GP and Doctor Negligence Compensation Claims

What is GP negligence? 

While the NHS' 2021 GP Patient Survey found 83% of people had a good experience at their GP practice, sometimes things go wrong. GP negligence covers cases where a GP or doctor hasn't performed their job correctly and has thus breached their duty of care. This is laid out in guidance from the General Medical Council, which all doctors - NHS and private - are licenced by. GP negligence can include:

• Accidents by a GP or doctor that caused you or someone else physical or mental harm, including death due to a doctor's negligence.
• Forgetting or deciding against referring a person to a specialist or for tests when they should have.
• An incorrect or missed diagnosis that resulted in someone getting an illness.
• Prescribing the wrong medication or treatments.
• Not correctly keeping or following medical records, leading to substandard care.
• Failing to make a scheduled home visit.

These issues are sometimes looked at as part of the four Ds of medical malpractice: duty (not listening, respecting, or referring you), dereliction (misdiagnosis, prescription issues, poor working conditions), damage (physical, emotional and financial) and direct causation (was the negligence directly the doctor's fault?).

What is a no win no fee GP negligence compensation claim?

A no win no fee GP negligence claim means that if you win and receive compensation, your legal fees are paid out of your settlement. If you don't win, you pay absolutely nothing - either upfront when you begin your claim against your GP or after you and your solicitor part ways.

Also called conditional fee agreements (CFAs), they're essentially a contract between you and your doctor negligence solicitor. Any fees you do have to pay are capped and will be spelt out to you and agreed upon early in the process, so there won't be any unwelcome shocks if you win and have fees to pay.

Can I sue my doctor for negligence?

If you have experienced medical errors that have caused you injury, you can typically make a claim within three years of the GP negligence taking place. If you are making a GP claim on behalf of a child, you have until their 18th birthday. After this, they have three years to make a claim. 

Claims are relatively common. According to NHS Resolution, £2.2 billion was paid out in cases of clinical negligence in 2020/21, with 12,629 individual claims being received during this time.

You may wish to sue your doctor, but depending on your case, you can claim compensation for the actions of any other medical professional, including care home workers, therapists, surgeons, district nurses, midwives or consultants. 

Whoever is responsible and whatever happened, we can help. Contact our teamand they'll tell you if you could benefit from the skills of our dedicated doctor negligence solicitors.

How do I begin my claim against a doctor or GP?

There are three simple ways to begin your GP claim with ClaimsPeople: 

• Fill in the form at the top of the page - our team will be in touch as soon as possible.
• Call our team on 0800 587 0344- our experts can be contacted seven days a week until late.
• Use our GP negligence claim compensation calculator. As well as seeing what your GP medical negligence claim might be worth, you can get in touch from there too.

What is the process of making negligence claims against doctors?

Getting compensation for injury or death due to a doctor's negligence is simple and stress-free with our client-first approach:

1. If you have a case, you will be assigned a professional doctor negligence solicitor. They will sit down with you and talk about what happened: the nature of the doctor negligence, its impact on your health and finances, and who might be responsible. They may ask for things like photographs or medical records so there is evidence for your claim.
2. The solicitor will get in touch with those responsible and may contact NHS Resolution, the health service's claims body, which in essence insures the NHS so it can pay out compensation (such as the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice).
3. If the NHS or private healthcare provider accepts fault, we will work out your compensation. If they do not, we will begin negotiations, keeping you filled in throughout the process.
4. If you are successful in your doctor negligence claim, your legal fees will be taken from your compensation in line with what you and your solicitor agreed. If you lose, you pay nothing.

How long does it take to sue my GP for negligence?

Every GP negligence claim is different, so the time it takes to sue can differ greatly. That makes it impossible to give an idea of how long it will take.

Lots of things can impact the timespan of a claim, such as what GP negligence took place, its effects on your health (mental and physical) and finances, whether evidence must be gathered, and if the responsible person or organisation admits fault.

Whatever the circumstances, though, we'll work tirelessly to support you and advance your claim, aiming to get you the justice and compensation you deserve.

How much GP negligence compensation will I receive?

There are many factors at play when making negligence claims against doctors, such as the type of malpractice and its effects on you. As such, NHS Resolution's figures show a huge range of different payouts - every case is different.

Whatever the circumstances of your claim, our doctor negligence solicitors will use the 15th Edition of the Judicial College Guidelines to work out how much your compensation should be. Typically, more severe cases of malpractice, such as a misdiagnosis leading to long-term illness or death due to a doctor's negligence, result in greater compensation than negligence that causes a temporary health issue.

See what your GP negligence claim might be worth with our compensation calculatoror contact our team.

Will I have to go to court?

It's unlikely you will need to go to court as part of your GP negligence claim. You may have to if the responsible party contests the claim, but our solicitors will handle all aspects of the process. If you need to appear in person, we will ensure you are prepared.

Do I need to take out no win no fee insurance?

As part of our no win no fee GP claims process, we may advise you to take out insurance that covers the cost of your legal fees if you lose your case.

This After the Event (ATE) insurance will be quickly and simply set up by our team, and you won't pay any premium if you lose your case. The cost will be charged as part of your overall legal fees if you win.

What if I lose my claim against my doctor?

If you sue your GP for negligence and lose your case, you won't have to pay any fees and there will be no other repercussions at all. You won't have paid anything upfront either.

From there, you can choose to go to another solicitor or stop seeking GP negligence compensation.