According to data from the NHS and Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), around 500,000 people took part in medical research projects in 2025, with around 19,000 of those participating in commercial industry drug trials. Although taking part in clinical trials is generally considered to be safe, there are risks of suffering adverse reactions to experimental medication. These reactions can range from experiencing minor side-effects, to serious permanent damage.
When trial participants do sustain injury as a result of a reaction to trial medication, the ABPI Guidelines for clinical trials set out a no-fault compensation principal. This means that Claimants do not need to prove that their injury was caused by negligence, as with all other personal injury and clinical negligence claims, in order to recover compensation. They do, however, still need to prove the extent of the damage, and that it has been caused by the trial medication and not, for example, a pre-existing medical condition. It is therefore vital that anyone who thinks that they may have been injured due to participation in a clinical trial obtains expert legal advice as soon as possible.
At Slater Heelis, we recently acted for Karl who participated in a clinical trial administered by the Clinical Evaluations Unit at Wythenshawe Hospital, sponsored by a commercial pharmaceutical company. Shortly after the medication was given to him, Karl became severely unwell experiencing fever, nausea, hypertension, tachycardia and painful itching of the fingers and toes. Karl recovered from the acute symptoms in a relatively short space of time, but he continued to experience sensations of burning, itching and pins and needles in his hands, feet and face. We arranged for Karl to be examined by a Consultant Neurologist who diagnosed a neurological condition known as small fibre neuropathy. Thankfully for Karl the symptoms were mild and non-intrusive.
There is no suggestion that the Hospital, its staff or the pharmaceutical company where negligent or did anything wrong. However, under the terms of the ABPI Guidelines, the pharmaceutical company were required to compensate Karl for the damage caused. Because we had fully investigated the symptoms with expert medical evidence, despite them being relatively minor and unobtrusive, we were able to recover £20,000 for Karl to compensate him for the injury caused.
Get In Touch
Alex Barley is a Partner in our Personal Injury team.
If you have suffered injury due to participation in a clinical trial, please contact Alex or another member of the team on 0330 111 3131 or via our contact form.
