§ CASE LIBRARY

Real medical negligence cases,
every one linked to the judgment.

Published judgments of the courts of England and Wales, summarised in plain English: what went wrong, what the court decided, and the sum where the judgment states it. We include the claims that failed as well as the ones that succeeded, because they show what you have to prove.

Judgments

44

With the sum stated

13

Claimant succeeded

26

Claim failed

16

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AllSum statedClaimant succeededClaim failed
Every claim typeClinical Negligence (1)Surgical Errors (3)Cerebral Palsy (8)Birth Injuries (1)Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis (1)Erb's Palsy (1)GP Negligence (4)Maternal Birth Injury (2)Stillbirth & Neonatal Death (1)Neonatal Injury (1)Sepsis Negligence (3)Cauda Equina Syndrome (2)DVT & Blood Clot (1)A&E Negligence (3)Cancer Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis (1)Orthopaedic Negligence (2)Vascular Negligence (1)Cardiac Negligence (1)Brain & Spinal Surgery Negligence (1)Anaesthetic Negligence (2)Fatal Medical Negligence (4)
Claim failed

Rebeccah Taylor v Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

[2019] EWHC 1043 (QB)·2019·Liability decided at trial

A 4.93kg baby's shoulder became stuck at delivery and the registrar used moderate downward traction to free her, causing a permanent brachial plexus injury. The judge found that traction of that kind was accepted practice in 1992, even though it is now avoided, so the claim failed.

Negligence is judged by the standards at the time of the birth, not today's guidance, which is decisive in many historic Erb's palsy claims. An agreed damages figure is worth nothing unless breach of duty is proved.

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.

§ HOW TO READ THESE

Most claims never reach a judgment. They settle privately, and settlement sums are confidential. Judgments surface when liability is disputed, when damages are fought over, or when a court must approve a settlement for a child or someone who lacks capacity. That is why approvals and damages trials are where the public figures come from.

Amounts are only what the judgment prints. Where a case shows a lump sum plus periodical payments, the yearly payments continue for life and can be worth far more than the lump sum. Where no figure is shown, the court decided fault but the money was settled or assessed elsewhere.

Plain-English guides built on these cases →

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.