When pursuing a medical negligence claim, it is important to understand how to prove medical negligence, as this determines the success of the claim. 

All medical professionals have a legal duty to provide the professional standard of care expected of them when treating patients. Any substandard care they provide is considered negligent and a breach of this duty. 

You may be eligible to claim compensation if this caused you or a loved one’s avoidable harm. However, you must have evidence to establish this chain of events to prove your case. 

Key Takeaways

• Evidence is a bundle of information that builds a picture of your claim and how you or a loved one suffered as a result of negligent medical care. 
• For medical negligence claims to be successful, it is crucial to collect as much evidence as possible to establish third party liability.
• You may collect evidence to prove medical negligence as a litigation friend on behalf of a loved one if they are under 18 or lack mental capacity. 
• Some examples of the evidence that may support your claim include medical reports, correspondence, specialist opinions and photographs.
• Our excellent panel of solicitors at How To Sue may help you obtain evidence and prove your claim on a No Win No Fee basis.

Contact us today for a free consultation regarding your claim and to learn more about how to prove medical negligence by:

• Calling us on 0800 408 7827 to discuss the details of the medical negligence 
• Messaging us on our private live chat with any of your questions 
• Filling out our contact us form for a call back at a time that suits you

Our lines are open 24/7 so please contact us anytime and one of our helpful advisors will assist you. 

 

What Is Needed To Prove Medical Negligence?

1. Proof Of Medical Records
2. Specialist And Expert Opinion
3. A Personal Account Of What’s Happened To You
4. Witness Statements
5. Photographs Or Videos
6. Correspondence And Messages
7. How Can The Evidence Help To Support A Claim?
8. What Can How To Sue Help Me With?
9. More Information

Proof Of Medical Records

Copies of you or a loved one’s medical records are a valuable form of evidence for medical negligence claims. They typically provide officially documented proof of a medical professional’s substandard care and the result of this. Additionally, they provide a dated timeframe of your symptoms and treatment. 

Medical records may support a claim as they provide evidence of:

• The patient’s medical condition such as an injury or illness
• The treatment given by medical professionals 
• Details of the patient’s medication and test results 
• Admission and discharge documents
• Consultation appointments and notes 
• Details of any further harm you suffered 

You can request a copy of your medical records by contacting the practice or organisation you or a loved one sought medical treatment from. 

Our panel of solicitors may help you access your medical records, so please contact an advisor if you require help with this. 

Specialist And Expert Opinion

Specialist and expert opinions of your medical condition and avoidable harm are sufficient forms of medical evidence that may support your claim. 

For example, our panel of solicitors may set you up with an independent medical assessment with a neutral, third-party medical specialist. They will conduct an examination of your condition and evaluate the treatment provided by the doctor. 

This will help to determine whether their treatment was below the standard of care expected from them and subsequently negligent. It may sufficiently support your claim if they determine that any harm you suffered due to this resulted in your avoidable harm. 

For more information about specialist opinions and independent medical assessments, please contact our advisors. 

A Personal Account Of What’s Happened To You

A written document of a personal account of how you suffered due to medical negligence can help support your claim. This is essentially a timeline of events and typically includes the following information:

• Details of your medical condition such as the symptoms you first presented to the medical professional.
• Any information you received regarding medical appointments, specialist referrals or your treatment options.
• Information regarding the outcome of the treatment the medical professional told you to expect including any potential risks. 
• Details of when you received knowledge that medical negligence caused you to suffer avoidable or unnecessary harm. 
• Specific details of what type of negligent conduct or omission occurred due to the medical professional’s substandard care. 
• Information regarding the harm and symptoms you suffered and how this was unnecessary or avoidable. 
• Details regarding the impact this has had on your health, recovery and everyday life such as your independence and finances. 

If you are claiming compensation on behalf of a loved one as a litigation friend, you may be asked to provide a personal account of the medical negligence and its consequences on their behalf. 

If you have any questions about creating a personal account of what happened, please contact our advisors, they may support you with this. 

Witness Statements

Witness statements may be used as evidence to prove your medical negligence claim. These are formal written documents that provide an account of the details of the circumstances that led to your claim from the perspective of those who witnessed it. 

Such statements serve as evidence in medical negligence claims as they contain the witnesses personal knowledge of the series of events resulting in the claimant’s unnecessary harm. Additionally, they contain a statement of truth that is signed by the witness, which confirms the validity of their report. 

You may collect the contact details of witnesses so that our panel of solicitors can obtain a statement from them. 

If you would like any support with this, please contact our advisors. 

Photographs Or Videos

Photographs and videos of the harm you suffered as a result of the medical negligence may help prove your claim. This may be helpful as it provides a visual representation of the harm and may show how the suffering progressed over a period of time without the correct or sufficient treatment. 

Of course this form of evidence may not be suitable for all claims, and is typically only relevant if you suffered visible harm. However, you may take photographs of test results and medical scans to help prove your claim. 

Additionally, you may be able to obtain CCTV footage of the negligent conduct taking place if such cameras were present. 

If you have any questions regarding this or would like to have your photographs reviewed by our advisors, please contact us.

Correspondence And Messages

Copies of correspondence and messages with medical professionals and organisations are very useful to support your claim. As they are typically dated, they help to establish a timeline of events to determine how and when the negligence and unnecessary harm occurred. 

Some of they key information correspondence and messages may have for your claim include:

• Details of your appointments, tests and referrals 
• Your diagnosis, suggested treatment and medication 
• Details of the potential risks associated with treatment 
• Confirmation of your consent to treatment, or lack of
• Confirmation that medical negligence occurred 
• Complaints and responses regarding the medical negligence

The types of correspondence that may support your claim include hospital letters, e-mails and telephone notes. So, it is important to keep a record of such documentation and obtain copies of them. 

Contact our advisors today to have medical correspondence reviewed by them to determine whether it may support your claim.

How Can The Evidence Help To Support A Claim?

The evidence discussed above helps to support your claim as it paints a picture of how substandard care and treatment resulted in you or a loved one’s avoidable harm. In doing so, it establishes the core requirements for pursuing a claim namely:  

• That the medical professional owed you a duty of care. All medical professionals have a legal duty to treat you with the professional standard expected of them. Evidence demonstrating their ability to treat you establishes their duty of care. 
• The medical professional’s treatment was substandard, breaching their duty of care. If you have evidence of their negligent acts or omissions this will support your claim by demonstrating how they breached their duty of care. 
• The substandard care resulted in harm that was avoidable or unnecessary. Any evidence that illustrates the causation between the medical professional’s negligent conduct and the patient’s harm will support the claim. 

These points demonstrate why evidence is crucial in supporting medical negligence claims. So, it is in your best interests to collect as much evidence as you can to establish this criteria. 

If you have any questions about evidence to support medical negligence claims, please contact our advisors. 

What Can How To Sue Help Me With?

Our excellent panel of solicitors at How To Sue may help you obtain evidence to build a solid case as they are experts in medical negligence claims. They have the legal knowledge and experience to help you gather all of the necessary supporting evidence to try and establish how negligent medical treatment caused you or a loved one’s avoidable suffering. 

In doing so, our panel of solicitors will also:

• Utilise their legal skills and training throughout the claim
• Offer endless support for both your claim and recovery 
• Help you obtain the highest possible compensation payout for the harm you suffered
• Set you up with an independent medical assessment 
• Help you access mental health services 
• Contacting third parties on your behalf
• Assist you in claiming for interim payments for medical costs 

Additionally, understanding the financial toll medical negligence may have on you, our panel of solicitors will offer their legal services on a No Win No Fee basis. So, if you sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) with them, you will only pay for their support if your claim is successful. 

In such circumstances, a small success fee, set by a legal cap, will be taken as a percentage from the compensation you are awarded so you have no upfront or ongoing solicitors’ fees to pay. 

At How To Sue, we deeply understand the devastating impact medical negligence may have on you. So, you can expect our panel of solicitors to deliver a high standard of service, care and compassion while trying to settle your claim.

Contact Our Team To Get Started

Contact our excellent advisors today to pursue a medical negligence claim by:

• Calling them on 0800 408 7827 to discuss your harm caused by medical negligence
• Messaging them on a private live chat for quick and helpful answers to your questions
• Use our contact us form to request a call back.

Our lines are open 24/7, so get in touch with our advisors at a time that suits you. 

More Information

You can find more information about medical negligence claims by reading the guides linked below. 

• A guide explaining how to sue the NHS
• Information about cancer misdiagnosis claims
• Learn how to make surgical negligence claims  

References 

• Find emergency care near you, NHS.UK 
• Access mental health services, NHS.UK 
• Learn about good medical practice, GMC.ORG 

Thank you for reading this guide which explains how to prove medical negligence.