The helpful guide to compensation for medical negligence

We now move on to what most people would consider the key question of this article – how much is a medical negligence compensation claim worth?

The simple answer is that this depends on a variety of factors, including the severity of the injury or illness, its impact on someone’s daily life, and what it means for their employment and future. We understand if that does not satisfy your curiosity. However, any firm that provides you with anything more than a guesstimate before they have carried out a full investigation is likely to be attempting to get you “over the line” as a client, and is less interested in accuracy.

Compensation for medical negligence is split into two categories:

1. General damages
2. Special damages and future losses and expenses

General damages relate to the claimant’s pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA). This compensates the claimant for any pain and suffering that they endured as a result of the negligent act, and any notable lifestyle changes that the claimant has been forced to make due to the incident.

For example, say that the claimant was a frequent mountain biker, but a surgical mistake meant they lost the ability to use one of their legs. The loss of this favourite hobby will be taken into consideration when calculating their general damages.

Special damages cover the financial impact of the negligence in your specific circumstances. This will take into account a number of factors relating to the claimant:

As such, it is within the special damages that we see huge differences in the amount of compensation for these claims. While the average amount paid by the NHS for claims against it according to Resolution’s 2018/19 numbers was around £166,000, the individual amounts vary significantly depending on the circumstances of each case.

When you reach out to a medical negligence solicitor, part of their role is to assess the nature of the incident you suffered, the harm it caused and the impact it has had on you financially. This information is used to help to determine the appropriate level of compensation.

We seek advice from a selection of experienced medical and other experts in order to establish whether you have been the victim of medical negligence. When it is needed, we also use experienced experts to assist us with calculating the appropriate amount of compensation.

For people over the age of 18, there is typically a three-year period after the injury is realised (i.e. the patient became aware of something going wrong) to make your claim. However, there are a number of exceptions to this, including:

• Children have until their 21st birthday to make a claim
• Someone who is mentally incapacitated at the time of the incident has no time limit as to when they make a claim, unless they recover their capacity
• If someone dies within the initial three-year period, the qualifying time starts again from the date they died
• Incidents of fraud or attempting to cover up the negligence can lead to the time limit being extended
• In special circumstances, the Courts sometimes allow claims outside this time due to the discretions afforded them in Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980

If your medical accident happened longer than three years ago, your solicitor should be able to advise you if your claim is still able to be pursued.

It is important to note that when we discuss claiming for medical negligence compensation, we are not strictly discussing claims against the NHS. A claim can be made against GPs, hospital doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, physiotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, osteopaths and opticians, both working in an NHS Trust or privately.

If a claim is made against an NHS Trust or employee, the settlement will be paid by NHS Resolution (formerly the NHS Litigation Authority), their arm’s-length body responsible for supporting them during legal disputes.

In the private sector, hospitals, GP surgeries and clinics must arrange their own medical indemnity insurance, which will then cover the costs owed to the claimant.

We hope this has answered many of the questions you have relating to medical negligence compensation. While we understand it is not the only thing that those who suffer from a clinical error are looking for when they reach out to our firm, compensation plays a vital factor in helping claimants and their loved ones support their future.

If your questions about claiming for medical negligence are not answered here, then our informative FAQs offer a deeper insight into what you can expect from the process.

Alternatively, if you would like to discuss your situation specifically with a team you can trust, contact our experts today.

Disclaimer

All content contained within this article is meant for general information only – this should not be treated as a substitute for medical advice from your doctor or another healthcare provider. If you require legal advice specific to your situation, please contact our team directly.

Gadsby Wicks is not liable for any diagnosis made from the content of this article, nor does it endorse any service or external site linked to within the article.

Always consult your GP if you are concerned about your health and wellbeing, or speak to us if you require legal advice.