§ CASE LIBRARY

Real medical negligence cases,
every one linked to the judgment.

Published judgments of the courts of England and Wales, summarised in plain English: what went wrong, what the court decided, and the sum where the judgment states it. We include the claims that failed as well as the ones that succeeded, because they show what you have to prove.

Judgments

152

With the sum stated

33

Claimant succeeded

87

Claim failed

59

G
ClaimGavel Assistant
● Online · medical negligence · free & confidential
FREE
TELL US WHAT HAPPENED — TYPE HERE

Start typing — your likely claim, value and time limit appear here.

Describe what happened (a sentence or two) to begin.

Free · confidential · not legal adviceEngland

§ WAYS IN

Sums stated (33)£1M and above (13)Claims that failed (59)Fault admitted (42)Court approvals (10)Periodical payments (30)Delayed diagnosis (95)Brain injury (32)Consent claims (13)Leading cases (6)Infection and sepsis (31)Surgery claims (64)Claims for children (39)Fatal claims (22)
AllSum statedClaimant succeededClaim failed
Every claim typeClinical Negligence (10)Surgical Errors (12)Cerebral Palsy (13)Birth Injuries (1)Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis (7)Erb's Palsy (1)GP Negligence (16)Maternal Birth Injury (4)Stillbirth & Neonatal Death (2)Neonatal Injury (5)Sepsis Negligence (5)Cauda Equina Syndrome (7)DVT & Blood Clot (2)A&E Negligence (16)Cancer Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis (6)Orthopaedic Negligence (4)Vascular Negligence (6)Cardiac Negligence (6)Brain & Spinal Surgery Negligence (13)Urology & Catheter Injury (5)Anaesthetic Negligence (2)Fatal Medical Negligence (9)
Claimant succeeded

Wilma Agnes Cullen v Dr Ruth Henniker-Major

[2024] EWHC 2809 (KB)·2024·Damages assessed at trial

A GP saw Ms Cullen three times over five weeks with a persistent cough, sore throat and tiredness but did not make an urgent cancer referral; her laryngeal cancer was diagnosed at stage III about three months later. Liability was admitted, and the trial dealt with disputed care costs and the defendant's allegation that she had been fundamentally dishonest, which the judge rejected.

A delayed cancer referral claim turns on what extra treatment the delay caused; here the admitted delay meant chemotherapy, a total laryngectomy and neck dissections that earlier diagnosis would have avoided. Social media posts relied on to allege dishonesty were found not to contradict her evidence.

Claimant succeeded

Gallardo v Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

[2017] EWHC 3147 (QB)·2017·Liability and damages decided at trial

After surgery at Charing Cross Hospital in 2001 the patient was never told his tumour was malignant or that he needed regular CT surveillance, and the cancer recurred undetected until 2010. The court found a continuing duty to inform him of his diagnosis and follow-up needs which the Trust failed to discharge.

Hospitals must tell patients the result of their treatment and the follow-up they need; failing to communicate a cancer diagnosis and the need for monitoring is negligent.

Claimant succeeded£16,500

Muller v King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

[2017] EWHC 128 (QB)·2017·Liability and damages decided at trial

A biopsy of a non-healing foot wound was reported by a histopathologist as scar tissue when it was in fact melanoma. The judge held the signs of malignancy were plain on the slides and found the Trust liable, but awarded only £16,500 because the cancer had probably already metastasised.

A misread biopsy can be negligent even though pathology involves judgement. Damages depend on what the delay actually changed, which can be modest where the disease had already spread.

Claimant succeeded

Cripps v Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

[2024] EWHC 615 (KB)·2024·Damages assessed at trial

The trust admitted that a misreported smear delayed the diagnosis of cervical cancer, and the claimant, who lost her fertility through treatment, asked for a further interim payment to fund surrogacy abroad. The judge refused because the evidence was not yet complete enough to be confident a trial judge would allow that cost.

Even with liability admitted, an interim payment will only be ordered for sums the court is confident will be recovered at trial. Whether overseas surrogacy costs are recoverable depends on a reasonableness test decided on full evidence.

Claimant succeeded

Shaw v Maguire

[2023] EWHC 2155 (KB)·2023·Liability decided at trial

A skin sample taken in 2007 was reported as benign but in fact showed melanoma, which was only picked up in 2009 and caused the patient's death in 2014. His widow issued proceedings over five years late after her first solicitors let the case drift, and the court allowed the claim to proceed.

The clock can start later than the mistake itself, because it only runs once you know the injury is serious. Delay caused by former solicitors rather than by the claimant is far less likely to defeat a late claim, especially where the original slides and reports survive.

Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

§ HOW TO READ THESE

Most claims never reach a judgment. They settle privately, and settlement sums are confidential. Judgments surface when liability is disputed, when damages are fought over, or when a court must approve a settlement for a child or someone who lacks capacity. That is why approvals and damages trials are where the public figures come from.

Amounts are only what the judgment prints. Where a case shows a lump sum plus periodical payments, the yearly payments continue for life and can be worth far more than the lump sum. Where no figure is shown, the court decided fault but the money was settled or assessed elsewhere.

Plain-English guides built on these cases →

This guide is general information about the law in England and Wales, not legal advice about your case. ClaimGavel is run by Costart Projects Ltd on behalf of Tomlin & Partners, a specialist medical negligence firm regulated by the SRA. The free assessment on this page is an AI overview to show you roughly where you stand; a solicitor confirms the position in a free, no-obligation conversation.