Last Updated On 8th January 2026. If you’ve received substandard medical care, you may be questioning whether you could be eligible to make a claim. You may also be wondering, ‘What is classed as medical negligence in the UK?’ and, ‘Have I experienced medical negligence myself?’ For instance, medical negligence typically occurs when a healthcare professional provides substandard treatment, resulting in physical and/or mental harm. As such, this guide shares examples of what circumstances are classed as medical negligence, and how you could make your own compensation claim.
At Legal Expert, our advisors work around the clock to answer questions from people just like you. Through their free services, you could enjoy an initial case consultation to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your claim. Following this, you could be connected with one of our expert No Win No Fee solicitors. As medical negligence claim specialists, our solicitors are committed to helping you from start to finish.
[link_btns]
What You Need To Know About Medical Negligence Claims
- Can I make a medical negligence claim? Yes, you could make a medical negligence claim if you can demonstrate that you suffered harm that was avoidable due to a healthcare professional’s negligence.
- What are some examples of medical negligence? Examples of medical negligence can include misdiagnoses, surgical errors, prescription mistakes and failures to refer for further testing.
- How much compensation could I receive by making a medical negligence claim? The amount of compensation you could receive will depend on the severity of your harm, your recovery period, the impact on your quality of life and any financial losses.
- Can I claim for PTSD caused by medical negligence? Yes, PTSD is classed as mental harm, and can therefore be included as part of your compensation pay-out.
- Can I start a No Win No Fee medical negligence claim? Yes, our solicitors offer No Win No Fee agreements for medical negligence claims.
What Is Classed As Medical Negligence In The UK?
So, what is classed as medical negligence in the UK? Medical negligence is when a patient suffers avoidable harm due to a medical professional failing to adhere to their duty of care.
As soon as you seek medical care and treatment, you are instantly owed a duty of care by the healthcare professional treating you. This also applies regardless of the medical setting they work in, whether that is a hospital, pharmacy or GP surgery. They must adhere to their duty of care by providing treatment and care that at least meets the minimum expectation. If the treatment they provide falls below this expected standard, this is considered a breach of their duty of care.
To be able to make a valid medical negligence claim, your case needs to meet all of the following criteria:
- A healthcare professional owed a duty of care to you.
- The healthcare professional treating you breached their duty of care. For example, they failed to properly assess and consider all of the symptoms you described to them.
- Due to this breach of duty, you harm that could’ve been avoided.
However, instances may occur whereby you suffer harm but the medical professional treating you did not breach the duty of care. Under these circumstances, you might not be eligible to receive compensation.
To see whether you may have an eligible medical negligence claim, you can contact one of the friendly advisors on our team for a free case assessment.
What Are The Different Types Of Medical Negligence?
Medical negligence could occur in various ways. Some examples could include:
- Diagnostic errors, such as misdiagnosis. For instance, you have clear symptoms of an ankle fracture, but a doctor fails to refer you for an X-ray scan. They instead misdiagnose your fracture as a sprain. You could cause further damage to your ankle by putting pressure on it.
- Surgical errors. For instance, you are having vitrectomy surgery as part of your eye treatment. However, the ophthalmologist uses the incorrect equipment during the surgical procedure and damages your eye. This error could lead to loss of sight and severe facial scarring.
- Prescription or medication errors. For instance, your GP gives you a medication that contains penicillin, which you are allergic to. The GP was aware of your allergy as it was noted on your medical records. Because of this, you suffer an allergic reaction and anaphylaxis.
These are only a few examples. If you have suffered harm that you otherwise wouldn’t have if a medical professional adhered to their duty of care, please feel free to contact us at a time that suits you. We can answer any questions regarding what is classed as medical negligence in the UK and whether you might be eligible for compensation.
How Do You Prove A Claim For Medical Negligence?
Evidence is essential in medical negligence claims because you must prove how a medical professional failed to adequately treat you and what avoidable harm this caused you to suffer.
Examples of evidence that could be gathered to support a medical negligence claim include:
- A copy of your medical records if you have sought medical attention for your avoidable harm. This can show how avoidable harm has affected you.
- Any letters confirming medical appointments with the medical professional that breached their duty of care.
- Witness contact details if anyone came with you and saw that substandard care was given.
- Photographs of any visible effects of your avoidable harm.
- Copies of any X-ray scans, test results or your prescriptions.
If one of our expert solicitors works with you on your potential medical negligence case, they can help you collect evidence as part of the services that they offer.
You can contact us to learn more about how our solicitors could help you prove medical negligence. They can also help answer any questions you may still have, such as ‘What is classed as medical negligence in the UK?’ and ‘When do I know if I have a valid claim?’.
What Amount Of Medical Negligence Compensation Could Be Claimed?
For successful medical negligence cases, the amount of compensation that could be awarded depends on the specific circumstances affecting each individual case. However, medical negligence payouts for successful claims could consist of general and special damages.
General damages are an award compensating the physical and psychological impacts of the medical negligence. This award takes into consideration:
- The severity of the harm experienced.
- Loss of amenity, otherwise known as loss of enjoyment.
- How long it should take to recover from the avoidable harm.
At some point during the medical negligence claims process, you might be invited to undergo an independent assessment, where a medical expert can evaluate your avoidable harm. The reports from this can be used along with the compensation guidelines from the Judicial College (JCG) when valuing your claim for general damages. The JCG is a publication with different guideline compensation figures for numerous types of physical and psychological harm.
Compensation Table
We have taken some types of harm and their compensation guidelines from the JCG to create the following table. Only the very first row is not in the JCG. Please only use this table for guidance purposes.
| Type of harm | Severity | Guideline award figures |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple types of serious harm with special damages | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain damage | Very severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderately severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 | |
| Kidney | Permanent and serious damage or loss (a) | £206,730 to £256,780 |
| Loss of one kidney (c) | £37,550 to £54,760 | |
| Bowels | Double incontinence (a) | Up to £224,790 |
| Sight | Loss of sight in one eye and reduced vision in the other eye (c) (i) | £117,150 to £219,400 |
| Facial scarring | Very severe scarring (a) | £36,340 to £118,790 |
| Digestive System | Damage or illness from non-traumatic-injury (b) (i) | £46,900 to £64,070 |
Other Ways You Could Be Compensated?
Special damages are an award compensating the financial impacts of the medical negligence. This award takes into consideration any:
- Medical expenses, such as prescription costs.
- Loss of earnings if you needed time off work to recover.
- Professional care costs.
Unlike general damages, which are always awarded in medical negligence claims with successful outcomes, special damages are not. For this reason, you should keep evidence of any financial losses you wish to claim for in the form of receipts, payslips, invoices and bank statements, for example.
Our team can tell you more about how compensation for successful medical negligence claims are calculated. You can also contact them today to receive a free valuation for your potential case.
[link_btns]
How Long Does It Take To Claim Medical Negligence Compensation?
The amount of time it could take to settle a UK medical negligence claim varies from case to case. This is because legal professionals must take the time to consider the details of your specific compensation claim. Each case comes with its own set of unique circumstances, meaning that there is no set time frame for how long your claim will take.
The factors that may influence the time scale of your case include:
- Whether the defending party admits liability for the harm you suffered
- Whether or not your claim must go to court
- The availability of the court schedule at the time of claiming
- How severe the harm is- this may be more significant if the unnecessary harm continues to affect you (for example, you may not be able to return to work)
- The extent of the financial impact that you seek to recover under special damages
- The amount and type of evidence that you can provide to support your case
If you have any questions about how long it could take to settle your medical negligence claim, you can reach out to our team of advisors. All advice is offered without any pressure to work with one of our solicitors afterwards. You can reach out with any general enquiries you may have, such as ‘what is classed as medical negligence in the UK?’.
How Do You Claim For Clinical Negligence?
First, you should get in touch with us to confirm whether you have an eligible medical negligence compensation claim. If you do, you can be connected with one of our expert medical negligence solicitors. Our solicitors have years of experience working on various types of medical negligence claims and could help you with:
- Gathering evidence to support your case.
- Communicating with the other party.
- Ensuring your claim is filed on time.
- Negotiating your compensation.
Furthermore, our solicitors usually offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Some examples of how you would benefit from having your claim represented under a CFA:
- You will not pay any upfront charges for the work your solicitor does on your case.
- You will not pay any ongoing charges for the services provided by your solicitor.
- If your claim fails, you will not be charged at all for your solicitor’s work.
- If you have a successful medical negligence claim, you will have a success fee taken from your monetary compensation. A success fee is a small percentage that is capped by law.
Contact Us
Contact us to see whether one of our experienced medical negligence solicitors can help you through the compensation claims process. Our friendly team of advisors can also offer you free advice and help if you are still unsure what is classed as medical negligence in the UK.
You can contact our team today via any of the following methods:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Fill out our ‘contact us’ form.
- Chat in our live support box.
Find Out More About Clinical Negligence Claims
Look through our other guides:
- How to make a private hospital medical negligence claim.
- See whether you can make a medical negligence claim for delays in treatment.
- Find out when you could claim for GP negligence with this useful guide.
Additionally, these external resources may also be helpful:
- General Medical Council (GMC) – what good medical practice is expected in a doctor’s duty of care.
- Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – what is involved in a nurse’s duty of care.
- NHS – how to complain to the NHS if you are not satisfied with any NHS care you have received.
We hope that this guide on what is classed as medical negligence in the UK has helped you. If you have any further questions or would like to see whether you may have a valid claim, you can contact our advisors.