NHS Negligence Claim UK: How to Sue for Compensation

Overview

A clinical negligence claim (sometimes called medical negligence) is a civil claim for compensation brought against a healthcare provider whose care has fallen below an acceptable standard and caused harm as a result. When the treatment was provided by the NHS in England, the claim is handled on behalf of the relevant trust by NHS Resolution, the body that manages clinical negligence litigation for the health service.

In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, separate bodies handle equivalent claims. Two legal tests must be satisfied. The first is breach of duty: the clinician or trust failed to provide care at the standard a reasonably competent professional in that field would have provided.

The second is causation: that failure actually caused the injury, loss or worsened outcome you are complaining about. Both elements need to be proved, usually with the help of independent medical expert evidence. A poor outcome on its own, even a tragic one, is not enough. If the same harm would likely have happened with competent care, a claim will usually fail.

Key steps

1. Raise concerns through the NHS complaints procedure. Before jumping to litigation, it is often worth using the formal NHS complaints process or PALS (the Patient Advice and Liaison Service). This can produce an explanation, an apology, or changes to practice, and the trust's written response often becomes useful background material if you later pursue a claim.
2. Collect your records and a timeline. Request copies of your medical records from the GP surgery, hospital or trust involved. You have a right of access under data protection law. Write a clear chronology of what happened, including dates of appointments, treatments, symptoms and anything you were told. Keep receipts for any costs you have incurred.
3. Get an early view from a specialist. Clinical negligence is a technical area and not every solicitor handles it. Speak to a firm or adviser with experience in NHS claims. Many offer an initial assessment and work on a conditional fee (no win, no fee) basis if the case looks viable. They will want to see whether both breach and causation are realistically arguable.
4. Obtain independent expert evidence. Your legal team will instruct medical experts in the relevant specialty to report on whether the care fell below standard and whether that failing caused your injury. These reports are central to the case. Without supportive expert opinion on both limbs of the test, a claim is unlikely to progress.
5. Letter of claim, response and negotiation. Your solicitor sends a formal letter of claim to NHS Resolution setting out the allegations and the injuries claimed. The NHS then has a set period to investigate and respond, either admitting liability, denying it, or making an offer. Many claims settle at this stage. If they do not, court proceedings may be issued, though the majority still resolve before trial.