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Clinical negligence (formerly known as medical negligence) occurs when a professional in the health service provided care that was below standard and this caused physical injury, or caused or increased a mental illness.
What is below standard care?
The true test for establishing negligence in diagnosis or treatment is defined in legal terms as: “Whether the health professional has been proved to be guilty of such failure as no doctor of ordinary skill would be guilty of if acting with ordinary care.” This means that the doctor or nurse is expected to provide care that any other doctor would provide, that is the minimum standard for care and treatment.
This fact sheet contains the following information:
- What is covered by clinical negligence?
- How do I find out if I have a case?
- What is the difference between clinical negligence and making a complaint?
- How soon do I have to make a claim?
- Funding for clinical negligence
- How is compensation calculated?
- Further information.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that single copies of individual fact sheets are available free of charge to users of mental health services and their carers, but multiple copies are chargeable to organisations at the rates shown per copy. Photocopying of individual fact sheets by organisations is strictly prohibited.
