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How Much Compensation Can I Claim For Medical Negligence?

By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 6th October 2023. Welcome to our guide on clinical and medical negligence claims.

Medical negligence is a term that describes mishaps or mistakes that are made by healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses, surgeons, and care staff. It covers a wide range of potential reasons for making a medical negligence compensation claim such as mistakes made during an operation or medical procedure, misdiagnosis, ill-treatment, or administering the wrong drugs and medication.

If you have suffered negative health effects due to the possible negligence of healthcare professionals in a hospital, or as an outpatient, then you may have a valid reason to claim medical negligence compensation. For more information, please continue reading our guide or get in touch with one of our specialist advisors today:

medical negligence claims

A guide to clinical and medical negligence claims

Select a section:

Eligibility Criteria For Medical Negligence Compensation Claims

For medical negligence compensation claims to be valid, they must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  1. A medical professional owed a duty of care.
  2. This duty of care was breached.
  3. As a result, you suffered unnecessary harm.

Every medical professional owes a duty of care. Per their duty of care, they must ensure that they provide the minimum standard of care to their patients when treating them. If they failed to adhere to their duty of care, this could cause you to suffer unnecessary harm, and you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim.

For example, if you were to go to the hospital with clear symptoms of an ankle fracture and a doctor fails to order an X-ray for you and misdiagnosis you with a sprain, this could cause your fracture to worsen, and you could experience more pain. In this instance, you may be eligible to receive compensation.

However, it is important to note that there may be some instances where you suffer harm, but a medical professional did not breach their duty of care. In these cases, you might not be able to make a medical negligence claim.

Another crucial element of any eligible medical negligence claim is ensuring that you take action within the limitation period. This is typically three years from the date you were harmed. There are exceptions to this, which we’ll explore later in this article.

Contact our advisors today if you have any questions about making a claim for medical negligence and the compensation amounts that could be awarded for successful claims.

What Forms Of Medical Negligence Can I Claim Compensation For?

There are many different forms of medical negligence that you may be able to claim compensation for, some of which include:

  • Childbirth injuries: These could occur to the mother or the baby and may happen because the unborn baby was not properly monitored throughout labour. 
  • Unnecessary surgery: This could happen because your medical records are mixed up with those of another patient. 
  • Misdiagnosis: For example, if your GP fails to sufficiently consider your symptoms and instead diagnoses you with another condition. This can result in the worsening of the original condition as well as unneeded treatment for an illness that you did not have.
  • Prescription errors: A pharmacy could dispense the wrong medication, which could lead to side effects or allergic reactions. 
  • Never events: For example, wrong-site surgery. This could occur if you are due to have surgery on your right hand, but your left hand is operated on instead. 

If you have any questions about compensation amounts for medical negligence, speak with one of the advisors from our team. In addition to answering your questions, an advisor can assess your eligibility to claim compensation for medical negligence

Medical Compensation Claims – Examples Of Evidence

Medical compensation claims for negligence will require supporting evidence of the negligence and the harm you suffered as a result.

Evidence types could include:

  • Your medical records
  • Correspondence with the faulting party
  • Witness contact details so a statement can be taken
  • The findings of any investigations carried out by the hospital

In the UK, medical negligence compensation could also include an amount for financial losses, so you could also provide evidence of these, if applicable. Please reach out to a member of our team to learn more about how to make a medical negligence claim or how compensation in a medical claim is calculated.

Call us today to discuss clinical and medical negligence claims.

Compensation Amounts For Medical Negligence

Let’s take a look at some compensation amounts for medical negligence.

Now that we’ve discussed medical negligence examples of evidence, you may be interested in knowing what you could be awarded in a successful clinical negligence compensation claim.

Compensation may be divided into general and special damages. Whilst general damages offer compensation for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries, special damages accommodate for any financial harm you may have suffered due to medical negligence.

Below we have taken compensation amounts from the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to give you an idea of what you might receive in general damages following clinical negligence. It’s worth noting that the figures below do not represent what you might receive in terms of special damages, nor are they a guarantee of what you could claim, as every case is different.

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Injury Compensation Comments
Severe Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) (a) £52,500 to £84,010

Where ability to work is dramatically affected if not eliminated.
Moderate Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) (b) £28,030 to £52,500 The prognosis indicates there will be improvement, and the patient will return to work.
Bladder injuries (d) £23,410 to £31,310 Almost complete recovery but some fairly long-term impact on function.
Penetrating bowel injuries (e) £12,590 to £24,480

Damaged, but eventual return to natural function and control.
Scarring to Other Parts of the Body
-Disfiguring scars
£7,830 to £22,730 For noticeable laceration scars or a single disfiguring scar on the leg(s) or arm(s) or hand(s).
Laparotomy scar In the region of £8,640

When no significant internal injury has been found.
Scarring to Other Parts of the Body- Minor scarring £2,370 to £7,830

A visible scar, or several superficial scars on the leg(s) or arm(s) or hand(s).
Penetrating injuries to the digestive system (iii) £6,610 to £12,590 Moderate: Penetrating stab wounds, industrial or severe seat-belt lacerations.
Failed sterilisation (female) resulting in an unwanted pregnancy In the region of £10,200 Where there isn’t serious psychological impact.
Spleen injuries (b) £4,350 to £8,640

Damaged, but minimal risk of infection/disorders.

If you would like to know more about what compensation might be awarded in a medical negligence claim in the UK, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Compensation For Medical Negligence – Other Amounts

As mentioned above, special damages may also be included in your settlement. If eligible, this is when you could be reimbursed for any financial losses or impact caused by your injuries.

Here are some examples of possible special damages you may be able to claim for:

  • Medical costs – Some private healthcare, for example, or costs for prescription medication.
  • Additional care at home – In the event you require extra help at home after being discharged from hospital.
  • Loss of earnings – Special damages can also account for any lost wages, pension contributions, or even bonuses, if your injuries have affected your income.

You will need evidence to support these losses. For example, you could present payslips to prove how much you would have earned during your period of recovery.

Get in touch today if you have any questions about medical negligence compensation claims or medical injury claims.

What Is The Medical Negligence Claims Time Limit?

Another important aspect of making a successful claim is ensuring you do so within the required timescales. As such, you may be wanting to know “what is the medical negligence claims time limit?” 

As per The Limitation Act 1980, in most instances, you have three years from the date you sustained the injury or the date you were made aware that your injuries were caused by negligence to begin a claim. 

However, this time limit may not be relevant in particular circumstances. For instance, if you’re under the age of eighteen when you are injured, you have three years from the date of your eighteenth birthday to begin the claim. Furthermore, if someone lacks the mental capacity to claim, the time limit will not apply until they regain the ability to claim. 

Therefore, if you lack the mental capacity or are under the age of eighteen, a litigation friend can claim on your behalf.

Making a Medical Negligence Compensation Claim on a No Win No Fee Basis

You may be concerned about the costs of hiring a medical negligence solicitor to help you claim. However, some solicitors may offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee contract.

What this means is that the solicitor can start working for you and, generally, they will not expect an upfront fee. If the claim is successful, then the solicitor takes their success fee out of the amount awarded. However, if the claim is unsuccessful, then you do not pay the solicitor.

All of our solicitors could offer a No Win No Fee agreement. If you have any further questions about how No Win No Fee solicitors work, get in touch with our advisors at any time.

How to Make a Medical Negligence Compensation Claim

Free legal advice about clinical and medical negligence claims is available 24/7 from our advisors. If your clinical negligence claim seems eligible and you would like to proceed with Legal Expert’s services, you could be put in touch with our No Win No Fee solicitors.

Extra Resources for Clinical and Medical Negligence Claims

Other Useful Compensation Guides

Clinical and Medical Negligence Claims FAQs

Let’s take a look at some FAQs on medical negligence claims:

What is clinical negligence?

Clinical negligence happens when patients are treated with a sub-par standard of care by a medical professional.

How long does a medical negligence claim take to be settled?

You can sometimes make a claim up to 3 years after the incident occurred. The length of time it takes to settle clinical and medical negligence claims differ depending on your individual circumstances.

How do I establish negligence?

Negligence can typically be established using the following three criteria:

  1. A third party owed you a duty of care
  2. That third party failed to uphold that duty of care
  3. You suffered as a result of that failure

Will Making a Negligence Complaint Affect Ongoing Healthcare?

Everyone has the right to expect to receive safe, comprehensive healthcare. If a patient is the victim of medical negligence which results in a compensation claim being made, then it should have absolutely no effect upon them receiving adequate healthcare in the future.

Thank you for reading our guide to clinical and medical negligence claims.

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      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.