If you have suffered harm while under the care of a healthcare professional, you may be wondering how is medical negligence compensation calculated? Within this guide, we discuss the various factors that may affect how much compensation you could receive should you make a successful medical negligence claim. We will also discuss the different forms of harm that you could be compensated for.
You may also be unsure whether you are able to claim for your specific case. This is why we have provided you with some examples of medical negligence cases that could be eligible for compensation. We also explain how our expert medical negligence solicitors could help you get the best possible settlement on a No Win No Fee basis.
If you want to know whether you can claim for the effects of negligent treatment by a medical professional, just contact us today. Our advisors can share guidance and assess your claim in a free consultation. All you have to do is either:
- Call us on 0800 652 3087
- Write to us about a claim online so we can call you.
- Chat with an advisor through the live support service below.
Select A Section
- How Is Medical Negligence Compensation Calculated?
- Factors Which Could Affect Medical Negligence Claims
- Examples Of Medical Negligence You Could Be Compensated For
- What Is The Highest Medical Negligence Payout?
- Start Your Claim For Medical Negligence With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Find Out More About How Medical Negligence Compensation Is Calculated
How Is Medical Negligence Compensation Calculated?
A healthcare provider is expected to provide each patient with medical treatment that meets the correct standard expected of a competent professional. This is their duty of care. A failure to comply with this duty of care could lead to the patient suffering avoidable harm. Together, this forms the basis of medical negligence. If this happens, the patient could then make a medical negligence compensation claim.
Those responsible for how medical negligence compensation is calculated will consider the various factors when calculating compensation. We discuss some of these factors in a later section.
Special Damages Vs General Damages
A medical negligence compensation claim payout can be split into two categories, known as heads of loss. Special damages make up one head of loss. They account for the financial impact of negligent care. Some examples of financial losses you can claim for include:
- Out of pocket expenses incurred due to medical care.
- Travel fees, such as taxi fares.
- Home adaptation or other costs related to accessibility, such as having to pay for personal aids.
- A loss of earnings through missing work due to illness.
It is well worth keeping documents and records of these losses, as special damages is not always awarded. Providing evidence of them will help improve your chances of claiming for these losses under special damages.
General damages aim to cover physical or psychological pain and suffering caused by medical negligence.
Medical evidence might be used as guidance by those responsible for determining how much compensation you receive under general damages. They may also refer to a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which features compensation brackets for various forms of harm that aim to act as guidelines.
General Damages Compensation Table
We have used some of the JCG’s compensation guidelines to make the table below, aside from the first entry. This table could be used as an alternative to a medical negligence compensation calculator.
Please remember that this table is only to be used as a guide.
| HARM SUFFERED | SEVERITY | COMPENSATION | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Forms Of Severe Harm Plus Significant Out Of Pocket Expenses | Severe | Up to £500,000+ | Compensation for more than one serious form of harm, coupled with financial losses including medical fees, care costs or lost earnings. |
| Brain Injury | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 | The person will require full-time nursing care and suffer with double incontinence and little to no language function. |
| Moderate (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 | Cases featuring a moderate to severe deficit in intellect. There are no employment prospects. | |
| Paralysis | Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 | The presence and extent of pain is among the factors affecting a payout for paralysis of the lower half of the body. |
| Kidney | Loss of or Serious Permanent Damage | £206,730 to £256,780 | Either both kidneys are lost or they are significantly and permanently damaged. |
| Bladder | Double Incontinence | Up to £224,790 | Double incontinence refers to lost bowel function, plus total loss of urinary control and function. |
| Leg | Amputation (iii) | £127,930 to £167,760 | One leg is amputated above knee level. The award depends on factors such as phantom pain severity and the success of prosthetics. |
| Amputation of Arm(s) | Loss of One Arm (i) | No less than £167,380 | The arm is amputated at the shoulder. |
| Lung Disease | Serious Disability for a Young Person | £122,850 to £165,860 | There is a possibility of progressive worsening and a premature death. |
| Digestive System | Illness/Damage From Non-Traumatic Injury (i) | £46,900 to £64,070 | Severe toxicosis. The patient experiences symptoms including serious acute pain and diarrhoea. They require hospital admission for days or weeks. |
If you have any questions regarding how is medical negligence compensation calculated, you can contact our advisors.
Factors Which Could Affect Medical Negligence Claims
The reason that the table above only acts as a guide is that numerous factors will be taken into consideration when your final settlement is being calculated. These considerations include:
- What form of harm was suffered.
- How severe the physical and psychological effects were.
- What medical expenses resulted from the negligent care and how long you can expect to continue paying them.
- How your quality of life was impacted and how this might lead to future financial losses, for example, through future care needs.
- How much valid proof of medical negligence has been provided.
Our solicitors’ knowledge of this process could make a significant difference when they help you seek compensation for current and future losses. They could also help you with gathering evidence to support your claim, such as medical records to prove the treatments you have undergone and payslips to prove any loss of earnings, for example.
You can call our free helpline for more guidance on how is medical negligence compensation calculated?
Examples Of Medical Negligence You Could Be Compensated For
As we covered previously, medical negligence, also called clinical negligence, occurs when a medical professional does not uphold the correct professional standards and breaches their duty of care, leading to a patient suffering avoidable harm.
There are many types of medical setting and incidents that may count as medical negligence, so these examples offer some insight into what could make a medical negligence case viable.
- A cancer misdiagnosis by an oncologist who misread test results meant that the patient suffered irreparable organ damage that a timely diagnosis would have prevented.
- Specific medicine was prescribed to a patient, but pharmacy negligence caused by mislabelling led to the patient getting medication they were allergic to. As a result, they suffered a severe allergic reaction after taking the drugs.
- The patient is due to have their left leg amputated, but the surgeon made an error that led to the mistaken amputation of their right leg. This is also referred to as a ‘never event’.
- A GP prescribed the wrong antidepressant dosage, leading to their patient suffering the effects of an overdose.
As well as knowing how medical negligence compensation is calculated, it’s important to know whether you have the right to claim compensation. Call our free helpline today to get a free case assessment.
What Is The Highest Medical Negligence Payout?
Certain payout amounts can be very high due to the possible combination of general and special damages, both of which can vary greatly because of the factors we discussed previously.
NHS Resolution, which handles claims and disputes for the NHS, noted that £2.69 billion was paid out to claimants. This marked an increase of almost 10% on the total paid out across the 2021/22 period.
Of that figure, 41% – or more than £1.1 billion – was set aside for maternity care-related payouts. Overall, 64% of the NHS costs related to claims could be linked to obstetrics. Other fields that were the focus of claims included emergency medicine, orthopaedic surgery and gynaecology.
157 claims led to a payout of £4.25 million or more, with a total of 462 cases seeing the claimant receive more than £500,000. As there were 13,499 claims, the average payout works out as just under £200,000.
It’s worth noting that private healthcare compensation figures are not released, so the total amount awarded to claimants in 2022/23 is likely to be much higher than the NHS Resolution figures suggest.
Our solicitors are legal experts with a track record of helping claimants get the best possible compensation amount from their clinical negligence claim. When you call today to discuss how is medical negligence compensation calculated, please do not hesitate to ask for a claim assessment to see whether a solicitor could look at your case.
Start Your Claim For Medical Negligence With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
You don’t have to go through the claims process alone, and you may find it much easier to seek clinical negligence compensation with some professional help. Our solicitors offer their experience and services on a No Win No Fee basis under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
A CFA can benefit you by guaranteeing that you do not pay your solicitor any fees in advance or as the case goes on for their work. Additionally, losing the case means the solicitor does not take a payment for their work at all.
Rather than asking you to pay if a case wins, your solicitor would instead take their success fee from the compensation. This fee will only ever be a small percentage of what you receive due to there being a legal cap in place for the maximum this percentage can be.
How Our Team Could Help You
Whether you’re asking about your potential claim or just want to know more about medical negligence compensation, you can contact us any time. Our free service includes a detailed case evaluation. If we find you have reasonable grounds to start a claim, you could then be connected to a solicitor. Choose any of the below options to get started:
- Call 0800 652 3087
- Ask about your possible claim online and share some contact information.
- Use the live chat tab on this page.
Find Out More About How Medical Negligence Compensation Is Calculate
Here are some further helpful guides from us:
- Our medical negligence time limit guide discusses factors, including age and mental capacity, that can affect time limits for starting a claim.
- We explain how an online calculator works in our medical negligence compensation calculator guide.
- A close look at hospital negligence claims and what our solicitors can do for you.
These resources could also help:
- NHS guidance on how to get a copy of your health data, which could contribute to medical records you submit as evidence.
- Government information on Statutory Sick Pay and when you can claim it.
- NHS Resolution offers advice for claimants who are considering legal action.
Please call any time if you want to know more about how is medical negligence compensation calculated or whether you can start a claim with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.