If you believe something went wrong during your hospital care, the first thing to focus on is your health. Make sure any new symptoms, adverse effects or further complications are properly assessed, then start keeping a clear record of what happened and ask the hospital for an explanation of your care.

You may not know at this stage whether a medical error occurred, or whether the treatment you received amounts to medical negligence. It's important to remember that an unexpected outcome or complication does not automatically mean your care was negligent.

However, taking some practical steps early can help you understand what happened and preserve useful information if you later decide to investigate your care. This can include recording what you remember, keeping correspondence, requesting your medical records and raising your concerns with the hospital.

JMW's medical negligence lawyers can also investigate what happened, assess whether the care you received fell below an acceptable standard, and advise you on the options available to you.

What should you do first if you suspect a medical error?

If you suspect a medical error occurred during your hospital care, the first steps to take are:

1. Make sure any immediate health concerns are addressed
2. Ask your care team what happened
3. Write down what you remember about your treatment
4. Keep relevant letters, emails and other documents
5. Request copies of your medical records
6. Seek legal advice if you believe the care caused you avoidable harm

You do not need to establish exactly what went wrong before taking these steps. At this point, the aim is to protect your wellbeing, understand your care and keep an accurate record of events.

1. Make sure any immediate health concerns are addressed

Your health should be your first priority if you believe a medical error may have happened.

If you develop new symptoms, your condition gets worse or you experience complications after treatment, seek appropriate medical advice. Depending on the circumstances, this could mean speaking to the hospital team responsible for your care, your GP, NHS 111 or an emergency service.

This is particularly important if you are worried that a medication error, surgical problem or delayed diagnosis may have caused further complications. Do not delay seeking medical attention because you are concerned about whether an error occurred or because you are considering a medical negligence claim.

Where appropriate, ask what follow-up has been arranged and what symptoms you should be aware of. If you remain in hospital, tell a doctor or nurse about any change in your symptoms so that the care team can assess you.

2. Ask the hospital what happened

If something unexpected happened during your hospital treatment, you are entitled to ask questions about your care. Where a notifiable safety incident has occurred, the healthcare provider may have a legal duty under the statutory duty of candour to inform the patient or their representative, explain what is known about what happened and provide an apology.

Speak to a doctor, surgeon, nurse or another member of the care team and ask them to explain what happened in clear, easy to understand terms. Depending on the circumstances, you may want to ask:

• What treatment or procedure was carried out
• Whether anything unexpected happened
• What medication you were given
• Whether any test results or diagnoses changed
• Whether further treatment is required
• What follow-up has been arranged
• Whether the hospital has recorded or reviewed an incident

You may already have been told that an error occurred. In other cases, you may only know that the outcome was not what you expected.

You do not need to reach your own medical or legal conclusion at this stage. There is an important distinction between an adverse event and medical negligence. Treatment sometimes has recognised risks and complications even when doctors, surgeons and nurses provide an appropriate standard of care.

A clinical negligence claim generally requires evidence that the care fell below the standard reasonably expected and that this caused injury or made the outcome materially worse.

3. Write down what you remember

Write down what happened as soon as you reasonably can. A clear timeline is important if questions later arise about the care you received.

You do not need to produce a formal document. A simple note on your phone, computer or paper will preserve details while they are still relatively fresh.

Try to record:

• The dates and approximate times of important events
• The hospital and department involved
• The names of doctors, surgeons or nurses, where you know them
• The symptoms you reported
• What diagnosis you were given
• What treatment or medication you received
• Tests, scans, procedures or surgery that took place
• What healthcare staff told you
• When your condition changed
• Concerns that you or your family raised
• Who attended appointments or discussions with you

If a family member or friend was directly involved or present when conversations took place, ask them to make their own note of what they remember.

These notes may later be considered alongside hospital documentation. When looking at how to prove medical negligence, a person's own account will establish the sequence of events and identify where the medical records or independent expert evidence need closer examination.

You do not need to remember everything perfectly. The aim is to preserve as much useful information as possible.

4. Keep documents and request your medical records

Medical records are an important source of evidence when investigating a suspected medical negligence claim. They provide a contemporaneous record of your symptoms, treatment and the decisions made by doctors, surgeons, nurses and other healthcare staff.

Relevant records include:

• Hospital notes
• Test results
• Scan reports
• Operation notes
• Prescription and medication records
• Referral letters
• Consent forms
• Discharge summaries
• Follow-up letters
• Appointment correspondence

Keep copies of documents that you already have rather than relying on memory alone.

You also have a legal right to request access to personal information held about you by a health or care organisation through a subject access request. NHS England publishes guidance on getting copies of medical records.

Do not worry if you do not already have your full medical records when you speak to a solicitor. If JMW recommends investigating a medical negligence claim, we request the relevant records as part of our work on the case.

We then review them alongside your own account to understand the care you received, the decisions that were made and whether the care fell below the standard it should have met.

When could a medical error amount to medical negligence?

A medical error may amount to medical negligence when the care provided fell below a reasonable professional standard and caused avoidable harm.

When we investigate whether medical negligence has occurred, there are two particularly important questions.

Did the care fall below a reasonable standard?

Doctors, surgeons, nurses and other healthcare professionals owe their patients a duty of care.

This does not mean every treatment must produce the expected outcome. The question is whether the care met the standard expected of a reasonably competent healthcare professional working in the same circumstances.

For example, an investigation may consider whether:

• A doctor should have recognised particular symptoms
• A test or scan should have been arranged
• A surgeon followed an appropriate procedure
• A nurse responded properly when a patient's condition changed
• Medication was prescribed and administered correctly
• Abnormal results should have prompted further action

Independent medical experts are instructed to answer such questions.

Did the substandard care cause avoidable harm?

It is also necessary to establish that the failure in care caused or contributed to harm. This is known as causation.

For example, there may have been a delay in diagnosis, but the claim also needs evidence showing what difference that delay made.

The question may be whether earlier diagnosis would probably have resulted in earlier treatment, prevented further complications or reduced the severity of the person's condition.

This is one reason an adverse event on its own does not necessarily establish medical negligence. The standard of care and the consequences of any failings both need to be considered.

When should you speak to a medical negligence solicitor?

Consider speaking to a specialist solicitor if you believe that substandard hospital care caused an injury, worsened an existing condition or led to avoidable complications.

You do not need to investigate the case yourself before contacting us.

In particular, you do not need to:

• Know exactly what went wrong
• Know which individual member of healthcare staff was responsible
• Have obtained all your medical records
• Have an independent medical opinion
• Prove medical negligence before you contact us

Our medical negligence solicitors will listen to what happened and explain whether we recommend investigating the care you received.

This is also important where several people or departments were involved. Hospital care can involve consultants, surgeons, junior doctors, nurses, radiologists, pharmacists and other members of a wider care team. It may not be obvious from the outset where an error occurred or who was directly involved.

We gather the evidence needed to investigate those questions rather than expecting you to work them out yourself.

What happens when JMW investigates a suspected medical error?

If we recommend investigating a possible medical negligence claim, we start by building a clear picture of what happened.

The precise steps depend on your circumstances, but our medical negligence claims process will usually involve the following stages.

Free initial consultation

We discuss the hospital care you received, your symptoms, the concerns you have and the impact it has had on your life.

We also explain the legal tests involved, whether we recommend investigating the case and how the claim may be funded.

Gathering records and other evidence

If we think there may be a claim and you instruct us to investigate your care, we will gather evidence to establish the chronology of your care.

This can include:

• Your own detailed account of your symptoms and treatment
• Hospital and GP medical records
• Test and scan results
• Medication records
• Witness statements from people who attended appointments or discussions with you
• Evidence showing how the harm has affected your daily life

We review this material with you and identify any areas requiring further investigation.

Independent medical expert evidence

Depending on what the records show, we instruct an appropriate independent medical expert.

The expert will be asked whether the care provided by a doctor, surgeon, nurse or other healthcare professional met a reasonable standard. They will consider whether any failings caused or contributed to the injury and what the outcome would probably have been with appropriate care.

Some claims need experts from more than one area of medicine.

Presenting the claim

Where the evidence supports the case, we prepare a formal Letter of Claim setting out what happened, the alleged failings and the harm they caused. Under the Pre-Action Protocol for the Resolution of Clinical Disputes, the hospital trust, independent healthcare provider or other organisation responsible for the care then has an opportunity to investigate and respond.

The next steps depend on that response and the available evidence. We explain your options throughout the process so you understand what is happening and the decisions that need to be made.

Our team includes members of the Law Society’s specialist panel of clinical negligence solicitors and the Action against Medical Accidents (Avma) solicitors panel.

How long do you have to take action after a medical error?

There is usually a three-year time limit for starting a medical negligence claim in the court process in England and Wales.

This normally runs from either:

• The date the negligent treatment happened
• The date you first knew, or could reasonably have known, that the treatment may have caused you avoidable harm

The second of these is known as the date of knowledge.

Different rules apply in some circumstances. For a child, the three-year limitation period will generally not begin until their 18th birthday, meaning proceedings would ordinarily need to be issued before their 21st birthday. The rules also differ for a person who lacks capacity within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Because the date from which the time limit runs can depend on the individual circumstances, it is sensible to seek advice as soon as you have concerns. Our detailed explanation of the time limits for making a medical negligence claim covers the main rules and exceptions.