Making Claims for Contracting Covid from Unvaccinated NHS Staff

According to Recent Reports, A barrister has said that legal actions can be taken against hospitals that allow workers who have not had jabs to deliver care for breaching duty to patients. The clinical negligence barrister also added that Patients could sue the NHS if they catch Covid from unvaccinated staff this winter.

The Health Secretary, Sajid Javid had announced that Covid jabs will be made mandatory for NHS front line workers with the measure taking effect from April. Experts have also opined that negligence claims can be made against NHS Trusts if patients contracts covid suffering avoidable harm, pain and other life-threatening complications after being attended to by an unvaccinated staff.

Daniel Sokol a clinical negligence lawyer has therefore said that patients could take legal actions against a hospital if they catch covid from unvaccinated staff for breaching their duty of care towards their patients. In time past, the NHS had been sued for negligence over the spread of other infections which include MRSA and C-difficile although it has proved difficult demonstrating the nature of the failure.

It is believed that Covid related cases are more clear-cut since patients who are scheduled to undergo surgery are expected to undergo tests before they are admitted while the vaccine status of staff is also recorded.

In the UK, more than 11,000 patients who were admitted to NHS hospitals for other illnesses caught Covid and died. Data from the hospital show that thousands of patients who were admitted for other ailments “probably” or “definitely” contracted covid-19 while at the hospital and later died.

According to Mr. Sokol, with these cases documented, could help patients to take legal actions against the NHS if they suffer harm or other complications as a result of catching covid from an NHS staff member that refused to be vaccinated. Hospitals, according to him, have a duty to take care of their patients which includes making sure that their patients are not infected by communicable diseases such as Covid. 

He also added that if the hospitals know that any of their frontline clinicians is not vaccinated and allows them to care for patients, it may be considered a breach of duty of care and could amount to negligence if the patient suffers harm as a result.

A case could be made “on the balance of probabilities” if it was discovered that a health worker on the ward was unvaccinated and they tested positive for Covid during regular NHS tests. The barrister therefore stressed that, current medical guidance says doctors have a duty to make the patient’s care their first concern, and this includes to be “immunised against common serious communicable diseases”

According to him, such health workers could face disciplinary action from their employers or from the General Medical Council if the body chooses to pursue it.

This came after almost four in five voted for mandatory vaccinations for NHS staff in a YouGov poll of more than 3,000 people.

Suing The NHS For Medical Negligence

You can make NHS negligence claims for acts of negligence against you or any of your loved ones. This means that you can sue the NHS if you caught Covid while at any of the NHS service centres.

Medical professionals have a duty to care for their patients and that includes ensuring that they are vaccinated so that the patients who are admitted for non-covid ailments do not get infected with the virus while on admission.

However, if you get infected with covid while being cared for in an NHS facility, then we are here to help you take legal action against the NHS. 

Start Your Claim

How Can We Help?

At Medical Negligence Direct, we have expert NHS negligence claims solicitors who are well experienced with NHS claims and can help you make your claims if you have suffered negligent treatment while at an NHS hospital resulting in harm, injury or other complications.

Our solicitors have represented many clients over the years and have secured favorable compensation amounts for them. 

When you come to us to represent you, we assign to you a personal solicitor who will discuss with you and carefully evaluate if you have a claim and then proceed to provide you with the appropriate legal advice.

We will also assist you make available documents you need to prove your claims by writing to relevant authorities requesting access to the needed information or data. When we have done this, we will use the information and evidence gathered to build a strong case establishing liability of the healthcare provider and the NHS. We will certainly leave no stone unturned in ensuring that you get the right compensation for your claims.

Our consultation sessions are free of charge and it also doesn’t cost you a penny for us to represent you since we undertake our medical negligence cases under our No Win No Fee policy meaning that money will not be a hindrance towards you getting justice. Even if the case is not successful in the end, the insurance cover we take out for you protects you from having to pay any legal fees. Only at the end of a successful case shall we take out 25% of your compensation award as “success fee”.

Our lawyers are friendly, professional and dedicated to their work. They are some of the best solicitors in the UK having accreditations with the Action Against Medical Association (AvMA) panel and the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence panel. Therefore, you are definitely in safe hands.

Reach out to us today; complete our Free Online Claims Assessment Form and let us start the process of making your claims and getting justice for you.