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Original poster

Medical negligence criteria

31 replies

potsandmud · 24/03/2025 16:38

Looking for advice from solicitors only please. I have enquired with various firms about a matter which has gone on for some years and where I have one medical professional’s word against another in what has led to extreme injury and damages for me and my family.

Theyre now considering the case - as it would need to be no win no fee. However the losses are substantial and it is a case which would
highlight a serious division between private and nhs care and is in the news a lot due to the surge of people seeking help for it.

My question is - how do lawyers decide these cases and what can I do to get the best representation?

TIA

OP posts:
Elektra1 · 10/01/2026 07:09

TheCountofMountingCrispBags · 28/03/2025 02:50

Medical negligence cases no longer rely solely on Bolam. Bolitho also applies
https://www.ukcmls.co.uk/articles/tony-elliott/how-the-bolitho-test-changed-the-understanding-of-medical-negligence

Edited

I recall being taught both Bolam and Bolitho when I started law school in 2006!

hetookthecorkscrewtoo · 18/01/2026 19:14

Do either Bolam or Bilitho count when a cancer diagnosis was recorded incorrectly due to four typing errors, so a negative hercept cancer treated as a positive with chemotherapy given without informed consent and was of no medical relevance to the actual type of cancer?

Crwysmam · 18/01/2026 19:31

BobbyBiscuits · 24/03/2025 19:08

There isn't any medication that directly causes users to make unhealthy or financially unwise life decisions. In a legal sense? If there was then every person that took it would sue when they spent their life savings or acted in an unreasonable or unwise manner. So in that respect it might be difficult.

Actually there is. It is used to treat Parkinson’s and benign pituitary tumours. But it clearly states in the instructions supplied with the drug that it is a possible side effect, and that if you start to experience this side effect you should contact your prescriber. And therefore would be easy to present to a clinician.

The clinician would have to be made aware of the side effect for them to be held responsible. It’s sort of a chicken an egg situation. If they don’t know you are experiencing the side effect how can they act upon it.

For reference the drug is known as Cabergoline.

Crwysmam · 18/01/2026 19:35

For reference Pfizer settled a class action in Australia brought against them regarding this side effect. Which is why it carries a prominent safety warning.
https://www.biospace.com/pfizer-agrees-to-pay-off-parkinson-patients-who-developed-gambling-and-sex-addiction-while-on-cabaser#:~:text=In%20December%202014%2C%20Pfizer%20offered,and%20other%20high%2Drisk%20activities.

BobbyBiscuits · 18/01/2026 20:47

Crwysmam · 18/01/2026 19:31

Actually there is. It is used to treat Parkinson’s and benign pituitary tumours. But it clearly states in the instructions supplied with the drug that it is a possible side effect, and that if you start to experience this side effect you should contact your prescriber. And therefore would be easy to present to a clinician.

The clinician would have to be made aware of the side effect for them to be held responsible. It’s sort of a chicken an egg situation. If they don’t know you are experiencing the side effect how can they act upon it.

For reference the drug is known as Cabergoline.

Show quote history

Thank you. That's interesting. And a bit worrying really.

FrodoBiggins · 18/01/2026 20:53

Mrsttcno1 · 24/03/2025 17:08

In terms of the best representation, the honest answer is you shop around & are prepared to pay big £££ for it, but those people aren’t typically your no win no fee people.

It’s a tricky one with medical negligence cases because a lot of it hinges on the Bolam test, which essentially looks at the treatment/diagnosis/etc you received and look at whether a reasonably competent professional would have done the same, it’s compares the practitioner to their peers essentially. This does make things complicated because in most cases the answer to that will be yes, something can be wrong but still not meet the threshold here. When I was finishing my training contract we had a few cases like this, one person who had been misdiagnosed and treatment began for a certain illness, it had caused harm, and it turned out the person never had that illness, but the case found no medical negligence because despite the fact it was wrong it was decided that based on the triage info, the scan results and blood results available another doctor would have made the same call.

So essentially it depends whether what has happened in your case is SO bad that nobody else would have done it in which case your case would be successful, or whether it was a bad call but ultimately another doctor would have made the same call so therefore your case fails, having one doctor who disagrees isn’t enough.

I disagree with the first part here. The best claimant clinical negligence firms in the UK absolutely work on conditional fee agreements (no win no fee) and rarely do work which isn't funded on that basis.

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