, see how much compensation.
The medical negligence claim process — step by step
- Free eligibility review. We take a detailed account from you, form an initial view on breach and causation, and flag the time limit.
For the full personal-injury-side process, see our guide to the claims process. Where liability is admitted early in serious cases, interim payments can fund rehab, adaptations and case management before final settlement.
How long do I have? Time limits for medical negligence
Three years from the date of the negligent act — or from the 'date of knowledge' under s.14 of the Limitation Act 1980, which is when you first knew (or should have known) that your injury was significant and caused by the treatment in question. The 'date of knowledge' rule matters a lot in clinical negligence, because many injuries only become apparent months or years after the event.
For children, the three-year clock doesn't start until their 18th birthday — so they can claim up to 21. For protected parties (those lacking mental capacity), there is no time limit while capacity is absent. CICA is a separate scheme and doesn't apply to clinical negligence. See the time limits guide.
How is it funded? No win, no fee
Medical negligence claims are complex and medical experts are expensive — which is exactly why no win, no fee matters. Every claim we take on is run on a Conditional Fee Agreement. No upfront fees, no hourly bills. If the claim wins, a success fee (capped at 25% of general damages and past losses) is deducted from the settlement. If it fails, you pay nothing. Full breakdown in no win no fee explained.
Why this category is different — and what we do about it
- Expert evidence is everything. We instruct the right specialist first time, and we read the records before we instruct.
