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Receiving a diagnosis at the right time can make a significant difference to a patient’s treatment and overall outcome
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) sets the rules that all solicitors and law firms in England and Wales must follow. These rules exist to ensure that anyone using legal services is treated fairly, safely, and professionally
Pressure Sores and Medical Negligence: What You Need to Know
Pressure sores, also known as bedsores or pressure ulcers, are a serious health issue that can have devastating consequences for patients. They don’t just cause physical pain, they can also be a sign of medical negligence when preventable harm occurs in hospitals, care homes, or other healthcare settings.
The financial and human cost
Between the financial years 2013/14 and 2023/24, clinical negligence claims involving pressure sores cost the NHS a staggering £107,476,137 in compensation. This includes claims resolved through standard settlements and periodical payment orders (PPOs).
Even in the most recent 2024/25 financial year, the problem persisted. Compensation payments for claims involving pressure sores reached £14,030,385, highlighting both the financial strain on the healthcare system and the severe impact on patient’s lives.
What are pressure sores?
Pressure sores develop when prolonged pressure restricts blood flow to the skin, often causing tissue damage. They usually affect patients who are immobile or otherwise vulnerable.
These sores are graded by severity:
- Grade 1: Mild skin discolouration
- Grade 2: Damage to the top layers of skin
- Grade 3: Deep wounds affecting the underlying tissue
- Grade 4: Severe wounds reaching muscle and bone
While anyone can develop a pressure sore, certain patients are at higher risk.
Who is most at risk?
People who are confined to bed, sitting in a chair, or in a wheelchair for long periods are particularly vulnerable. Those at higher risk include:
- Elderly patients
- Individuals with urinary or bowel incontinence
- People with paralysis or limited mobility
- Patients recovering from illness, trauma, or surgery
- Individuals with medical conditions affecting blood flow or skin integrity
When are pressure sores a sign of negligence?
Healthcare providers have a legal duty of care to prevent avoidable harm, including pressure sores. Negligence may occur if:
- Risk assessments for pressure sores are not conducted or regularly reviewed
- Patients are not repositioned regularly to relieve pressure
- Suitable equipment, such as pressure-relieving mattresses or cushions, is not provided
Failure to meet these standards can lead to serious complications, including infections, long-term pain, reduced mobility, extended hospital stays, and, in extreme cases, death.
Studies suggest that 80-95% of pressure sores are preventable with proper care, highlighting how many of these injuries could be avoided entirely.
Additional complications
As a pressure sore progresses, the risk of serious complications rises significantly. What may begin as a small area of redness or skin breakdown can quickly develop into an open wound, creating a direct pathway for bacteria to enter the body. Infection is the most common complication. While it may start as a localised wound infection, without prompt and appropriate treatment it can spread to surrounding tissue and beyond.
If the infection enters the bloodstream, the consequences can become life-threatening. One of the most severe complications is sepsis. A condition in which the body’s response to infection triggers widespread inflammation. This overwhelming immune reaction can impair blood flow, damage vital organs, and, in severe cases, lead to organ failure. When bacteria from a pressure ulcer spreads systemically, the situation can deteriorate rapidly and requires urgent medical intervention.
In advanced stages, prolonged and unrelieved pressure can deprive tissues of oxygen and essential nutrients. Without adequate blood supply, the affected tissue begins to die – a process known as necrosis. Necrotic tissue cannot heal and significantly increases the risk of deep infection.
When a pressure sore progresses to Stage 4, the damage extends beyond the skin into muscle and even bone. At this stage, bacteria can invade the underlying bone, resulting in osteomyelitis, a serious and difficult to treat bone infection that often requires long term antibiotics and sometimes surgical management.
Protecting a patient’s rights
If you or a loved one has suffered from pressure sores due to inadequate care, it’s important to know that help is available. Our medical negligence team can help you to secure compensation for the pain, suffering, and additional care needs caused by preventable injuries.
Our expert team will assess if you are eligible to make a claim and guide you through the process, helping you understand your options and fight for the care and support you deserve.
Resources
https://resolution.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FOI_7550_Claims-for-bedsores-and-amputation.pdf
https://resolution.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FOI_7183_Pressure-Sores.pdf
This document provides an overview of the process involved in pursuing a personal injury claim in England and Wales. It is intended to help you understand the key stages, requirements, and considerations before proceeding with a claim
Medical negligence cases involve both healthcare and law, often involving complex clinical details that are difficult for non-medical professionals to interpret. Determining whether a healthcare provider breached their duty of care and whether that breach caused harm requires a careful, evidence-based view. This is where medical negligence experts become vital. Their role is not only to interpret complex medical facts but also to provide an opinion on whether the actions of a treating clinician or healthcare provider meet the appropriate standard of care. Their input can be the difference between a successful claim and an unsuccessful one.
What is a Medical Negligence Expert?
A medical negligence expert is a healthcare professional who typically has extensive experience and expertise in their field of medicine and provides an opinion on whether the care and treatment given was negligent and whether any injury has been caused due to the negligent treatment. Unlike treating healthcare professionals, who are directly involved in a patient’s care, these experts are independent and do not know the treating clinicians, ensuring that the advice that an expert provides is impartial and free of any bias.
They may be asked to assess whether a critical diagnosis was missed, if an avoidable error was made, or whether consent procedures were properly followed. These professionals may be engaged by either side in a case – Claimant or Defendant – and must adhere to strict duties of impartiality, offering opinions based solely on the evidence.
Why are experts crucial in these cases?
Medical complexity
Medical negligence cases often involve highly specialised knowledge. The court, who typically lack medical training, rely on expert testimony to understand whether actions taken, and treatment provided were reasonable under the circumstances.
Establishing breach of duty
One of the core legal tests in negligence is whether the care provided fell below an acceptable standard. An expert who is instructed to prepare a breach of duty medical report will examine clinical records, guidelines, and other evidence in order to determine whether the healthcare provider did not adhere to the relevant standard of care.
Proving causation
It is important to determine, where a breach of duty is established, that the claimant has been caused to suffer harm as a result. This requires an expert opinion on the issues in question for example, was the delay in treatment a direct cause of deterioration? Would the outcome have changed if proper care had been given? Expert evidence is essential in answering these questions.
Defining the Standard of Care
What is considered ‘reasonable’ care can vary between medical specialities. Medical experts provide assistance in defining whether a healthcare providers actions or omissions have fallen below the standard expected of a competent practitioner in that field, helping the court to apply the correct standard by providing objective, unbiased opinions on matters within their expertise. This is why when obtaining an opinion from an expert on breach of duty, it is important to instruct an expert of the same specialism as the potential Defendant.
Legal Requirements and Guidelines
Expert evidence is most often a formal requirement in medical negligence litigation, with the expert’s main duty being to the court, not to the party instructing them.
Medical negligence experts are vital in helping to bridge the gap between clinical practice and legal standards. Their role is central to understanding if harm has been suffered due to substandard care and is vital to assessing the prospects of succeeding in a medical negligence claim. As healthcare becomes more complex, the demand for competent, impartial, and clear medical experts will continue to grow.
One of the first steps in pursuing a medical negligence claim is to obtain your medical records.
Following the publication of the Ockenden report into maternity failings at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospitals Trust, one of the steps taken by the Government was to provide additional funding, which was allocated to improve maternity safety
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our much-loved colleague and friend, Lily Lammond.
Following negotiation with the Defendants insurers, we have successfully concluded a recent claim, the facts of which were that the client was at work when an accident occurred.
