§ CASE LIBRARY · SEPSIS NEGLIGENCE

Sepsis Negligence cases,
decided by the courts.

Published judgments of the courts of England and Wales in sepsis negligence claims, summarised in plain English and linked to their source. Claims that failed are included, because they show what has to be proved.

Judgments here

3

Claimant succeeded

3

Typical range

£25,000+

Largest stated sum

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Claimant succeeded

Gbolahan O Somoye v North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust

[2023] EWHC 191 (KB)·2023·Liability decided at trial

Dr Somoye died of abdominal sepsis and multi-organ failure a week after a myomectomy; the trust's own root cause analysis found failures to act on signs of infection and to follow the sepsis pathway, and it admitted liability before proceedings. The court refused to let the trust withdraw that admission and entered judgment for her husband, with damages to be assessed.

A pre-action admission of liability is binding unless the court permits withdrawal, and later-obtained expert evidence will not usually justify that. Failing to follow a hospital sepsis pathway is a recognised basis for a claim.

Claimant succeeded

Davies v Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

[2021] EWHC 169 (QB)·2021·Liability decided at trial

Mrs Davies was admitted to Wexham Park Hospital with pneumococcal meningitis; the trust admitted intravenous antibiotics should have started by 10.40 but were not given until 13.20, and she died two days later. After a causation trial the judge found she would probably have survived with timely antibiotics.

In sepsis and meningitis claims a delay of even a few hours in giving IV antibiotics can be negligent, and the key dispute is often whether the delay changed the outcome. Here the family succeeded, with damages already agreed.

Claimant succeeded

Williams v The Bermuda Hospitals Board

[2016] UKPC 4·2016·Appeal decision

A patient with appendicitis waited hours for a CT scan and surgery; by the time his appendix was removed it had ruptured and sepsis had damaged his heart and lungs. The Privy Council held the hospital was liable because its delay materially contributed to the injury, even though some harm would have occurred anyway.

Where negligent delay makes an existing condition worse in a cumulative way, a claimant need not prove the whole injury would have been avoided, only that the delay made a more-than-negligible contribution. This is often relied on in sepsis and delayed-treatment claims.

About sepsis negligence claims →·The whole case library →

Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

This guide is general information about the law in England and Wales, not legal advice about your case. ClaimGavel is run by Costart Projects Ltd on behalf of Tomlin & Partners, a specialist medical negligence firm regulated by the SRA. The free assessment on this page is an AI overview to show you roughly where you stand; a solicitor confirms the position in a free, no-obligation conversation.