Within this guide, we will explain how much compensation you could potentially claim for poor care in a hospital. We start this guide by discussing the different forms of compensation you could be awarded and the harm they compensate you for. However, to be able to claim compensation, you must first have a valid medical negligence claim. We will explain the duty of care you are owed by the medical professionals who treat you while in hospital and the criteria your case must meet in order to have a valid hospital negligence claim.
Furthermore, we will explain the time limit you must adhere to when starting your hospital negligence claim. When claiming compensation for the harm you have suffered, you must be able to provide proof of your negligent treatment. To help you with this, we have listed some examples of the evidence you could collect within this guide.
Finally, we end this guide by looking at how an experienced medical negligence solicitor from our panel could help you through the claiming process on a No Win No Fee basis.
If, after finishing this guide, you have any questions regarding the hospital negligence claims process, you can contact a friendly member of our advisory team. As well as answering your questions, they can offer you free advice for your potential claim.
To connect with our team today, you can:
- Call on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us through our website.
- Chat with our advisors using the pop-up window.
Select A Section
- What Could My Claim For Poor Care In A Hospital Be Worth?
- Could I Claim For Poor Care In A Hospital?
- What Time Limits Apply To Hospital Medical Negligence Claims?
- What Evidence Could Help You Claim For Negligent Hospital Care
- How To Get Help With Clinical Negligence Claims
- Further Advice For Making A Medical Negligence Claim For Poor Care In Hospital
What Could My Claim For Poor Care In A Hospital Be Worth?
If you’ve experienced unnecessary harm due to receiving poor care in a hospital, you could be owed compensation. If so, you may be wondering how much you may receive.
Every claim is calculated on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, each amount is different. However, should you make a successful hospital negligence compensation claim, you will be awarded general damages for the unnecessary harm you have suffered. All successful medical negligence claimants are awarded general damages.
Those in charge of valuing your claim for general damages may refer to any medical evidence provided as well as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Within this document are compensation guidelines for various forms of harm. We have used some of these figures within the table below. Please only refer to them as a guide.
Also, note that the first entry has not been taken from the JCG.
Compensation Table
| Harm Caused | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Forms Of Harm With Financial Loss | Compensation will be awarded for suffering multiple forms of severe harm and and their financial losses including medical expenses, a loss of earnings and care costs. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Paralysis - (a) Quadriplegia | At the higher end of this bracket, the person will be in pain and will suffer from a significant impact on their ability to communicate, amongst other factors. | £324,600 to £403,990 |
| Brain Damage - (a) Very Severe | The person will suffer with double incontinence, little to no language function and demonstrating little meaningful evidence to their environment. They will require full-time care. | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Kidney - (a) | When both kidneys are either lost or sustain serious damage. | £169,400 to £210,400 |
| Kidney - (c) | Only one kidney is lost. The other is not damaged at all. | £30,770 to £44,880 |
| Bladder - (b) | The bladder's control and function has been completely lost. | Up to £140,660 |
| Bowels - (c) | After surgery the person will still suffer with faecal urgency and passive incontinence, usually due to a birth injury. | In the region of £79,920 |
| Lung Disease - (c) | Impairment of breathing and worsening lung function due to disease such as emphysema. | £54,830 to £70,030 |
| Chest - (c) | The person will suffer with a continuing disability due to damage to the lungs and chest. | £31,310 to £54,830 |
| Digestive System - (b) (i) | Diarrhoea, acute pain, vomiting and a fever caused by severe toxicosis. | £38,430 to £52,500 |
There are some illustrative figures below, taken from the latest edition of the JCG. However, your own claim for harm caused by poor hospital care will need to be addressed individually before it can be valued accurately. Use the amounts below only as a rough guide.
What Special Damages Could Be Claimed?
You may also be able to claim for any financial losses you have suffered. For example, if the harm you have suffered meant you needed to take time off work to recover, this could result in a loss of earnings. These lost earnings could then be claimed under special damages as part of your compensation settlement.
Other examples of financial losses you may be able to claim for include:
- Medical expenses, such as prescription fees.
- Costs for care at home.
- Travel costs to essential medical appointments.
To be able to receive special damages as part of your compensation, you will need to provide evidence of the financial losses you are claiming for. This could include your payslips, invoices and bank statements.
To find out when you may be eligible to make a medical negligence claim for poor care in a hospital, you can continue reading this guide. You can also contact our advisors with any questions you may have about claiming compensation.
Could I Claim For Poor Care In A Hospital?
All medical professionals owe a duty of care when they are treating their patients. This also includes the medical professionals treating you while in hospital. They must provide you with the correct minimum standard of care. This is their duty of care.
Should the care that they provide you with fall below this required standard, you may suffer harm that could have otherwise been avoided. For example, if a doctor at the hospital you are staying at failed to notice that you were suffering from clear signs of pneumonia, this could cause you to develop sepsis due to receiving no treatment for your initial infection.
To be eligible to make a medical negligence claim for poor care in a hospital, you will need to be able to prove that your case meets the following criteria:
- The medical professionals in the hospital owed you a duty of care.
- A medical professional breached their duty of care towards you.
- This breach of duty caused you to suffer avoidable or unnecessary harm.
Together, these three factors form the basis of medical negligence.
However, it is important to note that not all cases of poor care in hospital will necessarily equate to medical negligence. In these instances, you might not be eligible to receive compensation.
Could I Make A Complaint About Poor Hospital Care?
If you have received poor care while in a hospital, you may wish to make a complaint about the treatment you have received. This can be done against an NHS hospital or a privately owned hospital. The process of making a complaint may vary depending on the hospital in which you experienced poor care.
For an NHS hospital, you can make a complaint directly to the hospital, or to the the commissioner of services (this is the body that pays for the NHS services you use). However, you cannot complain to both. Alternatively, you can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), who can then contact the people involved and attempt to resolve your concerns. They can usually be found in most NHS hospitals.
If you’ve experienced poor care when in a private healthcare facility, it’s again advised to make your complaint directly to the organisation that runs it. Complaints policies for private healthcare facilities can vary, therefore you may also wish to ask for a copy of their specific complaints policy.
To see whether you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim for poor care in a hospital, you can contact a member of our advisory team. They could also discuss some examples of hospital negligence claims with you.
What Time Limits Apply To Hospital Medical Negligence Claims?
When you’re making a medical negligence claim for poor care in a hospital, the Limitation Act 1980 states that you have 3 years to begin this process. The time limit begins on the same date you were harmed or the date you became aware that the harm was linked to negligence. This is otherwise referred to as the date of knowledge.
However, there are certain exceptions that apply to this time limit. This is in cases involving:
- Children – The time limit is suspended until their 18th birthday. Before this date, a claim can only be made for them by an appointed ligation friend. If no claim has been made by this date, they will then have three years to begin their own claim.
- Those without the mental capacity to claim – The time limit is also suspended in this instance and a litigation friend could make legal proceedings on their behalf. If the person becomes capable of pursuing a claim on their own, and one hasn’t already been made for them, the three-year time limit will run from the date they recovered this mental capacity.
Get in touch today to find out if you’re still within the limitation period to begin a clinical negligence claim.
What Evidence Could Help You Claim For Negligent Hospital Care
When making a medical negligence claim for poor care in a hospital, you will need to present evidence that supports your case. This evidence will need to demonstrate how a medical professional breached their duty of care, and the unnecessary harm you suffered as a result of this breach.
Some examples of evidence you could collect for your claim include:
- Your medical records – This can detail the treatment you have received while in hospital and any conditions you have been diagnosed with.
- A symptoms diary – You could detail the symptoms you have experienced as well as the care you have received while in hospital.
- Witness contact information – You could note down the contact details of anyone who witnessed the treatment you received while in hospital. This could be a family member, friend or other staff member. They could then be approached at a later date to provide a statement.
- The Bolam Test – The findings of this test could be used as evidence in your claim. This is when a panel of medical experts trained in a relevant field assess whether the standard of care you received was of the correct level.
Should you decide to work with a solicitor on your case, they can help you with arranging the Bolam Test and gathering evidence. To see if you could be eligible to work with a solicitor on our panel, contact our advisors today.
How To Get Help With Clinical Negligence Claims
If you are eligible to make a medical negligence claim for poor care in a hospital, one of the solicitors on our panel could help you through the claiming process. Additionally, they may represent you on a No Win No Fee basis by offering you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When you claim with a solicitor under a CFA, you generally don’t need to pay them anything upfront to access their legal services. You also will not be required to pay them for their work while the claim is in progression or if it ends unsuccessfully.
Instead, they will take a success fee from you if your claim is a success. The fee is taken from your compensation in the form of a percentage that is capped by law.
Contact Our Specialist Team
Our advisors are always on hand to answer any questions you may have about making a medical negligence claim for poor care in a hospital. They may also connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel to help you begin the process of making a claim.
Connect with our team today via one of the following methods:
- Call on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us through our website.
- Chat with our advisors using the pop-up window.
Further Advice For Making A Medical Negligence Claim For Poor Care In Hospital
Additional medical negligence claims guides by us:
- If you are wondering, ‘I was given the wrong medication, can I sue? ‘, this guide may contain the information you have been looking for.
- Additional examples of medical negligence you could claim for are contained within this guide.
- Advice on medical misdiagnosis claims and when you may be able to receive compensation.
Further information and resources:
- Guidance on good medical practice from the General Medical Council (GMC).
- The Royal College of Nursing provides information on a nurse’s duty of care within this guide.
- Find a hospital and check the quality of it with this Care Quality Commission (CQC) resource.
Contact our team today if you have any questions about making a medical negligence claim for poor care in a hospital.