Sepsis is one of the few conditions where time is measured in hours. The UK Sepsis Trust estimates that around 245,000 people develop it in the UK each year and that it claims around 48,000 lives. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has also found sepsis to be the most frequent clinical issue behind the avoidable deaths it examined in its Broken Trust report.
Many of those cases involve an infection that was not recognised quickly enough. This guide explains when a delay in spotting sepsis can amount to medical negligence, what a claim involves, and what to do if it has happened to you or someone close to you.
If you think you or someone else has sepsis right now, do not wait. Call 999 or go to A&E.
What is sepsis, and why does timing matter so much?
Sepsis is the body’s extreme reaction to an infection. Instead of fighting the infection, the immune system starts to damage the body’s own tissues and organs. Left untreated, blood pressure can fall dangerously low and organs begin to fail, which is known as septic shock.
Almost any infection can trigger it, including a chest infection, a urinary tract infection, an infected wound or an infection following surgery. Treatment with antibiotics, fluids and oxygen works best when it starts early, and the longer it is delayed, the worse the outlook tends to be.
What are the signs of sepsis?
Early sepsis often looks like flu or a stomach bug, which is one reason it is missed. The NHS lists these warning signs in adults:
- Confusion or slurred speech
- Extreme shivering or muscle pain
- Passing no urine in a day
- Severe breathlessness
- Skin that looks mottled, blue or pale
- A feeling that something is terribly wrong or that you might die
In children under five, the warning signs include skin that looks mottled, blue or pale, being very sleepy or difficult to wake, feeling abnormally cold to touch, breathing very fast, a seizure, or a rash that does not fade when pressed.
How should the NHS respond to suspected sepsis?
NICE guideline NG51 sets the national standard. A clinician who suspects sepsis should take a full set of observations: temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels and level of alertness. In hospital, adults are scored using the NEWS2 early warning system.
Where a patient meets the high-risk criteria, NICE expects intravenous antibiotics within one hour, along with blood tests, fluids where needed and escalation to a senior clinician.
These are standards, not guarantees. In a negligence claim the question is whether the care fell below what a responsible clinician would have provided. National guidelines are central evidence on that question.
Where does sepsis care go wrong?
The same patterns appear again and again.
- GP surgeries, NHS 111 and out-of-hours services. Symptoms are put down to a virus, no observations are taken, or no advice is given on which warning signs mean going back or going to hospital. Our articles on whether a GP can be held responsible for a missed diagnosis and the cost of “come back if it gets worse” medicine look at this in more detail.
- A&E. A patient waits for hours, observations are not repeated, abnormal readings are not acted on, antibiotics are delayed or nobody escalates the case. We act in A&E negligence claims of exactly this kind.
- After surgery or a hospital stay. An infection develops from a wound, catheter or drip line, and the patient’s decline on the ward goes unnoticed because observations are missed or a rising warning score is ignored.
- Babies and children. Parents are often told it is a virus, or are sent home without clear guidance on what to watch for. Children can deteriorate quickly, so a missed warning sign matters even more.
Is every delayed sepsis diagnosis negligence?
No. Two things must be proved. First, that the care fell below a reasonable standard. Second, that this failure caused harm which would not otherwise have happened.
The second point is where many sepsis claims are won or lost. Sepsis can be fast and overwhelming, and some patients deteriorate despite excellent care. The question is whether earlier treatment would probably have led to a better outcome. If a limb would have been lost whatever the hospital did, there is no claim. If antibiotics at 2pm rather than 9pm would probably have saved it, there may well be.
Claims that succeed usually rest on missed opportunities that the records show clearly:
- Abnormal observations that triggered no response
- A long gap between arrival and antibiotics
- Observations that were never taken at all
We obtain your records from every provider involved and instruct an independent expert in the relevant field, such as emergency medicine, intensive care or infectious diseases, before advising you on your prospects. Our pages on medical misdiagnosis claims and delayed diagnosis explain how this works more broadly.
What can you claim for?
Sepsis can leave lasting damage even when the patient survives. The UK Sepsis Trust estimates that nearly 80,000 people a year in the UK live with life-changing after-effects. These can include:
- Loss of fingers, toes or limbs when blood flow to them fails, which may support an amputation negligence claim
- Kidney or lung damage, sometimes needing long-term treatment such as dialysis
- Scarring from tissue damage
- Post-sepsis syndrome, which can bring severe fatigue, poor memory and concentration, anxiety, sleep problems and post-traumatic stress
Compensation covers the injury itself, plus financial losses such as lost earnings, care, prosthetics, equipment and home adaptations. Where the harm is life-changing, our serious injury team can help arrange rehabilitation alongside the claim. A compensation calculator gives a rough guide only, because it cannot account for future care or the long-term effect on your life.
Where someone has died, a fatal medical negligence claim can be brought for the estate and for dependants. If an inquest is planned, take legal advice before it takes place, because the evidence heard can matter later.
How long do you have to claim?
You usually have three years, running from the date of the treatment or from the date you first knew, or could reasonably have known, that negligent care had caused your harm. That second date matters in sepsis cases. Recovery can involve weeks in intensive care and months of rehabilitation, and many people only learn what went wrong when they read their records or a hospital review.
The limits are different in some situations:
- Children: the three years start on their 18th birthday, so a claim can be brought up to their 21st.
- Lack of capacity: no time limit runs while someone lacks the mental capacity to bring a claim, for instance after a brain injury caused by sepsis.
- Fatal cases: three years from the date of death, or from the date the family learned negligence may have been involved.
Do not assume you are out of time without checking. If you are close to a deadline, speak to us now.
What should you do if you think sepsis was missed?
- Write a timeline now. Note when symptoms started and every contact with healthcare: the NHS 111 call, GP appointments, the ambulance, your arrival at A&E. Include who you saw, what was said and roughly what time each thing happened.
- Keep anything that carries a time or a date. That includes text messages, appointment confirmations, 111 reference numbers, discharge letters and photographs of rashes or discoloured skin.
- Do not wait for a complaint to finish. An NHS complaint does not pause the time limit, and it is a separate process from a legal claim. Take advice alongside it.
- Speak to a solicitor early. We request the records on your behalf, and the sooner we see them, the sooner you will know where you stand.
Speak to a medical negligence solicitor
Marley Solicitors acts for people across the UK in medical negligence claims against the NHS and private providers, on a no win, no fee basis. We will tell you honestly whether we think a claim is likely to succeed before you commit to anything. The first conversation is free and carries no obligation.
Call us on 01772 282600 or complete our online enquiry form and we will call you back.