If you’ve suffered avoidable harm because of poor medical treatment, you may be eligible to make a medical negligence claim. However, for your claim to be successful, you’ll need to prove that the quality of the medical care you received fell below an acceptable standard and that this directly caused you injury.
The thought of proving medical negligence might be daunting, but don’t worry – our specialist legal experts at the Medical Law Partnership can gather all the evidence on your behalf, so you can focus on your recovery.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to prove medical negligence, what kind of evidence is required, and what the process will look like if you choose to pursue a claim with us.
If you think you may have a claim, we’re here to help. Start your claim today and speak to our team for a free, no-obligation consultation.
How do you prove medical negligence?
To prove that medical negligence occurred, three elements must be established:
- The medical professional owed you a duty of care
- That duty of care was breached through their actions or inactions
- Thise breach directly caused you harm
1. Duty of care
Duty of care is the most straightforward element to prove, because all medical professionals owe a legal duty of care to their patients. This means they must act with reasonable skill and competence when treating you, in line with professional standards.
Because duty of care is established automatically when a medical professional agrees to treat you, this element rarely causes dispute in medical negligence claims. Instead, the focus is usually on whether the professional failed to meet that duty.
2. Breach of duty
After duty of care has been established, the next step is to prove that the medical professional breached that duty. In other words, your legal team will need to prove that the care you received did in fact fall below an acceptable standard.
The Bolam test is typically used to determine this. It involves comparing the actions taken by the medical professional to those that a group of responsible and competent practitioners in the same field would have taken in similar circumstances. If the professional’s actions do not meet this benchmark, this establishes that a breach of duty occurred.
Examples of a breach of duty could include:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of a serious condition, leading to delayed treatment
- Errors during surgery, including performing the wrong procedure or leaving surgical objects inside the patient
- Medication errors, such as prescribing the wrong dosage or failing to check for contraindications or allergies
- Failure to monitor a patient, leading to further pain or injury that could have been prevented
3. Causation
Finally, it must be proved that the breach of duty directly caused or worsened your injury or condition. Causation can be difficult to establish, especially if you already had an underlying medical condition or there are multiple potential causes of your injury.
Your legal team will need to provide evidence that clearly links the substandard care you received to the harm you’ve suffered, including your medical records and expert witness reports. Without this connection, a claim is unlikely to succeed – even if poor care is proven.
What kind of evidence do you need?
Gathering strong evidence is the most crucial step in any medical negligence claim, but it’s not something you’ll have to do on your own.
At the Medical Law Partnership, we gather all the necessary evidence on your behalf, so you can focus your energy on getting better. Our team knows exactly what information is needed to build a strong case and will handle every stage of the process for you.
The evidence we collect typically includes:
Medical records
Your medical records are one of the most important parts of your claim. They provide a detailed, factual history of:
- The symptoms you reported
- The treatment and investigations carried out
- Notes from consultations, procedures, and hospital stays
- Correspondence between healthcare providers
- Results from scans and blood tests
These records help us establish what should have happened versus what actually happened, as well as whether your care fell below acceptable standards. We will get these records directly from your healthcare providers and review them thoroughly as part of our investigation.
Expert witnesses
Independent medical experts play a vital role in proving medical negligence. These are qualified professionals in the relevant field who will:
- Review your medical records and evidence
- Give an impartial opinion on whether the treatment you received was substandard
- Assess whether the harm you suffered was caused by that substandard treatment
This expert testimony is crucial for building a strong case, demonstrating negligence from a neutral, professional perspective. Your dedicated solicitor will arrange these expert reviews on your behalf and incorporate their findings into your claim.
Financial records
If you’ve suffered financially because of medical negligence, this can also be included in your claim. Evidence might include:
- Receipts for private treatment, medication, or therapy
- Travel expenses
- Proof of lost earnings
- Records of care received at home
- Adaptations to your home or lifestyle due to your injuries
We’ll add costs like these to your claim so that they’ll be included in the compensation amount awarded to you.
How does the process of proving your claim work?
At the Medical Law Partnership, we aim to make the claims process as simple and stress-free as possible. We’ll support you at every stage and gather all the relevant evidence to prove your claim so you don’t have to.
Here’s how it works:
- We listen to what you’ve been through: When you first contact us, we’ll ask you to tell us what happened, how it’s impacted your life, and what outcome you’re hoping for. You’ll be treated with the compassion and dignity you deserve at all times, and everything you tell us is strictly confidential.
- We gather the initial evidence for your case: If we believe your claim has a good chance of success, we will move forward by collecting the first pieces of evidence. Our team will start analysing this information to build a clear picture of your case.
- We explain your options: Once we have a better understanding, we’ll explain all the potential next steps available to you, without legal jargon or pressure.
- You decide what happens next: We’ll never push you into making a claim. If you do choose to proceed, we’ll continue gathering full evidence, obtain expert reports, and represent you throughout the negotiations with the defendant.
Start your medical negligence claim today with the Medical Law Partnership
If you’ve suffered as a result of negligent medical treatment, you deserve justice and may be entitled to compensation. At the Medical Law Partnership, we handle every aspect of the legal process, so you can focus on your health and recovery.
We work on a no-win, no-fee basis, which means you won’t pay anything if your claim is unsuccessful.
Start your medical negligence claim online today or request a callback to speak to a member of our team.