If you've been harmed due to someone else’s actions - or inaction - you might be wondering whether your experience falls under a personal injury claim or a clinical negligence claim.
While both involve seeking compensation for harm, the definitions, legal process, evidence requirements, and how the claims are managed differ.
Understanding the distinction is not just legal semantics: it can impact your chances of success.
In this blog, we explain the key differences between clinical negligence and personal injury so you can take the next steps with confidence.
What is a Personal Injury claim?
A personal injury claim arises when you’ve been injured as a result of the negligence of another person, company or public body.
These claims often result from everyday accidents and typically involve breaches of general health and safety obligations.
Common personal injury scenarios include:
- RTA claims - Road traffic accidents (drivers, passengers, pedestrians)
- Occupiers liability claims - Slips, trips and falls in shops or public spaces
- Employer’s liability claims - Accidents at work due to unsafe equipment or lack of training
- Defective liability claims - Injuries caused by defective products
In these cases, the key legal test is whether someone had a legal responsibility to keep you reasonably safe, whether they breached that duty of care, and whether that breach directly caused your injury.
What is a Clinical Negligence claim?
Clinical negligence, often called medical negligence, is a specialised type of claim, sometimes regarded as a personal injury claim but defined under court rules as a type of professional negligence claim. This occurs when a healthcare professional provides care that falls below an acceptable standard, causing you avoidable harm as a result.
This can happen in NHS or private healthcare settings against GPs, hospitals, physiotherapists, opticians, dentists or other healthcare professionals.
Examples of clinical negligence include:
- A misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis leading to delayed treatment
- Surgical errors (e.g. wrong site surgery)
- Prescribing the wrong medication
- Failing to obtain proper informed consent before a procedure
- Failing to monitor or follow up after treatment
Here, the law uses a higher benchmark - the Bolam test - which asks whether a responsible, competent medical practitioner would have acted the same way. This means expert medical evidence is almost always required to prove negligence.
Which claim do you have: Common misunderstandings
It’s surprisingly easy to mix up personal injury and clinical negligence. Here are some situations where people often assume it’s one type of claim, but it’s actually the other:
1. Injured in a hospital, but not from medical treatment
Example: You’re visiting a hospital for a check-up, trip over a loose cable in the waiting area, and break your wrist.
This is a personal injury claim (Occupier’s liability claim), because the harm came from a preventable hazard in a public space, not from medical treatment or advice.
2. Poor outcome after surgery, but no negligence
Example: You have surgery and, despite everything being done correctly, your body reacts badly to anaesthesia or scar tissue develops.
This is not a clinical negligence claim if the doctors acted in line with accepted medical standards and informed you of the risks. Sadly, some bad outcomes happen even with excellent care.
3. Medical mistake without injury
Example: Your medical record contains an incorrect allergy note, but it’s spotted before you receive the wrong medication.
This wouldn’t be a valid clinical negligence claim because, although there was an error, and so, a breach of the reasonable standard of care, no actual harm resulted. Someone might say they were distressed by the error but unless an actual psychological condition results from the error a claim cannot be made.
For example, in a shocking past case, a new father was given a baby to hold, being informed that this baby had unfortunately not survived the delivery. A short time later, staff returned to apologise-his baby was alive and well and they had made a mistake. In that case, the father did suffer a recognisable psychiatric injury and so, did bring a successful claim. Had he suffered just short period of distress from which he had stoically bounced back, then not many specialist solicitors would recommend pursuing a claim.
4. Delay in treatment, but no change to outcome
Example: You wait longer than you should for an X-ray, but the eventual diagnosis and recovery are exactly the same as they would have been if it happened on time.
Not clinical negligence because the delay didn’t make your condition worse. Negligence requires both a breach of duty and harm.
5. Medical error during a road accident emergency
Example: You’re injured in a car crash (Road Traffic Accident personal injury claim) and later receive substandard hospital treatment that makes things worse (clinical negligence).
This could be both types of claim: one against the driver at fault, and one against the hospital for the treatment issues. The two claims are separate but can run alongside each other. However, it would only be if the clinical negligence was grossly below a reasonable standard, that two separate claims would apply.
6. Workplace accident with later poor medical care
Example: You fall from a ladder at work (personal injury) and, during hospital treatment, the fracture is set incorrectly (clinical negligence).
Again, two potential claims - one for the accident, one for the negligent treatment.
7. Mesothelioma from asbestos exposure
Example: You develop mesothelioma years after working in an environment where you were exposed to asbestos dust without adequate protective equipment.
This is a personal injury claim, even though it’s a medical condition. The harm came from unsafe working conditions or environmental exposure, not from negligent medical treatment.
The key thing to remember is that just because an injury happens in a medical setting doesn’t mean it’s clinical negligence. The cause of the harm is what matters.
If you're still unsure, our team of specialist medical solicitors can help you identify the right type of claim and guide you through the legal process.
Why it matters to get the right lawyer
Understanding whether your claim is clinical negligence or personal injury affects how the claim is investigated, what evidence is required, how long it may take to settle, and how much compensation a claim may be worth.
Personal injury claims are generally (but not always!) more straightforward than medical negligence. For example, a workplace accident case is unlikely to need a medical expert’s opinion on surgical standards.
A personal injury claim’s success will depend on evidence such as witness statements, photos and accident reports, whereas clinical negligence claims require additional medical insight along with legal knowledge. For example, a claim about a failed knee replacement will need a medical negligence solicitor to decipher medical records and understand what happened to a claimant from a medical perspective.
They must work alongside third-party medical experts to gather evidence and opinion when assessing whether care fell below the expected standard and whether harm could have been avoided.
Because of this, clinical negligence claims are usually handled by solicitors who specialise in medico-legal claims, like our law firm here at Medical Solicitors. We focus exclusively on medical negligence claims.
For other types of accidents, we work closely with our trusted colleagues in personal injury law, ensuring clients are always in the right hands - and they do the same for us when a client’s injury stems from medical treatment.
Do clinical negligence and personal injury claims pay different amounts?
The short answer is: sometimes - but it depends on the individual case, not just the claim type.
Both personal injury and clinical negligence claims can include two main types of compensation:
- General damages – for the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity caused by the injury.
- Special damages – for financial losses and expenses, such as loss of earnings, medical treatment costs, travel to appointments, or care needs.
What factors affect the value of a Personal Injury or Clinical Negligence claim?
- Severity of harm – Both personal injury and clinical negligence can sometimes lead to complex or life-changing injuries, such as brain damage from a birth injury (clinical negligence) or catastrophic road accident, serious injury claims such as spinal cord injuries, the loss of a limb due to surgical error, an R.T.A or work accident. These cases tend to attract higher general damages because of the long-term impact.
- Future needs – In serious injury claims, there may be significant ongoing care costs, home adaptations, or specialist equipment (such as prosthetics), which can push the total settlement into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds.
- Duration of recovery – A broken wrist from a trip in a supermarket might have a straightforward recovery, whereas a negligent spinal surgery could require lifelong support.
The value depends entirely on the specific injury, its impact, and the losses you can prove, not just whether it’s personal injury or clinical negligence.
Early specialist advice helps ensure all your current and future losses are properly identified and evidenced, maximising the compensation you receive.
How to start a compensation claim
If you believe you’ve been injured because of someone else’s mistake - whether in a medical setting or elsewhere - here are some steps to help protect your position from the start:
- Seek medical attention immediately – Your health comes first, and your records will be an important part of the evidence.
- Write down what happened – Include dates, times, names of people involved, and a step-by-step of the events. Memories fade quickly.
- Keep all paperwork and evidence – Medical records, appointment letters, accident reports, prescriptions, photos of injuries, or the accident scene will all be useful within the investigation.
- Note down witnesses – If anyone saw what happened, their details could help your case, particularly in personal injury claims.
- Don’t delay getting legal advice – Both personal injury and clinical negligence claims have strict time limits (usually three years, with some exceptions). Early advice can stop you missing your window.
- Be honest about your history – Previous medical issues or accidents don’t necessarily stop you from claiming, but your lawyer needs the full picture.
- Choose the right specialist – A road accident lawyer isn’t the right fit for a misdiagnosis claim, and vice versa. If you call the wrong one, they should point you in the right direction - and we do exactly that. We can point you in the right direction of highly specialised personal injury lawyers.
Need help understanding your claim type?
Contact our expert clinical negligence team today to find out where you stand. We’ll assess your case and advise you on your best next steps.
At Medical Solicitors, we offer free initial consultations and work on a no win, no fee basis if we think your claim has a good chance of success.