How to Make a Medical Negligence Claim: Process, Time Limits and Costs

Reviewed 30 October 2026 · England and Wales · General information, not legal advice

You can claim if a clinician's care fell below a reasonable standard and that failing caused you harm. Claims follow a pre-action protocol, must usually start within three years and are mostly funded on no win no fee.

To make a medical negligence claim you must show that the care you received fell below the standard a responsible body of clinicians would accept, and that this failing, rather than your underlying condition, caused you harm. The claim then follows a fixed procedure: records are obtained, independent experts report, a letter of claim is sent and the hospital or clinician has four months to respond before any court action. You normally have three years to start, most claims run on no win no fee, and the great majority settle without a trial. This guide covers each stage in England and Wales, the time limits, what compensation includes, how claims are funded and how to choose a solicitor.

Negligence is not the same as a bad outcome

Medicine carries risk, and a poor result does not prove negligence. Under the Bolam test a clinician is not negligent if they acted as a responsible body of practitioners in the same field would have acted, even if others would have done something different, provided (following the Bolitho case) that the practice stands up to logical analysis. Consent is judged differently: since Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board in 2015, you must be told about any material risk that a reasonable patient in your position would attach significance to, and about reasonable alternatives.

You must also prove causation: that but for the breach you would have avoided the injury or had a materially better outcome. A delay that merely reduced a chance of recovery that was already below 50 per cent is generally not compensated, although where several factors combined to cause a single injury a material contribution can be enough. Many cases with obvious errors fail here because the outcome would have been the same.

Typical claims involve delayed diagnosis of cancer, sepsis, stroke or fractures, surgical and prescribing errors, injuries to mothers and babies during birth, missed test results and treatment given without proper consent. In England, claims against NHS hospitals and, since April 2019, GP practices are handled by NHS Resolution; in Wales they are handled by the Legal and Risk Services arm of the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership. For private treatment the defendant is usually the consultant, backed by a medical defence organisation, or the private hospital and its insurer.

Complaints, the ombudsman and the duty of candour

An NHS complaint is often a sensible first step. In England you complain to the trust, GP practice or integrated care board, normally within 12 months of the event or of becoming aware of it, and if the response does not satisfy you, you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate. In Wales, concerns go through the Putting Things Right arrangements and then to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. A complaint can produce an explanation, an apology and changes in practice, and the response is useful evidence. It cannot award the damages a court would, and it does not stop the limitation clock. The two routes can run side by side.

Providers registered with the Care Quality Commission owe a statutory duty of candour under Regulation 20 of the 2014 regulations made under the Health and Social Care Act 2008: where care has caused moderate or severe harm they must tell you promptly, explain what happened, apologise and report back on their investigation. Where a patient has died, a coroner's inquest may follow; the family can take part, and its findings often shape a later claim.

The claim process step by step

Claims follow the Pre-Action Protocol for the Resolution of Clinical Disputes, which the courts expect both sides to observe before proceedings are issued.

1. Choose a specialist solicitor. Look for the Law Society's clinical negligence accreditation or membership of the panel run by the charity Action against Medical Accidents, and ask about experience with your type of injury. Most firms assess a potential claim free of charge.
2. Obtain the records. Copies of your medical records are free under data protection law and should normally arrive within a month; the protocol expects them within 40 days. Your solicitor builds a chronology, often with help from a medical adviser.
3. Send a letter of notification. Once the case looks reasonable, a short letter warns the provider that a claim is being investigated so that it can preserve evidence; it should acknowledge within 14 days.
4. Gather expert evidence. Independent experts in the relevant specialty report on breach and on causation, and later on your condition and prognosis. Their fees are the main up-front cost of a claim.
5. Send the letter of claim. It sets out the facts, the allegations of negligence, the injuries and the financial losses. The defendant must acknowledge it within 14 days and send a letter of response within four months, admitting or denying each allegation with reasons, and may make an offer. Do not issue proceedings within those four months unless the limitation period is about to expire.
6. Negotiate. Most claims settle through correspondence, a settlement meeting or mediation, which NHS Resolution actively offers. Formal offers under Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules carry costs penalties if they are refused and not beaten at trial.
7. Issue proceedings if necessary. The claim form goes to the County Court or, for claims worth £50,000 or more, the High Court, and the case runs on the multi-track to a trial that only a small minority of claims ever reach.

Because records, experts and the four-month response period all take time, most claims take between 18 months and three years, and claims for children or for injuries that have not stabilised take longer, since damages cannot be valued until the long-term prognosis is known. Where liability has been admitted, an interim payment can be sought in the meantime.

Time limits

Sections 11 and 14 of the Limitation Act 1980 give you three years to issue a claim form, running from the negligent treatment or, if later, from your date of knowledge: the point when you first knew, or could reasonably have known, that you had a significant injury attributable to the treatment. Complaining or instructing a solicitor does not stop the clock; only issuing the claim at court does, although the parties can agree in writing to extend the deadline.

A child's three years start on their 18th birthday, so the claim can be issued at any time until they are 21, or earlier by a parent acting as litigation friend. There is no limit while the injured person lacks the mental capacity to manage their affairs. After a death, the family has three years from the death or from learning that it was linked to the treatment. Section 33 lets the court allow a late claim, but the discretion is unpredictable and should never be planned around. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own three-year rules and court procedures. Accident claims follow the same framework, explained in the guide to personal injury claim time limits.

What compensation covers

Damages aim to put you where you would have been but for the negligence. General damages cover pain, suffering and loss of amenity and are valued using the Judicial College Guidelines, whose 18th edition appeared in April 2026; the brackets are guidance rather than a tariff, running from a few thousand pounds for minor injuries to more than £500,000 for the most severe brain and spinal injuries.

Special damages cover financial loss, past and future: earnings and pension, care (including care given free by family, which is valued and discounted), private treatment, therapies, equipment, travel and adaptations to your home. In serious cases future losses dominate. Lump sums for future loss are calculated with the Ogden tables and the personal injury discount rate, which has been plus 0.5 per cent in England and Wales since 11 January 2025, and lifelong care can instead be met by periodical payments under the Damages Act 1996. Benefits paid because of the injury are repaid to the state out of the settlement through the Compensation Recovery Unit.

After a death, the estate claims for the suffering before death and the funeral costs, and dependants claim lost financial support under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, which also gives a fixed bereavement award of £15,120, unchanged since May 2020, to a spouse, civil partner, cohabitant of at least two years or the parents of an unmarried child under 18. The estate's claim is brought by the personal representatives, so a grant of probate or letters of administration is usually needed; wills and probate solicitors handle that side, and the guide to the legal steps after someone dies explains them.

Paying for a claim

Almost every clinical negligence claim is funded by a conditional fee agreement, the legal name for no win no fee. If you win, the defendant pays your basic legal costs and your solicitor takes a success fee from your compensation, capped at 25 per cent of your general damages and past financial losses; future losses are protected. If you lose, your solicitor is not paid. The small print is explained in the guide to how no win no fee really works.

Expert and court fees still arise, so solicitors arrange after-the-event insurance to cover them if the claim fails. The premium is paid from your damages at the end if you win, and clinical negligence is the one field where the part of the premium covering expert reports on breach and causation can still be recovered from the defendant. Under qualified one-way costs shifting, a losing claimant normally pays nothing towards the defendant's costs unless the claim was fundamentally dishonest or struck out.

Legal aid has been unavailable for clinical negligence since April 2013 except for babies who suffered a neurological injury causing severe disability during pregnancy, birth or the first eight weeks of life, and through rare exceptional funding. Check whether a home insurance policy or a trade union provides legal expenses cover before signing anything. A fixed costs scheme for claims worth up to £25,000 has been proposed repeatedly, but it is not in force and has no implementation date, so the ordinary costs rules still apply. Other sources of help are covered in can I get legal help for free?.

Choosing a solicitor and what to do next

Ask how many claims like yours the solicitor has run, who will do the day-to-day work, what the success fee and insurance would cost in a worked example, what happens if you end the agreement, and how long they expect the case to take. Be wary of claims management companies that advertise heavily and sell cases on; unsolicited calls about claims are banned unless you agreed to be contacted, and you can instruct a solicitor directly. If a firm lets you down, see how to complain about a solicitor.

While events are fresh, write a dated account of what happened and what you were told, keep letters and appointment records, and note your expenses and the help you have needed. Request your records, complain if you want answers quickly, and contact a solicitor well inside the three years, because the investigation before a letter of claim often takes months. Search for medical negligence solicitors in Manchester or in Bristol, or use the solicitors near me search for your own area; the overview of personal injury and clinical negligence law is a good primer.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim if I signed a consent form?

Yes, if you were not properly informed. A signature shows that a form was signed, not that consent was valid. Since the Montgomery decision in 2015, clinicians must explain the material risks a reasonable patient would want to know about and the reasonable alternatives, including doing nothing. If a risk you were never told about materialised and you would have chosen differently had you known, you may have a claim even though the procedure itself was carried out competently.

How long does a medical negligence claim take?

Longer than most people expect. Obtaining records, instructing experts and waiting out the four-month response period under the protocol means even a straightforward admitted claim rarely concludes in under a year, and most take between 18 months and three years. Claims for children, brain injuries or any injury whose long-term effects are not yet clear take longer, because damages cannot be valued properly until the prognosis is settled, although interim payments can be requested once liability is admitted.

Will I have to go to court?

Probably not. The large majority of clinical negligence claims settle through negotiation, a settlement meeting or mediation, often after the letter of response or once expert evidence has been exchanged. Even when court proceedings are issued, most cases settle before trial. If a trial does take place you would normally give evidence, but your solicitor and barrister present the case and the experts deal with the medical questions.

How much compensation will I receive?

It depends on the injury and its financial consequences, not on how badly the clinician behaved. Pain and suffering is valued from the Judicial College Guidelines brackets, which range from a few thousand pounds to more than £500,000 for the most severe injuries. Financial losses, including lost earnings, care and future treatment, are added and in serious cases are far larger than the injury award. Your solicitor will give a range once the expert and prognosis evidence is in.

Can I claim on behalf of a relative who has died?

Yes. The estate, acting through the executors or administrators, can claim for the pain and suffering before death and the funeral costs, and dependants can claim for lost financial support under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. A spouse, civil partner, cohabitant of at least two years or the parents of an unmarried child under 18 can also claim the fixed bereavement award of £15,120. The time limit is three years from the death or from the date the link to the treatment became known.

Will making a claim affect my NHS treatment?

It should not. Claims are handled by NHS Resolution or the Welsh equivalent, not by the clinicians treating you, and providers are under a duty of candour to be open about mistakes. You are entitled to continue receiving care, and you can ask to be treated by a different clinician or at a different hospital if trust has broken down. Solicitors routinely run claims while treatment continues, and ongoing treatment records form part of the evidence.

Related guides

• Personal Injury Claims: Time Limits, Process and Compensation
• No Win No Fee Agreements Explained: How They Really Work
• How to Complain About a Solicitor: The Legal Ombudsman and the SRA
• What Is Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence?
• Can I get legal help for free?

This guide describes the law in England and Wales as at 30 October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice about your situation; the law and the figures it quotes change, so check the position with a solicitor before acting. LawFirms.co.uk is a directory and does not provide legal services.