The hospital is often the first place we turn to when we’re injured or ill. The last thing we expect is to be made worse there by a life-threatening infection. If you failed to receive the correct treatment and suffered an infection, MRSA claims for compensation can apply against those responsible.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacteria that is harmless outside the body. However, internal infection can be very serious and potentially fatal. It can cause nasty complications such as swollen skin with pus, blood poisoning (sepsis) and pneumonia. MRSA can leave a patient with long-term health issues and is resistant to many antibiotics. You could and should be compensated if exposed to this risk.

The essential information needed to make MRSA claims is detailed below. You are welcome to contact us at any point as you read with questions or concerns. Our dedicated team of advisors can offer a free assessment of your claim. If it’s valid and you’d like to go ahead with our services, they’ll connect you to an expert medical negligence solicitor from our panel.

To discover whether you could be compensated after medical negligence:

• Contact us to see if your claim qualifies.
• Call to discuss MRSA claims on 0113 460 1216

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. Who Can Make MRSA Claims?
2. What MRSA Compensation Could I Be Awarded?
3. How Might Negligence Result In MRSA Being Contracted?
4. Is There An MRSA Claims Time Limit?
5. How Can I Prove Negligence In My MRSA Claim?
6. What Can Medical Negligence Claims Care Help With?
7. Learn More

Who Can Make MRSA Claims?

It’s important to note that there are eligibility criteria that determine who can make MRSA claims. The basis of MRSA claims must show that an act of medical negligence occurred. Healthcare professionals have an obligation to their patients known as a duty of care. This means they must meet a minimum standard of care and not cause avoidable or unnecessary harm. So, in order to make an MRSA claim, you need to show:

• You were owed a duty of care by a medical professional or hospital (this applies automatically).
• The hospital or medical professional involved failed to treat you to the expected standards.
• You contracted MRSA because of this breach.

With all three points met, you could have good grounds to claim medical neglience compensation.

Can I Make An MRSA Claim Against The NHS?

You can indeed make an MRSA claim against the NHS. This would be done through their arms-length agency called NHS Resolution, which is set up to deal with complaints about care and award compensation in successful medical negligence claims. If you can prove the NHS failed to follow infection control policies, NHS Resolution may award compensation for the harm you suffered.  A solicitor from our panel could help guide your negligence claim through NHS Resolution.

Am I Able To Claim If My MRSA Was Misdiagnosed?

Yes, you can claim for a hospital or GP misdiagnosis that causes avoidable or unnecessary harm. Failure to detect MRSA can also cause complications and delays with the correct care. You could be compensated for the impact of these issues. Again, it is necessary to meet the criteria we looked at above to have a valid claim.

Can I Claim For MRSA Compensation On Behalf Of A Loved One?

You can make MRSA claims on behalf of loved ones if you are appointed as a litigation friend by the courts. Normally, litigation friends are family members. But they can also be a friend, a guardian, a solicitor or someone with power of attorney. Usually, they step in for a minor or a protected adult who lacks the mental capacity to manage a claim themselves.

A litigation friend acts in the best interests of the person making a compensation claim. They might need to attend court on their behalf and make important decisions affecting the claim. If you’d like more information about taking on this role for a loved one in an MRSA compensation claim, speak to our advisors using the contact options above.

What MRSA Compensation Could I Be Awarded?

The compensation awarded in MRSA claims will generally vary according to individual circumstances. It’s therefore advisable to seek professional help to get a more accurate assessment of what could be owed. It’s also helpful to understand the calculation process that a solicitor will use to value your MRSA claim. 

The table below uses excerpts from a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document is used alongside medical evidence as a starting point for the calculation of general damages.

General damages assess the physical and psychological pain. Also, this category of loss takes into account the severity and length of illness. As well as what level of harm has been caused to the person’s abilities or pleasures in life (loss of amenity).

This table is only intended as an approximate guide based on past cases in England and Wales. Also, we include a top-line figure that does not come from the Judicial College Guidelines:

Compensation Guidelines

AREA OF HARM	SEVERITY	COMPENSATION GUIDELINES	NOTES
Severe multiple forms of harm and Special Damages	Severe	Up to £1 million plus.	An award of this magnitude covers several severe forms of harm and Special Damages for the lost income, care costs and medical treatments needed privately.
Brain	(a) Very Severe	£344,150 increasing to £493,000	The person is left with little meaningful interaction with their environment and requires full-time professional care permanently.
	(d) Less Severe	£18,700 increasing to £52,550	The person has a good recovery and can participate in work and social activities with perhaps persisting issues with concentration, mood or memory.
Kidneys	(a) Serious	£206,730 increasing to £256,780	Permanent or serious damage (or loss) of both kidneys.
Bowels	(b) Total Loss	Up to £183,190	Cases where natural function of the bowel is totally lost and depending on age, a colostomy may be relied upon.
Lung Disease	(a) Serious	£122,850 increasing to £165,860	A serious disability with the likelihood of progressive worsening and risk of premature death.
Facial Disfigurement	(a) Very Severe Scarring	£36,340 increasing to £118,790	Impacting young claimants (usually teens to early 30's) where effect is very disfiguring and psychological reaction is severe.
Bladder	(c) Serious	£78,080 increasing to £97,540	Seriously impaired bladder control with some incontinence and pain.
Spleen	(a) Loss of Spleen	£25,380 increasing to £32,090	Where the spleen is lost and a risk of internal infection or other disorders persists because of a damaged immune system.
Scarring to Other Parts of the Body	Noticeable	£9,560 increasing to £27,740	A number of scars that are noticeable or one large disfiguring scar on leg(s) back, arm(s) or hand(s).

Can Special Damages Be Claimed For As Part Of MRSA Claims?

Special damages could also be part of your claim if you have documented evidence to prove them. An MRSA infection could generate a wide range of financial issues. So, you might have some of the following evidence that you could put forward:

• Private medical treatment costs (both past and future anticipated expenses).
• The cost of care in the home.
• Any childcare expenses incurred.
• Pay slips showing a loss of earnings or loss of other workplace benefits caused by an inability to work due to the infection.
• Prescription charges and counselling fees.
• Travel expenses to appointments.
• Any adaptation costs needed in the home or vehicle.

It’s important to keep all statements and receipts for expenses that might relate to your MRSA infection. If you decide to appoint a solicitor from our panel, they can use this evidence to calculate a more accurate compensation amount. Call our advisors now to find out more about general and special damages.

How Might Negligence Result In MRSA Being Contracted?

There are several ways that negligence might occur, resulting in a patient or person contracting MRSA. We look at some examples:

• The hospital staff fail to regularly clean to the appropriate standards, which allows MRSA bacteria to spread.
• Surgical staff in a private hospital failed to sanitise properly prior to surgery, and MRSA was transferred from one patient to others.
• A patient is not checked for MRSA before surgery.
• Patients with a weakened immune system are placed next to those with MRSA infections because of hospital negligence. A nurse fails to wash her hands between these patients, transferring the infection. 
• A doctor fails to spot MRSA promptly or accurately, and this delayed diagnosis allows the condition to worsen.

If your example is not listed, speak to our advisors. They can determine the grounds for your medical negligence compensation claim. If it’s valid, they can connect you to an expert MRSA claims solicitor from our panel.

Is There An MRSA Claims Time Limit?

There is a time limit for medical negligence claims, including MRSA cases, of 3 years. This is detailed by the Limitation Act 1980. In most cases, the 3-year time limit starts from one of two dates:

• The date of the medical negligence.
• The date of knowledge. This is the point at which it is fair to assume you connected negligent care as the root cause of the harm you experienced.

Time limits can be altered for two groups:

• They are paused for minors until they reach the age of 18, from which date the 3-year period starts.
• There is an indefinite pause for claimants who lack the mental capacity to claim themselves. If their capacity returns, they have 3 years to claim from that date of recovery.
• As we discussed above, both groups can have a litigation friend launch their claim for them. This only applies whilst the time limit pauses are in effect.

Our advisory team are on hand to discuss time limits and other questions you might have about MRSA claims.

How Can I Prove Negligence In My MRSA Claim?

There are certain key pieces of evidence that you can use to prove your MRSA claim. It includes the following:

• Copies of all correspondence with the NHS or private clinic about the care you received or any complaint you made.
• Copies of doctors’ notes, test results, surgical details and treatment plans that can prove a delay in testing or a misdiagnosis for MRSA.
• A personal statement of your health and psychological state.
• Statements from anyone who witnessed negligent care.
• Photos and videos of skin rashes, pus and other MRSA symptoms.
• Photos of the likely cause of the MRSA (such as dirty equipment) or details of any defective medical devices and cleaning procedures in the hospital.
• Financial documents showing an incurred cost because of the negligent care.
• Proof of medications needed for the infection.
• Names of the negligent doctor or staff.

If collecting evidence like this feels overwhelming, our panel could help. Contact our advisors to see if a solicitor from our panel can assist. They are experts at gathering proof in MRSA claims and could handle your claim.

What Can Medical Negligence Claims Care Help With?

Medical Negligence Claims Care could help you with every aspect of your MRSA compensation claim from start to finish. If your claim is eligible and you decide to appoint a solicitor from our panel, you’ll receive a wealth of excellent legal services, such as:

• Help to gather evidence.
• An accurate and thorough evaluation of the compensation claim.
• All legal jargon explained.
• Time limits and court-imposed deadlines met.
• Full negotiations on your behalf with the other side.
• Solid advice on when to settle.

In addition to this, they can offer their services through a type of No Win No Fee arrangement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This provides an excellent option for anyone seeking legal services in a medical negligence compensation claim to move forward without worrying about upfront costs. Under the terms of a CFA:

• There are no solicitor’s fees expected upfront to start work.
• No solicitor’s fees apply as the claim moves ahead.
• Claims that enjoy a positive outcome require a success fee to be paid to the solicitors. This is taken as a small percentage of the compensation and is capped low by a law called the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
• There are no solicitor’s fees to pay for finished work if the claim fails.

Starting MRSA claims this way means you can access outstanding legal representation from our panel of experts, while keeping most of your compensation if the claim succeeds. If you’d like to learn more, start by getting in touch using the contact options below.

Contact Us 

• Call to discuss MRSA claims on 0113 460 1216
• Contact us to see if your claim qualifies.

Learn More

In addition to this guide about MRSA claims, you might find these other resources from our website useful:

• Here we look at claiming compensation after unnecessary treatment in this article.
• Read about claims after medication errors by the NHS.
• This guide explores how long a medical negligence claim can take to conclude.

Some external links to help:

• Here is a resource from the NHS to get help for your symptoms.
• The professional standards expected of medical professionals are detailed here by the General Medical Council (GMC).
• Lastly, here is guidance on getting copies of your medical records.

In conclusion, thank you for reading our guide. If you need any further free information or guidance on MRSA claims, get in touch.