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If you have been injured because of negligent NHS treatment, you may be entitled to compensation. But NHS compensation is not automatic simply because something went wrong, the hospital apologised or an investigation identified mistakes.
You normally need to establish that the treatment you received was negligent and that this caused additional injury or made your condition worse.
Most NHS hospital negligence claims in England are handled by NHS Resolution. Compensation can cover the injury itself as well as financial losses, lost earnings, treatment, rehabilitation, care and future needs.
Our specialist medical negligence solicitors can investigate what happened, obtain independent medical evidence and deal with the NHS and NHS Resolution on your behalf.
For most claims involving NHS hospital treatment in England, the relevant NHS Trust remains the legal defendant.
However, most NHS Trust clinical negligence claims are handled by NHS Resolution through the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts.
NHS Resolution administers the scheme and deals with compensation and associated costs for claims falling within it.
You are therefore not normally seeking compensation personally from the individual doctor, nurse or other NHS employee who treated you.
Most clinical negligence liabilities arising from NHS general practice in England for incidents occurring from 1 April 2019 are covered by the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice, which is also operated by NHS Resolution.
Different indemnity arrangements can apply to older incidents or to private treatment provided by a GP.
Your solicitor can establish who should deal with the claim.
An NHS compensation claim will usually start with an investigation rather than court proceedings.
We will normally:
take a detailed account of what happened;
obtain your relevant medical records;
identify the key medical and legal issues;
instruct appropriately qualified independent medical experts;
establish whether treatment was negligent; and
investigate what difference the negligence probably made.
If there is sufficient evidence to proceed, a formal Letter of Claim can be sent to the appropriate NHS defendant.
The NHS and NHS Resolution will then investigate and provide a response.
They may:
admit the claim;
admit some allegations but dispute others;
accept that treatment was negligent but dispute the harm it caused;
deny liability; or
make an offer to settle.
Further expert evidence and negotiation may then be required before compensation can be agreed.
You may not simply be dealing with the hospital or doctor involved in your treatment.
Depending on the claim and its stage, the NHS side can involve:
the relevant NHS Trust;
NHS Resolution claims specialists;
the Trust's legal team;
specialist external solicitors; and
barristers and independent medical experts where required.
NHS Resolution is highly experienced in dealing with medical negligence claims.
That does not mean a claimant should be deterred from bringing a legitimate claim. It does mean that properly prepared medical evidence and a clear case on negligence, causation and compensation can be extremely important.
If you instruct us, we deal with NHS Resolution and the defendant's legal representatives on your behalf.
This can reflect:
pain and suffering;
severity and duration of the injury;
additional treatment or operations;
disability or loss of function;
psychological consequences; and
the impact on your everyday life.
Independent medical evidence about your condition and likely prognosis is usually important when assessing this part of the claim.
You can also potentially recover reasonable financial losses resulting from the negligence, including:
past and future loss of earnings;
private medical treatment;
rehabilitation and therapies;
medication and medical expenses;
care and assistance;
help provided by family members;
mobility equipment;
home adaptations;
specialist accommodation;
travel expenses; and
other future costs resulting from your injury.
For someone with a serious permanent injury, future care, earnings and other needs can represent a substantial proportion of the overall compensation.
Some can be, particularly where the injuries are serious or the medical issues are complex.
Time may be needed to obtain records, investigate treatment, obtain independent expert evidence and allow NHS Resolution to investigate the allegations.
There can also be good reasons not to settle a serious claim too quickly.
Where the claimant has suffered permanent or potentially life-changing injury, it may be necessary to understand their long-term prognosis, future earning capacity, rehabilitation, care and accommodation requirements before the claim can safely be valued.
A simpler claim where liability is admitted and the injury has stabilised may be resolved considerably sooner.
Most do not require a trial.
NHS Resolution reported that 84% of clinical negligence claims were resolved without formal legal proceedings in 2025/26.
Claims can be resolved through admissions, negotiation, settlement offers and other forms of dispute resolution.
Court proceedings may sometimes need to be started because liability or compensation remains disputed or because proceedings are required to protect the claim from a limitation deadline.
Even where proceedings are issued, the claim can still settle without a trial.
Potentially.
In some serious claims, it may be possible to obtain an interim payment once liability has been sufficiently established.
This can be particularly important where money is needed before the final claim can be valued for:
rehabilitation;
private treatment;
care;
specialist equipment;
accommodation; or
other immediate needs.
An interim payment is taken into account when the final compensation is agreed.
An NHS compensation claim involves much more than demonstrating that somebody made a mistake.
Particularly with serious injuries, properly establishing what difference the negligence made and valuing its future consequences can be as important as proving the original medical mistake.
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