§ GUIDE · CLAIMING AGAINST THE NHS
Can you sue the NHS?
Yes. Here is how it works.
If NHS care fell below a reasonable standard and that caused you harm, you can claim compensation. This guide covers what you have to show, the difference between a claim and a complaint, who actually pays, and what it costs you.
NHS claims settled 2024/25
11,859
Paid out 2024/25
£2.8B
Time limit (usually)
3 years
First conversation
Free
§ WHAT YOU HAVE TO SHOW
Three things, all of them.
A bad outcome is not, by itself, negligence. Medicine carries risk, and a claim succeeds only when all three of these are proved — usually with reports from independent medical experts.
1. A breach of duty
The care you received fell below the standard of a reasonably competent clinician in that field. The legal test (from the Bolam and Bolitho cases) asks whether a responsible body of doctors would have done the same, and whether that practice stands up to logical scrutiny.
2. Causation
The substandard care caused, or materially contributed to, your injury — and you would have avoided that harm with proper care. This is where many claims are won or lost: a missed diagnosis only counts if catching it would have changed the outcome.
3. Loss
You suffered harm you can be compensated for: the injury itself, and the financial consequences — lost earnings, care, treatment, equipment, adaptations, past and future.
§ CLAIM OR COMPLAINT?
Two different routes. You can use both.
An NHS complaint
- Made to the trust or practice, with help from PALS if you want it
- Normally within 12 months of the event
- Gets an explanation, sometimes an apology and a change in practice
- Cannot award compensation
- Can be escalated to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
A compensation claim
- Brought by a specialist solicitor against the trust or practice
- Normally started within 3 years
- Gets compensation for your injury and its financial consequences
- Needs proof of breach, causation and loss
- Handled and paid by NHS Resolution in England
A complaint does not pause the three-year claim limit, so if you are considering a claim, do not wait for the complaint process to finish before taking advice.
§ WHO PAYS, AND WHAT IT COSTS YOU
You claim against the trust. NHS Resolution pays.
In England, every NHS trust belongs to an indemnity scheme run by NHS Resolution, which investigates, defends and settles claims on the trust’s behalf. Claims about NHS GP care have been covered by a sister scheme since 2019. In Wales the equivalent is the Welsh Risk Pool. Private treatment is claimed against the clinician or clinic and their insurer instead.
You are not suing an individual doctor or nurse personally, and the money does not come out of your local ward’s budget. In 2024/25 the scheme paid £2.8B across 11,859 settled claims — see the national figures.
What it costs you: the assessment on this page is free, and the first conversation with Tomlin & Partners is free and without obligation. If the firm takes your case on, it explains its funding options and fees before you decide anything.
§ QUESTIONS
Common questions
Can you sue the NHS for negligence?
Yes. If NHS care fell below a reasonable standard and that caused you harm, you can bring a clinical negligence claim against the NHS trust (or the GP practice) responsible. In England the claim is handled and paid by NHS Resolution, which settled 11,859 claims and paid £2.8B in 2024/25.
Can you sue the NHS for misdiagnosis?
Yes, if a reasonably competent clinician would have made or investigated the diagnosis, and the delay made your outcome worse. A wrong diagnosis on its own is not enough — you need to show both that it was negligent and that it caused you harm you would otherwise have avoided.
Can you sue the NHS for a delay in treatment?
Yes, where the delay was unreasonable and caused harm — a cancer that spread, a fracture that healed badly, an infection that became sepsis. Waiting-list delays that are unfortunate but within normal practice are much harder to claim for; the question is always whether the care fell below the standard a competent service would provide.
Can I sue the NHS for a death?
Yes. The estate and the family can claim after a death caused by negligent care: a fixed bereavement award, the financial and practical support the person provided, funeral costs, and compensation for what the person went through before they died. See our guide to fatal negligence payouts.
Can I sue my GP?
Yes. GP negligence — a missed referral, symptoms dismissed, a prescribing error — is claimed in the same way. Since April 2019, claims about NHS GP care in England are also handled by NHS Resolution under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice.
How much does it cost to sue the NHS?
The assessment on this page is free, and the first conversation with Tomlin & Partners is free and without obligation. The firm explains its funding options and fees before you decide anything, so you know where you stand before any cost arises.
Does suing the NHS take money away from patient care?
Compensation is paid by NHS Resolution from contributions made by trusts to an indemnity scheme, not from an individual hospital's budget for your ward. Claims also feed back into safety learning. The reason to claim is that you have needs — care, treatment, lost income — that someone else's negligence created.
Is there a time limit for suing the NHS?
Yes — normally three years from the negligent treatment or from when you first knew something had gone wrong, with exceptions for children (until their 21st birthday) and people who lack mental capacity. See our time limits guide.
§ MORE GUIDES
Plain answers to the other questions people ask.
Payout examples →
UK medical negligence payout examples by claim type, typical compensation ranges, and what decides the amount. Then check your own claim free.
Fatal negligence payouts →
What compensation after a death caused by medical negligence can include: the bereavement award, dependency, funeral costs and the estate's claim.
Time limits →
The 3-year time limit for medical negligence claims, the date-of-knowledge rule, and the exceptions for children, mental capacity and fatal claims.
How long claims take →
How long medical negligence claims really take, stage by stage, using official NHS Resolution timing data — and what slows a claim down.
NHS payout data →
Official NHS Resolution figures, band by band, for 2024/25.
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.