The NHS is probably the most revered institution in Britain, and millions of people can rightly say that without it, they wouldn’t be here today.
However, for one reason or another, some patients do fall victim to medical negligence while being treated. Incidents such as these are referred to as 'never events'.
New figures analysed by the PA news agency have revealed that there were 407 never events between April 2021 and March 2022.
If you’ve experienced medical negligence, you might be unsure what you can do about it. Here’s what never events actually mean and how you can claim compensation for them.
What are NHS 'never events'?
According to the Care Quality Commission, never events are defined as “serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if healthcare providers have implemented existing national guidance or safety recommendations”.
These events are relatively rare - there are typically several hundred a year across the NHS - but they can be serious.
Wrong events may include foreign objects left inside patients after surgery, surgery being performed on the wrong part of the body, or the use of the wrong implant or prosthesis.
Of the 407 never events analysed by PA, there were 98 cases of foreign objects mistakenly being left in patients, including 32 vaginal swabs and 21 surgical swabs.
How to claim compensation for medical negligence
If you or a close family member have experienced medical negligence while being treated by the NHS, you may be able to bring a compensation claim.
According to the NHS Resolution website, you’ll need to prove that health practitioners have failed in their duty of care and you’ll also need to prove “causation” - that the harm caused is as a result of the practitioner to meet the appropriate standards.
For a compensation claim to be successful, claimants must be able to demonstrate that the professional providing healthcare has fallen short of the standard expected of them.
You may be able to claim damages both for the pain you’ve suffered and your general loss of amenity, and also for the loss of earnings and other expenses incurred due to the alleged negligence.
Personal injury claims are subject to a three-year limitation period. This means that claims must be made within three years of the claimed negligence occurring, or within three years of becoming aware of the harm caused.
