Claim Categories
Types of Medical Negligence Claim
Medical negligence can occur in almost any clinical setting. Each category has distinct legal and evidential requirements, though all require proof of a breach of duty that caused measurable harm.
Medical negligence arises across every discipline of healthcare — in NHS hospitals and private clinics, in GP surgeries and specialist centres, during routine appointments and complex surgical procedures. Understanding which category of negligence applies to your situation helps identify the specialist expertise required and the specific evidential challenges involved.
Feature claim · 01
Surgical Errors
Negligence during or immediately after an operation — including wrong-site surgery, retained instruments, anaesthetic errors, and failures of post-operative care.
Read the surgical errors guide →- 02MisdiagnosisA failure to correctly identify a condition, or identification of the wrong condition, leading to delayed, incorrect, or harmful treatment.
- 03Birth InjuryNegligent care during pregnancy, labour, or delivery causing injury to the mother or child — including cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, and hypoxic birth injury.
- 04GP NegligenceFailures by a general practitioner — missed referrals, prescription errors, inadequate examination, failure to follow up test results, and delayed diagnosis.
- 05Delayed DiagnosisA correct diagnosis eventually made, but after an unreasonable delay that allowed harm to progress — most commonly in cancer, stroke, and sepsis cases.
- 06Medication ErrorsPrescribing the wrong drug or dose, dangerous drug interactions, dispensing errors by pharmacists, or failure to warn of known medication risks.
- 07Dental NegligenceMissed oral cancer, negligent extractions, nerve injury, failed implants, periodontal neglect and substandard restorative dentistry.
- 08Cosmetic Surgery NegligenceBotched cosmetic procedures, disfiguring scarring, nerve injury, infection, and failure to obtain valid informed consent under Montgomery.
If your situation does not appear to fit one of these categories, that does not mean a claim cannot exist. Clinical negligence can arise in any healthcare context — including dentistry, ophthalmology, cosmetic procedures, mental health care, and care home settings.
Read the full guide to what constitutes medical negligence →
Sources & References
- TODO: client to supply — TODO