How Much Money Can You Get For Medical Negligence?

By Megan Webster. Last Updated 13th January 2023. If you’re wondering ‘how much money can you get for medical negligence?’, this guide could help.

How much money can you get for medical negligence

A guide on how much money can you get for medical negligence

The amount of compensation you receive in a successful medical negligence claim will depend on the individual circumstances of your case. We’ll explore the factors that could affect your compensation further in this guide.

Additionally, we’ll explore how a No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor could help you get the compensation you deserve. If you’re apprehensive about hiring a solicitor to represent your claim due to the costs normally required for their services, using a solicitor who works on this basis could benefit you.

Although we have aimed to cover the information you need, we expect you may still have questions.

If you require further clarification on anything once you’ve finished reading this guide, you can get in touch with our team of advisors.

Simply contact them using the details below:

  • Telephone: 0800 408 7825
  • Enquiry form: You can fill out the online contact form with your query and an advisor will get back to you
  • Live chat: Speak with an advisor using the function at the bottom of the page

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A Guide On How Much Money You Could Get For Medical Negligence

Although you might be wondering ‘how much money can you get for medical negligence?’, it’s important to consider whether you have a valid claim. In order to know whether you have a valid claim, you must be able to demonstrate that medical negligence occurred. This is something we aim to explore in the later sections of our guide, as well as the role evidence will play in supporting your claim.

We’ll also look at some examples of medical negligence to help you understand whether you’re eligible to claim. However, if you need to discuss your specific case in more detail, you can call our team.

An advisor can assess whether you have a valid claim that has a chance of success. If your case meets the criteria, an advisor can appoint a solicitor from our panel to begin working on your claim.

Don’t forget, if you have any questions while reading, call our team on the number above.

What Is Clinical Or Medical Negligence?

All medically trained professionals have a duty to provide their patients with the correct standard of care. Medical or clinical negligence involves a trained medical professional failing to uphold their duty resulting in their patient sustaining further or avoidable harm.

There are various ways in which medical negligence could occur, such as a:

  • Surgical Error: A surgeon may have incorrectly amputated your left arm after they failed to follow the correct pre-surgical protocols. As a result, you may have sustained an avoidable amputated arm and had your original injury made worse due to delayed treatment.
  • Birth Injury: A midwife may have failed to monitor the baby’s vitals during labour causing them to be starved of oxygen. As a result, they may have sustained brain damage and developed cerebral palsy.

No matter whether you experienced care that fell below the expected standard in an NHS or private facility, you can call our team if you experienced a similar incident.

An advisor can discuss whether you hold a valid claim and explain how much money you could get for medical negligence.

Clinical Negligence Statistics In The UK

According to the NHS Annual Report Statistics 2020/2021, there were a total of 12,629 notified claims. In comparison, there were a total of 12,041 settled claims.

Further data from the same report highlighted the cost of damages for claims settled in 2020/2021. Please note, these figures don’t relate to all the claims settled.

how much money can you get for medical negligence

What Is The Average Payout For Medical Negligence?

Although you might be wondering ‘how much money can you get for medical negligence?’, it’s difficult to provide a definitive figure of what you’ll receive in your final settlement.

Although you could use a compensation calculator to get an estimate of how much your claim may be worth, they’re not always accurate.

Instead, you could hire an experienced medical negligence solicitor to accurately calculate your claim. Our panel of solicitors have experience with handling clinical negligence claims so if you’d like to find out more, call our team.

How Do You Prove Medical Negligence Caused You Harm?

There are various steps you can take to build a strong medical negligence claim, such as gathering evidence. In particular, medical evidence is an important part of the claims process. The following evidence could highlight whether a medical professional took reasonable action to stop you from sustaining an additional injury or avoidable harm:

  • Medical records detailing the treatment and diagnosis you received
  • Referral letters
  • Hospital reports
  • Prescriptions

Additionally, you may be required to attend an independent medical appointment. The results of this can be submitted to highlight the full extent and nature of the harm you sustained. It could also give an insight into the long-term implications of your condition.

It’s important to note that when considering whether a medical professional provided you with the correct level of care, the Bolam test may be considered alongside medical evidence.

The test often involves a team of medical professionals, trained in a relevant field, assessing your case to determine whether the care you received fell below a standard that could be reasonably expected.

If you feel you could benefit from using a medical negligence solicitor to help you gather relevant evidence and take you through the different stages of your claim, call our team. They could appoint a solicitor from our panel to help.

Calculate How Much Money You Could Get For Medical Negligence

You might be wondering how much money you could get for medical negligence. If so, your compensation claim may comprise general and special damages. General damages provide compensation for any physical and psychological injuries sustained as a result of medical negligence.

The settlement you receive will vary depending on factors unique to your case, such as:

  • The severity of your condition
  • The impact your condition has on your quality of life

Medical evidence may be used to determine the nature of your condition to get an accurate value for your injuries. Alongside this, a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is often used to help value claims.

The JCG outlines bracket compensation amounts for different injuries of varying severities. We have created a table based on these figures to give you an idea of the potential payouts for various injuries and conditions.

Edit
Injury or Illness Details Amount
Brain Damage Moderate (ii) – The person suffers a moderate to modest intellectual deficit with a slight risk of epilepsy. £90,720 to £150,110
Total Deafness and Loss of Speech The speech’s normal development will have been affected due to deafness occurring at an early age, such as due to a rubella infection. £109,650 to £140,660
Bladder Where the bladder’s function and control has been completely lost. Up to £140,660
Epilepsy Established Gran Mal epilepsy. £54,830 to £131,370
Female Reproductive System Permanent sexual dysfunction in a person with no children, potentially caused by failing to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy. £43,010 to £102,100
Male Reproductive System Significant sexual dysfunction or impotence that is likely to be permanent in a person with no children. £43,010 to £88,750
Lung Disease Frequent coughing with impaired breathing due to a disease such as emphysema that worsens the lungs function. £54,830 to £70,030
Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye This will take into account some risk of sympathetic ophthalmia, and if there is any scarring in region of the eye. £49,270 to £54,830
Kidney Where one kidney has been lost but there is no damage to the other. £30,770 to £44,880
Psychiatric Damage Generally Moderate – The person will have suffered with various problems coping with daily/working life, however, they would have made significant improvements. £5,860 to £19,070

If you don’t see your injury listed, please call our team to discuss your case in more detail.

Other Damages You Might Claim

In addition to general damages, your claim may include special damages. These provide compensation for financial losses incurred as a result of your injuries, both in the past and future.

Below are some examples of why special damages are paid.

  • Care costs: If, for example, you had to hire a nurse because you needed help caring for yourself.
  • Loss of earnings: If you had to take time off work while you were recovering.
  • Medical costs: This might include the cost of any prescriptions or private physiotherapy that the NHS couldn’t provide.

However, you will need to prove losses in order to be able to claim for them. For instance, you could provide payslips as a way to prove any lost wages due to being unable to work.

For more information on how much money you could get for medical negligence, please get in touch with our team on the number above.

Talk To No Win No Fee Lawyers For Medical Negligence Claims

If you’re concerned about the costs often involved with hiring legal representation, you may be interested in using a No Win No Fee solicitor to represent your claim.

No Win No Fee agreements allow you to hire a solicitor to represent your claim without paying an upfront fee. In addition, you could avoid paying ongoing solicitor fees.

If your claim fails and you aren’t awarded compensation, you won’t be asked to pay solicitor fees.

For successful claims, you will be asked to pay a small success fee which is outlined in the agreement between you and your solicitor. The fee is capped by law and will be taken as a percentage from your settlement.

Medical Negligence Lawyer Near Me – Do You Have To Stay Local?

If you are making a medical negligence claim and want to be legally represented, you may be wondering, ‘do I have to use medical negligence lawyers near me?’.

You could use a local lawyer to help you with your claim; however, there are other options. Many solicitors and lawyers across the country could help you with your claim remotely. This means that you can find a lawyer that is right for you and your specific claim.

Before deciding on a lawyer to represent you in your claim, it is always best to do as much research as possible. You could do this by looking up online reviews and asking any friends, family, or colleagues who have used a solicitor for recommendations.

Our panel of solicitors have years of knowledge and experience in handling various medical negligence claims, such as medication errors and misdiagnosis claims.

Contact our advisors today if you have any questions, such as how to use a compensation calculator or about your medical negligence claim.

Contact Our Team For More Information

We hope our guide has answered your question ‘how much money can you get for medical negligence?’ However, if you have any questions that this guide did not answer, or you feel you are ready to move forward with a claim, please contact our team.

An advisor can assess your case to determine whether you have a valid claim. If you do, they can talk you through the claims process and offer you advice on how best to proceed.

Simply use the following details to get in touch:

  • Telephone: 0800 408 7825
  • Enquiry form: You can fill out the online contact form with your query and an advisor will get back to you
  • Live chat: Speak with an advisor using the function at the bottom of the page

Further Information On Medical Negligence Claims

Here are some links to other websites that have information you may find useful. We have also provided links to some of our other guides.

The General Medical Council (GMC) outlines what you should expect from your doctor.

Visit the NHS Constitution for England to learn more about your patient rights.

Visit the NHS website if you have a complaint about an NHS medical facility.

Check out more of our clinical negligence guides below:

We hope our guide has been useful. However, if you require any further clarification on how much money can you get for medical negligence, call our team on the number above.

Article by EI

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