§ 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

113

With the sum stated

28

Claimant succeeded

62

Claim failed

48

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§ WAYS IN

Sums stated (28)£1M and above (13)Claims that failed (48)Fault admitted (30)Court approvals (9)Periodical payments (23)Delayed diagnosis (73)Brain injury (25)Consent claims (13)Leading cases (6)Infection and sepsis (26)Surgery claims (57)Claims for children (26)Fatal claims (15)
AllSum statedClaimant succeededClaim failed
Every claim typeClinical Negligence (5)Surgical Errors (12)Cerebral Palsy (11)Birth Injuries (1)Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis (2)Erb's Palsy (1)GP Negligence (9)Maternal Birth Injury (4)Stillbirth & Neonatal Death (2)Neonatal Injury (3)Sepsis Negligence (5)Cauda Equina Syndrome (5)DVT & Blood Clot (2)A&E Negligence (11)Cancer Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis (4)Orthopaedic Negligence (4)Vascular Negligence (6)Cardiac Negligence (3)Brain & Spinal Surgery Negligence (11)Urology & Catheter Injury (3)Anaesthetic Negligence (2)Fatal Medical Negligence (7)
Claimant succeeded£195,888

Biggadike v El Farra & Anor

[2024] EWHC 1688 (KB)·2024·Liability and damages decided at trial

The patient had a hysterectomy, pelvic floor repair and incontinence tape fitted by one consultant, then mesh removal and a colposuspension by a second consultant. The court cleared the first surgeon but found the second performed the colposuspension without clinical justification, leaving the patient with severe bladder symptoms.

Performing an operation that is not clinically justified is a breach of duty even if it is technically done well. Damages are limited to the harm caused by the negligent procedure, not the patient's pre-existing symptoms.

Claim failed

Devonport v Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

[2016] EWHC 1729 (QB)·2016·Liability decided at trial

After a radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer the patient developed an abscess and a narrowed ureter, and later lost a kidney; she alleged the bowel was perforated at surgery and that urologists should have been involved in a second operation. The judge preferred the hospital's explanation for the infection and found no negligence in either operation.

Ureteric and kidney damage after pelvic surgery is not automatically negligent; the court will examine the most likely mechanism. Expert evidence on the cause of infection is often decisive.

Claimant succeeded£459,758

O'Connor v The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

[2015] EWCA Civ 1244·2015·Appeal decision

During surgery to repair a bladder-vagina fistula caused by an earlier hysterectomy, the surgeon damaged the femoral nerve while dissecting the sigmoid colon. The trial judge awarded £459,758 and the Court of Appeal upheld the finding that the injury was caused by negligent direct injury rather than retractor pressure.

Where a nerve is damaged in an area the surgeon was working on, a court may infer negligence from the mechanism of injury and the expert evidence. Appeal courts rarely overturn a trial judge's factual findings on how an injury occurred.

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.