What Is A Breach Of Duty In Medical Negligence Claims?

Have you suffered harm that should have been prevented after receiving medical treatment? If so, you may be entitled to claim medical negligence compensation. However, you must prove that there was a breach of duty of care. In this guide, we explain what breach of duty in a medical negligence claim means, how it can be proven, and some examples of how it could occur.

If you have suffered medical negligence, we are here to help you. Our panel of specialist and dedicated medical negligence solicitors have years of experience in winning thousands of pounds in compensation for their clients. To find out whether you can be the next client they connect with today, simply contact us for free and tell us about your circumstances:

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Jump To A Section

  1. What Is Meant By Breach Of Duty?
  2. The Influence Of The Bolam Test
  3. Medical Negligence Breach Of Duty Examples
  4. What Is The Difference Between Breach Of Duty And Causation?
  5. What Is Needed To Prove Breach Of Duty Medical Negligence?
  6. How A Medical Negligence Solicitor Can Help
  7. More Information

What Is Meant By Breach Of Duty?

Medical professionals owe a duty of care to every patient they treat to provide them with the correct standard of care – a failure to uphold this responsibility is a breach of duty.

To uphold this responsibility, medical professionals must always provide the correct standard of care and ensure it never falls below the standard required of a reasonably competent medical professional in the same discipline. 

Here are some of the duties that medical professionals are expected to take to provide the correct standard of care:

  • Take a patient’s full medical history. 
  • Investigate a patient’s complaints and symptoms properly. 
  • Send the patient for the appropriate and necessary referrals to specialists. 
  • Prescribe an appropriate course of treatment.
  • Make the correct differential diagnosis. 
  • Initiate the action to take all reasonable steps to procure the patient’s health.
  • Have follow-ups with the patient if reasonably necessary.

A medical negligence claim can be made if this breach of duty of care leads to a patient suffering avoidable harm. To check your medical negligence claim eligibility, please give us a quick call today. 

The Influence Of The Bolam Test

The Bolam Test, which resulted from the Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957], can be used to help assess what is considered an appropriate standard of care if a medical professional is accused of being negligent.

The Bolam Test is when a group of medical experts trained in the same speciality as the medical professional in question assesses whether or not they would have acted in the same way. As such, it can be proven that a medical professional is not negligent if how they acted is accepted as reasonable and in accordance with a responsible body of expert medical opinion skilled in that particular field.

Amendments From The Bolitho Case

The Bolitho Test, which resulted from the 1997 Bolitho v City and Hackney court case Health Authority, is an amendment of The Bolam Test that can help clarify if an appropriate standard of care has been met. 

The Bolitho Test establishes that a court cannot be bound to deem a medical professional as not negligent simply because a number of expert medical opinions say that the medical professional was in accordance with acceptable medical practice. The medical professional must have had a “logical basis” for their actions. 

This also means that a medical professional can be deemed as not negligent if they acted in accordance with “logical basis” and their expected standard of care, even if a body of expert medical opinions have a contrary view.

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Medical Negligence Breach Of Duty Examples

Here are some medical negligence breach of duty examples that could potentially lead to a patient suffering avoidable harm:

  • Medication errors – when a medical professional prescribes the incorrect medication entirely, the wrong dosage of a medication, or provides the incorrect information about how to take a medication.
  • Misdiagnosis or failed diagnosis – when a medical professional misdiagnoses a patient’s condition due to not listening to their symptoms and concerns properly, or because they failed to send the patient for further testing. 
  • Missed fractures – when a medical professional either fails to order an X-ray or misreads test results. 
  • Wrong site surgery – when a surgical procedure is performed on the wrong part of a patient’s body, either due to a medical professional putting wrong information on the patient’s medical documents, ineffective communication, or because a surgeon fails to correctly mark the patient’s intended surgical site. 
  • Retained foreign objects – when a piece of surgical equipment is left in a patient’s body after a procedure, either due to inadequate surgical protocols, fatigue/lack of attention of a medical professional, or ineffective communication. 
  • Unhygienic medical practices – when a medical professional fails to maintain the required hygiene standards.
  • Incorrect use of equipment – when a medical professional fails to use a piece of medical equipment correctly. For example, if a midwife uses forceps incorrectly during labour, this could lead to a birth injury. 

If you believe a medical professional was negligent to you in one of these ways, or in another way that isn’t listed above, please contact us today and tell us about your circumstances. Medical negligence is not limited to the above list, so we might be able to confirm your compensation claim eligibility today.

What Is The Difference Between Breach Of Duty And Causation?

Causation and breach of duty are two separate factors in a clinical negligence claim. While breach of duty is when a medical professional fails to provide the correct standard of care, causation establishes whether the breach of duty directly caused or contributed to the patient’s harm. Breach of duty focuses on the standard of care that was given itself, whereas causation examines the link between this substandard care and the harm suffered.

If you connect with a medical negligence lawyer from our panel, they will work hard to try and ensure that both breach of duty and causation is proven in your medical negligence claim, so that you have the best chances of receiving compensation.

What Is Needed To Prove Breach Of Duty Medical Negligence?

Here are the best types of evidence that could help prove breach of duty in a medical negligence claim:

  • Copies of X-rays, scans, and test results.
  • Copies of your medical records that show any diagnoses and treatment you received, or any allergies you suffer.
  • A personal diary where you’ve recorded what symptoms you have. 
  • Copies of your prescription, packaging, or forms. 
  • Copies of correspondence (either through letters or emails) you’ve had with the medical institution or professional from whom you received the negligent treatment. 
  • Contact information from anyone who witnessed your negligent treatment, such as a family member who attended your appointment with you.

It is in your best interest to collect as much of the above as possible. If you are concerned about gathering all of this yourself, please do not worry. If you are connected with a solicitor from our panel, they will be able to collect your evidence for you to save you the stress. Please contact us to see whether a solicitor from our panel can help you today.

How A Medical Negligence Solicitor Can Help

If you are looking to make a medical negligence claim, a specialist No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help you tremendously in many ways. This is just some of the work that they can do for you:

  • Collect your evidence. 
  • Communicate with all relevant parties, including the defendant, on your behalf. 
  • Put you in touch with different rehabilitation specialists. 
  • Help you apply for interim payments, if you’re eligible to receive them. 
  • Use their years of experience to ensure that your settlement is correctly representative of your suffering and losses. 
  • Communicate with you clearly about any progress on the case, without the complicated legal jargon.

Additionally, because our panel of solicitors work with their clients on the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), this means that you have:

  • No upfront or ongoing fees to pay for your solicitor’s work. 
  • No fees to pay for your solicitor’s work at all if the claim is not successful. 

If the claim is successful, your solicitor will just keep a small percentage of your settlement. This small percentage is otherwise known as the ‘success fee’, and is legally capped to make sure that the clients always get the majority of their settlement. 

Contact Medical Negligence Claims Care

Our panel of solicitors have:

  • Decades of combined experience working on medical negligence cases. 
  • Had the highest level of legal training. 
  • Won thousands of pounds in compensation for previous clients. 
  • Taken on medical negligence claims from all over the country. 
  • Dedication in providing you with the best client service possible. 

So, if you believe a medical professional breached their duty of care, and this led to you suffering harm, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. It’s free to chat to us, and we could connect you with an expert solicitor from our panel if you’re eligible for compensation:

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More Information

For more information about medical negligence claims, you can browse a few of our similar guides:

Additionally, you might get some useful information from these other pages:

  • General Medical Council (GMC) – find out more about what good medical practice is expected of doctors.
  • Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – find out more about what duty of care is expected of nurses.
  • Care Quality Commission (CQC) – find a hospital and check their quality of care.

Thank you for reading our guide on breach of duty in medical negligence claims. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have a claim enquiry – we want to help you get the financial justice you deserve if you’re eligible for compensation.