If you have been harmed while under the care of medical professionals, you may have questions such as, ‘What is classed as medical negligence in the UK?’ and ‘When could I claim compensation?’. Sometimes, when receiving medical treatment, complications may arise. However, if these complications have arisen due to a healthcare professional not abiding by their duty of care, you may be able to make a medical negligence claim for any unnecessary harm you have suffered.

Within this guide, we will explain the duty of care you are owed by all medical professionals, what circumstances are classed as medical negligence, and when you could make a claim for compensation. Furthermore, we will share examples of evidence you could gather for your claim to prove medical negligence occurred.

Additionally, we talk through how compensation is calculated and how a specialist medical negligence solicitor on our team could help you with claiming compensation on a No Win No Fee basis.

If you want to talk directly to our team about your case, you can do so for free:

• Call 0800 073 8804
• Fill out our ‘claim online’ form.
• Chat in our live support box.

Jump To A Section

1. What Is Classed As Medical Negligence In The UK?
2. What Are The Different Types Of Medical Negligence?
3. How Do You Prove A Claim For Medical Negligence?
4. What Amount Of Medical Negligence Compensation Could Be Claimed?
5. How Do You Claim For Clinical Negligence?
6. Find Out More About Clinical 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:

1. A healthcare professional owed a duty of care to you.
2. 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.
3. Due to this breach of duty, you suffered avoidable harm.

However, there may be instances where you suffer harm but the medical professional treating you did not breach their duty of care. In these instances, 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 really important in medical negligence claims because you must prove how duty of care was breached and how this has led you to suffer avoidable harm.

Examples of evidence that could be gathered to support a medical negligence claim include:

• Copies 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	Notes
Multiple types of serious harm with special damages	Serious	Up to £1,000,000+	An award for suffering more than one type of serious harm with the money you have lost as a result, for example, loss of earnings and professional care costs.
Brain damage	Very severe (a)	£344,150 to £493,000	Cases in this bracket include 'locked in' syndrome with a severely reduced life expectancy.
	Moderately severe (b)	£267,340 to £344,150	Cases in this bracket include a permanent vegetative state with a severely reduced life expectancy.
Kidney	Permanent and serious damage or loss (a)	£206,730 to £256,780	Of both kidneys.
	Loss of one kidney (c)	£37,550 to £54,760	Where the other kidney has no damage.
Bowels	Double incontinence (a)	Up to £224,790	Complete loss or bowel and urinary function with other medical complications.
Sight	Loss of sight in one eye and reduced vision in the other eye (c) (i)	£117,150 to £219,400	Where the other eye has a serious risk of further deterioration.
Facial scarring	Very severe scarring (a)	£36,340 to £118,790	Where the person is relatively young and has a severe psychological reaction and very disfiguring cosmetic effect.
Digestive System	Damage or illness from non-traumatic-injury (b) (i)	£46,900 to £64,070	Hospital admission due to severe toxicosis causing a fever and vomiting among other issues.

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 successful medical negligence claims, 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.

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 your solicitor’s services.
• You will not pay any ongoing charges for your solicitor’s services.
• If your claim fails, you will not be charged at all for your solicitor’s services.
• If you have a successful medical negligence claim, you will have a success fee deducted from your 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 ‘claim online’ form.
• Chat in our live support box.

Find Out More About Clinical Negligence Claims

Browse some of our other medical negligence claims 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.

If you have suffered any lifting injuries at work, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim. However, you will need to prove that your injuries were caused by your employer breaching the duty of care they owed you. This guide will explore the legislation that outlines the duty of care they owe and the steps they can take to uphold this duty.

Within this guide, we will also explain the specific criteria that must be met to be able to make a personal injury claim.

Additionally, we will share examples of the evidence you could provide to help prove liability. 

Furthermore, we will provide an overview of the compensation that could be awarded following a successful claim and how this might be calculated. 

If you would like to discuss your potential claim further, you can get in touch with one of our advisors. They are here to offer you free advice regarding your claim 24 hours a day. They could also answer any of the questions you may have about seeking accident at work compensation.

Contact one of our advisors by:

• Calling 0800 073 8804
• Messaging an advisor using our live chat.
• Completing our ‘claim online’ form.

Select A Section

1. How To Claim For Lifting Injuries At Work
2. What Are Lifting Injuries At Work?
3. How To Prove Your Employer Was Liable For Your Injury
4. Examples Of Payouts For Lifting Injuries At Work
5. How Legal Expert Could Help You Claim Compensation
6. Related Manual Handling, Lifting And Accident At Work Claims

How To Claim For Lifting Injuries At Work

To be able to make a personal injury claim for the injuries you suffered in an accident at work, you must meet the following criteria:

• Firstly, you must be able to show that your employer owed you a duty of care.
• You must then prove that your employer breached this duty.
• Lastly, your injury must have been directly caused by this breach of duty of care. Together, this is known as negligence.

Per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, all employers owe their employees a duty of care. They must take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their employees whilst they are at work or performing work-related duties.

Additionally, the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 outlines the responsibilities and duties of both employers and employees regarding safe manual handling.

If your employer were to breach their duty of care, such as by providing you with inadequate training, you could suffer various lifting injuries at work. In this instance, you may be eligible to make a claim.

What Is The Limitation Period To Claim For Lifting Injuries At Work?

Additionally, your claim must be started within the time limits outlined under the Limitation Act 1980. You will usually have 3 years to start your claim. However, some exceptions can be made to this 3-year timeframe:

• The time limit is suspended for a claimant who has a reduced mental capacity to put forward a claim themselves. During this time, a litigation friend could claim on their behalf. If no claim has been made and they regain the mental capacity to make their own claim, they will have 3 years from that date to start their claim.
• Minors under the age of 18 will have 3 years to start their claim once they turn 18. Before this date, the time limit is suspended, and a litigation friend could claim on their behalf.

Contact one of our advisors today to see if you have enough time to start a claim if you have suffered any lifting injuries at work.

What Are Lifting Injuries At Work?

You could suffer various types of lifting injuries at work. Some examples include:

• Strains and sprains – For example, you could strain an arm muscle if you are consistently lifting objects that are heavy.
• Back injuries – This could include slipped discs or muscle strain.
• Hernias – This could be caused by repetitive straining when lifting heavy objects.

However, no matter what type of injury you have suffered, to be eligible to make a personal injury claim, you must prove that negligence occurred.

What Is The Recommended Maximum Lifting Weight At Work?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have provided manual handling at work guidance. Within it, they provide recommended weight limits for men and women when lifting or lowering from different heights.

For women, these include:

• Shoulder height – 3-7 kg.
• Elbow height – 7-13 kg. 
• Knuckle height – 10-16 kg.
• Mid-upper leg height – 7-13 kg.
• Mid-lower leg height – 3-7 kg.

For men, these include:

• Shoulder height – 5-10 kg.
• Elbow height – 10-20 kg.
• Knuckle height – 15-25 kg. 
• Mid-upper leg height – 10-20 kg.
• Mid-lower leg height – 5-10 kg.

How To Prove Your Employer Was Liable For Your Injury

Providing sufficient evidence could help with strengthening your claim. Evidence could help prove that you suffered lifting injuries at work and that your employer was liable for them.

The steps you could take to collect evidence can include:

• Requesting CCTV footage of the accident.
• Filling out a report in the accident book if your workplace has one on-site.
• Taking down the contact details of any witnesses for them to provide a statement later on.
• Gathering medical evidence about the injury you suffered. This could include requesting a copy of your medical records.

Do not hesitate to get in contact with one of our advisors if you are still unsure what evidence you could provide to help support your claim. They could put you in contact with one of our solicitors who could help you with this aspect of the claims process.

Examples Of Payouts For Lifting Injuries At Work

Following a successful claim, you should receive compensation for the pain and suffering caused by your injury as well as the impact on your quality of life via general damages.

For the following table, we have used the figures from the most recent edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which was published in April 2022. Many legal professionals will refer to this document when valuing general damages as it lists compensation guidelines for various injuries.

However, please only use this table as a guide. This is because each claim is unique and the settlement awarded will depend on the specific circumstances of your case.

Compensation Table

Edit

Injury	Notes	Guideline Value
Back Injuries – Severe (iii)	Soft tissue injuries that lead to chronic conditions.	£38,780 to £69,730
Back Injuries – Moderate (i)	A prolapsed intervertebral disc that requires surgery.	£27,760 to £38,780
Back Injuries – Moderate (ii)	Disturbed ligaments and muscles which leads to back ache. This bracket also covers soft tissue injuries that accelerate or exacerbate pre-existing conditions.	£12,510 to £27,760
Back Injuries – Minor (i)	Less serious sprains, strains and soft tissue injuries that fully recover without surgery within 2-5 years.	£7,890 to £12,510
Neck Injuries – Severe (iii)	Severe soft tissue damage causing chronic conditions and a significant and permanent disability.	£45,470 to £55,990
Neck Injuries – Moderate (ii)	Soft tissue or wrenching-type injury and a severe disc lesion causing cervical spondylosis.	£13,740 to £24,990
Neck Injuries – Moderate (iii)	This bracket contains moderate soft tissue injuries with a protracted recovery period.	£7,890 to £13,740
Elbow Injuries – Severe	Severley disabling injuries to the elbow.	£39,170 to £54,830
Arm Injuries – Less Severe	Despite there being significant disabilities, an immense degree of recovery is expected to or will take place.	£19,200 to £39,170
Wrist Injuries – Less Severe	Permanent disability such as ongoing pain and stiffness.	£12,590 to £24,500

Could I Receive Special Damages?

Additionally, you could be awarded special damages. Special damages compensate you for the past and future financial losses caused by your injury. Examples of losses that you could claim under special damages include:

• Travel expenses.
• Medical costs, such as paying for medications.
• Loss of earnings.
• Care costs.

However, you will need to provide evidence of these losses, such as your receipts, invoices or bank statements.

Contact our advisors today to learn more about the compensation you could receive when you make a successful claim for lifting injuries at work.

How Legal Expert Could Help You Claim Compensation

Our solicitors have experience handling various types of personal injury claims, including those made for injuries sustained in an accident at work. Additionally, if one of our solicitors agrees to take on your claim, they could offer to represent you under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement, which is a type of No Win No Fee agreement.

When working with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors on this basis, you generally won’t be expected to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for their services. You also won’t have to pay them for their services if the claim is unsuccessful.

Furthermore, for a successful claim, your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation. The success fee is a legally capped percentage of your compensation award, and the amount your solicitor will take is usually discussed beforehand.

Contact our advisors to discuss your potential claim if you’ve suffered any lifting injuries at work. They could also put you in contact with one of our solicitors if they think you could be eligible to pursue a claim.

Contact Us

If you would like to discuss your claim further, you can contact one of our advisors. They can offer you free advice and answer any of the questions you may have about seeking personal injury compensation. Additionally, they could put you in contact with one of our solicitors who could help you with your claim.

Contact one of our advisors by:

• Calling 0800 073 8804
• Messaging an advisor using our live chat.
• Completing our ‘claim online’ form.

Related Manual Handling, Lifting And Accident At Work Claims

Further articles by us about accident at work claims:

• Lifting injury while pregnant at work – can I claim compensation?
• Nerve damage after an accident at work – can I make a claim?
• Unsafe practices and manual handling work accident claims

Additional resources:

• GOV – Request CCTV footage of yourself
• HSE – Accident at work book
• NHS – How to get your medical records

Contact our advisors for more information on how to make a claim for lifting injuries at work.

Written by Westwood

Edited by Robinson/ Mitchell