Compensation for Failure to Provide Anticoagulants

Written by Tanya Waterworth, Digital Content Writer

About Our Legal Expert: This content is produced with oversight by Michael Jefferies, Managing Director who has over 30 years’ legal experience.

Clinical Negligence for Missed Medication

Timely anticoagulant medication is vital and recent years has seen increasing attention on claims for compensation for failure to provide anticoagulants. Unfortunately, clinical negligence can have devastating consequences for patients and a failure to provide anticoagulants when clinically indicated has severe implications for a patient’s health.

Commonly called ‘blood thinners’, anticoagulants are medications which reduce the blood’s ability to clot. They play a key role in preventing strokes, pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and other clot related complications. You may be eligible to make a clinical negligence claim for failure to provide anticoagulants if the care you received fell below accepted standards which directly caused harm.

Why Are Anticoagulants Important?

Clinicians prescribe anticoagulants, such as warfarin, when patients have specific risk factors, for example, atrial fibrillation, artificial heart valves, a history of thromboembolism, or certain genetic clotting disorders. When administered appropriately, these medicines are prescribed to specifically lower the risk of life-threatening events.

In a healthcare setting, failing to start, continue, or monitor anticoagulant therapy appropriately can lead to preventable harm. This harm may potentially result in strokes, heart attacks, amputations or even prove fatal. For patients and families affected by such situations, one legal avenue for accountability is a clinical negligence compensation claim.

Clinical Negligence in England and Wales

In England and Wales, clinical negligence claims arise when a healthcare professional’s care falls below the standards expected of a reasonably competent practitioner, and this breach of duty causes foreseeable harm. The claimant has to be able to show three legal elements:

1. Duty of care — a clinician owed a duty to the patient.
2. Breach of that duty — the care provided fell below accepted medical standards.
3. Causation and damage — the breach directly caused a loss or injury.

The standard of care is judged by reference to what a responsible body of medical practitioners would have done in similar circumstances. If failing to prescribe or administer anticoagulants is contrary to accepted practice, this may satisfy the breach element.

However, proving causation, specifically that the failure caused the injury, is generally  the most complex and difficult part of these claims. Claimants must demonstrate that, but for the negligence, they would not have suffered the harm and that the harm was a direct result of not receiving adequate anticoagulation.

Common Scenarios Where Anticoagulant Failures Occur

Failure to provide anticoagulants may happen in many clinical settings. Here are some typical scenarios seen in negligence claims:

• Emergency Departments: A patient presents with atrial fibrillation (a common heart rhythm problem) and elevated stroke risk, but anticoagulants are not prescribed or adequately assessed.
• Post-Surgical Care: A patient undergoing orthopaedic surgery needs thromboprophylaxis but does not receive anticoagulants or monitoring.
• GP Oversight: A general practitioner fails to review warfarin monitoring results, leading to dangerously high clotting times.
• Hospital Ward Transitions: Patients are discharged without anticoagulation plans or follow-up arrangements.

Each scenario involves distinct clinical decision-making points, and claimants must show that the failure to act (or to act correctly) fell below established standards.

Establishing Breach of Duty in Anticoagulation Claims

To make a claim for clinical negligence when anticoagulants were missed, you must show that the healthcare team didn’t provide care that met normal standards. This usually requires expert medical evidence which a clinical negligence solicitor can help to arrange for the claimant.

Example:
If a patient has atrial fibrillation and is at high risk of stroke, the hospital should normally give anticoagulants. If the notes show the patient was at risk and no blood thinners were given – and there’s no good reason recorded for not giving them – an expert might say the care fell below the expected standard.

This makes it more likely that the hospital or doctor was negligent, which is the first step in a compensation claim.

Proving Causation — Linking Negligence to Harm

Proving breach alone is not enough. A claimant must show that the failure to provide anticoagulants caused the adverse outcome. This requires robust medical causation evidence.

Causation analyses may often involve:

• But-for testing: Would the stroke or embolism have occurred if anticoagulants had been provided appropriately?
• Loss of chance arguments: In some cases, claimants argue they lost a significant chance of a better outcome because of negligence.
• Counterfactual scenarios: Experts model what would likely have happened with proper care.

Courts strive for scientific rigour here; claims fail if the link between negligence and injury cannot be established on the balance of probabilities.

Compensation — What Can Claimants Recover?

When a claim succeeds, compensation aims to put the claimant as close as possible to the position they would have been in without the negligence. Damages in anticoagulant failure claims typically include:

• General damages: For pain, suffering, and loss of amenity arising from the harm (e.g. stroke).
• Special damages: For financial losses, such as: loss of earnings, medical expenses and cost of care.
• Future care costs: If the claimant requires ongoing nursing, therapy or rehabilitation.

Compensation depends on the severity of the injury, for example a stroke causing lifelong disability may lead to substantial awards that cover long-term care and support needs.

Time Limits

In England and Wales, claimants must issue a clinical negligence claim within three years of the date of the negligent act or the date they knew – or ought reasonably to have known – that negligence occurred. For children or those lacking capacity, different rules apply.

Most claims begin with a pre-action protocol requiring the exchange of medical records and expert letters before court proceedings. This process aims to promote settlement where possible.

Early Notification

There are often early notification schemes for serious incidents, including failures in anticoagulant management. These schemes, such as NHS Resolution, encourage transparency, investigation and, where appropriate, early offers of compensation without formal litigation.

Early resolution often benefits both sides:

• Patients receive quicker answers and support.
• The NHS can address system failures and improve patient safety.

However, not all cases settle early, and legal proceedings may be necessary to achieve appropriate compensation.

Common Defences in Anticoagulant Claims

Defendants in these claims generally argue one or more of the following:

• Clinical judgment: That the clinician acted within a range of reasonable responses.
• Lack of causation: That the injury would have occurred even with correct anticoagulation.
• Contributory negligence: That the patient’s own actions contributed to the outcome.

In such cases, claimants’ experts challenge these defences where they will reinforce the standard of care and causation evidence.

Start Your Claim Today

For patients and families dealing with the aftermath of preventable clot-related injuries, you may want to find out more on a clinical negligence claim for compensation. It is advisable to be aware of the time limits and start your claim early as evidence may be lost or mislaid.

A failure to provide anticoagulants is regarded as a serious lapse in patient care which can have severe impact on a patient’s health outcome. A missed anticoagulant can change your life in minutes. If you suffered a clot, stroke or embolism after blood thinners were delayed, withheld or stopped, you may have a claim.

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This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or medical advice. Always consult with a medical professional and a qualified solicitor to understand your specific circumstances.