How Much Could My Medical Negligence Claim Be Worth?
A look at the NHS Negligence Claims Statistics in 2019/20, shows that the NHS paid out about £2.3billion for negligence compensation claims while £61.4 million was spent on settling claims on GP negligence alone. Successful NHS negligence compensation cases rose from 2,800 to 7,300 over the last decade with cases surrounding obstetrics receiving about 50% of the total compensation awards. It is estimated that the average NHS negligence compensation value is around £50,000 according to the National Health Service Litigation Authority.
If you have received substandard treatment while at the NHS resulting in trauma, injury, worsening medical condition or emergence of a new condition and are looking to sue the NHS or make hospital complaints for compensation, then reach out to the NHS Negligence Solicitors to assist you get that deserved compensation.
What is Medical Negligence?
This refers to avoidable mistakes or errors causing harm, injury or worsened medical condition to the patient as a result of negligent treatment or substandard care received from the healthcare provider. Such negligence could be in the form of medical misdiagnosis, error in drug prescription, surgical errors and much more.
Making A Successful Claim
In order to make a successful claim, your solicitor will help you gather evidence to prove that you were owed a duty of care, that there was negligence in fulfilling that duty of care and that such negligence has had a direct impact on your health and finances. You will also be required to provide detailed statements, medical records and scan results, photographs, witness statements and financial evidence.
Your Medical Negligence Solicitor will then have to contact the representatives of the defence team and inform them of your decision to make a claim for compensation. They will have to make their own findings and either accept or refuse any responsibility. If they refuse to accept liability, your solicitor may have to take up the case to be judged by a competent Judge in the law court. However, only a small percentage of negligence cases go all the way to trial.
Our team of NHS Medical Negligence Solicitors can assist you throughout the negligence compensation claims process and see you are adequately compensated.
No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitors
How Much Compensation For A Medical Negligence Claim?
The amount of compensation you can receive after a successful medical negligence claim varies and can hardly be the same for two patients who suffered negligent treatment in the same hospital. Values for compensation can range between £1,000 for mild cases and to several millions of pounds for very severe cases.
The worth of your compensation depends largely on various determinants surrounding your case. These include loss of earnings including anticipated future earnings, loss of inheritance, period of time required to make a full recovery as well as inconveniences to other family members.
What Compensation Can Be Claimed For?
Compensation for medical negligence that can be claimed are broadly divided into General damages and Special damages. These two types of damages are calculated separately.
General Damages
General damages cover the severity of harm or injury sustained and the amount of pain or suffering you have had to endure as a result of medical negligence. Different injury types have their own different compensation values and these figures are updated every year by the Judicial Studies Board (JSB). This guides clinical negligence lawyers and Judges to determine a range of amounts that a victim could be compensated with.
For instance medical negligence cancer payouts range between £20,000 – £50,000. Some cases however, can settle for over £100,000 depending on the type of cancer the victim is suffering from, if there was an earlier misdiagnosis, the stage it was eventually diagnosed at and the impact on the person’s life it has had.
Special Damages
Special damages consider the impact of the harm suffered on the finances of the victim of negligent treatment. In such cases, receipts or other proofs of expenses made either on equipment or other rehabilitative devices are very vital to help your solicitor determine your compensation worth. These damages include cost of drugs, travel costs due to medical appointments, adaptation to accommodation change and costs incurred, payments for special care, loss of earnings or some special equipment. The objective is to effectively return the victim to his earlier state before the occurrence of the life-changing situation.
Average Compensation Amount For Several Cases
Here are some examples of average compensation payouts one can expect :
- Chest Injury where there is severe injury to the chest, lung or heart. Victims can receive compensation in the range of £60,000 to £100,000.
- Severe brain Injury on the average attracts compensation values ranging from £180,000 to £300,000 depending on the severity.
- Permanent disability or severe pain to the hip and internal organs due to Pelvic and Hip Injury gets you a compensation of about £50,000 to £85,000.
- Injury to the shoulder resulting in amputation of one or both arms can fetch a compensation £65,000 to £200,000.
- Range of compensation for the death of a victim is between £12,000 to £300,000. This depends on other issues surrounding the death.
- Pain and suffering depending on the severity can see the victim earn between £1,000 to £200,000 in compensation.
- Compensations for Loss of earnings can fall anywhere between £10,000 to £400,000 depending on the amount lost.
- Victims of infertility arising from a failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy can receive compensation between £31,950 to £95,850. But where fertility is not affected, the woman may receive between £3,180 to £19,170
- Allergic reaction to wrong medication can see the victim earn between £860 to £8950 depending on the severity of the allergic reaction.
- The parents of a baby who suffered cerebral palsy can be compensated for values above £500,000. This would also take into account anticipated costs. Less serious injuries can be settled with £10,000 – £25,000 considering severity and impact of injury on daily life.
- Victims of negligent treatment leading to Orthopaedic injuries can expect around £50,000 in compensation.
- For spinal cord injuries, the value of compensation varies greatly as very severe cases can be settled for compensation awards above £1 million, while victims of mild, moderate or moderately severe cases can receive compensations worth between £50,000 and £300,000.
Suing the NHS for Negligence
The NHS encourages patients or their relatives to complain about substandard care or any perceived negligent treatment by filling their feedback forms or speaking to a member of staff.
Therefore, if you are dissatisfied with the care or treatment received at the NHS, then it is important to make your concerns known to your healthcare provider because making these complaints known early enough will make for an easier and speedy resolution. However, if you wish to speak to someone else who is not directly involved in the care you received, then you may also wish to speak to a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) member who tries to settle issues for you especially when it is urgent before you make an official complaint. Our NHS medical negligence solicitors can guide you to make successful hospital complaints. Complaints can either be made to the NHS service provider directly involved or the hospital or to the commissioner of the services.
When writing a complaint on behalf of someone else, you will be required to include their written consent in your official letter. The exceptions to this are when the victim is deceased or lack the mental capacity.
No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Compensation Claim Policy
At NHS Negligence Claim, we operate on a no win no fee basis. We do not want the thought of legal fees to put off the idea of seeking redress against the NHS and getting the compensation you deserve. This simply means that if the negligence claim was unsuccessful, you would not owe us a penny.
What Is the Duration of My Compensation Claim?
There is no fixed time as the duration of a case is determined by the severity of the damage done, its impact on daily life as well as other peculiarities that may surround the issue.
Time Limit for Making Claims
You are expected to make your claims for compensation within a three-year period from the date of the negligent treatment or from the date the negligent treatment was first noticed.
If the victim has died, then the three-year time limit then begins from the date of death while in cases involving a child, it begins from the child’s 18th birthday. There is however no time limit in cases where the victim is mentally incapacitated.
Contact us today to assist you in your claim.