Learn How To Use A Compensation Calculator For NHS Medical Negligence

By Stephen Taylor. Last Updated 22nd August 2024. In this guide, we will look at the process of using a compensation calculator for NHS negligence. When you seek medical attention, you are entitled to a minimum standard of care. This minimum standard of care is the same whether you seek medical attention from a private healthcare facility or from the NHS. 

When a healthcare provider is negligent, this means that they provide a level of care that doesn’t meet the aforementioned standard. Medical negligence can be detrimental to your health; if you’ve been harmed or your condition has been made worse as a direct result of experiencing negligence, then you may be able to claim.

The process of making a claim for medical negligence can seem daunting. Our team of advisors can help. 

They are on hand to help assess whether you have good grounds to seek data breach compensation. Additionally, if you meet the eligibility they could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

You can:

A doctor in uniform with a stethoscope around their neck pointing to a medical document that they are holding.

Jump To A Section

  1. Compensation Calculator For NHS Medical Negligence
  2. What Is NHS Negligence?
  3. Common Types Of Medical Negligence You Could Claim For
  4. No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Claim Agreements
  5. Get Free Legal Advice About Your Claim
  6. Resources And Case Studies

 Compensation Calculator For NHS Medical Negligence

Whether making a claim against the NHS or a private healthcare company, the process of valuing a claim is the same.

General damages is the portion of your settlement that’s calculated to address your pain and suffering. Legal professionals use a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them value claims. We’ve included some figures from the 2022 updated edition of the JCG in the table below, as this is the most recent version.

However, your own claim needs to be individually assessed before an accurate valuation can be made. Get in touch today and we can take you through this process.

InjurySeverityCompensation BracketDetails
Multiple types of serious avoidable harm and special damagesSeriousUp to £1,000,000+An award for sustaining multiple types of serious avoidable harm and financial losses, such as lost earnings and medication costs.
KidneyLoss or serious and permanent damage (a)£206,730 to £256,780Of both kidneys.
BowelsDouble incontinence (a)Up to £224,790Complete loss of natural bowel and bladder function and control, along with other medical complications.
Female reproductive systemInfertility (a)£140,210 to £207,260With dysfunction of a sexual nature and severe anxiety, depression, and pain.
ChestSerious heart damage and/or the total removal of one lung (a)£122,850 to £183,190With serious and sustained pain and suffering plus significant permanent scars.
Amputations of armsLoss of one arm (b) (i)Not less than £167,380Amputation at the shoulder.
Back Severe (a) (ii) £90,510 to £107,910Nerve root damage along with impaired mobility and sensation, and an impact on bladder and bowel functions.
LegModerate (b) (iv)£33,880 to £47,840Complex or multiple fractures or severe crushing injuries, usually to a single limb.
SpleenLoss of spleen (a)£25,380 to £32,090Due to continuing risk of internal infection and disorders due to damage caused to the immune system.

Special damages is the other head of loss you could be awarded and relate to the financial loss caused by the injury.

As part of special damages, you could claim back: 

  • Loss of earnings
  • Loss of future earnings
  • Travel costs
  • Medicine/prescription
  • Recreational activities that you’re now unable to commit to. 

Our compensation calculator for NHS negligence can help you work out the amount of compensation you could receive if your claim is successful. Otherwise, you can get in touch with our team today for more information. 

What Is NHS Negligence?

Medical negligence is when you suffer avoidable harm (harm that could’ve been avoided) because a medical professional breached their duty of care. 

All medical professionals owe all their patients a duty of care. This duty of care requires them to provide the correct standard of care at all times. If their standard of care falls below what is minimally expected from them, then this is a breach of duty. 

As such, to be able to make a claim and use a medical negligence claim calculator, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  1. A medical professional owed you a duty of care. 
  2. The medical professional breached their duty of care. 
  3. As a result, you suffered avoidable harm. 

Contact us to learn more about our medical negligence calculator and how to potentially begin a claim today.

What Evidence Will I Need If I Want To Successfully Claim Against the NHS?

When seeking to claim compensation from the NHS for negligence, you will need to supply evidence that proves you suffered avoidable harm due to a healthcare professional breaching their duty of care.

You could potentially claim two types of damages in a successful medical negligence claim. General damages compensates for the harm and suffering caused by the injury. Special damages addresses any related financial losses and costs.

Evidence that could support your injury, and therefore general damages, includes:

  • Medical evidence that shows the cause and/or severity of your injury
  • Photographs of the injury

Evidence that could support your special damages claim could include:

  • Receipts for out-of-pocket costs
  • Payslips to demonstrate affected earnings
  • Evidence of how long your injury may result in your paying for care costs/medical expenses

A member of our team could advise you on specific evidence to collect and how to do so. Our advisors may also be able to provide examples of NHS compensation payouts and guide you on what your next steps could be.

Common Types Of Medical Negligence You Could Claim For

In this section, we have included some examples of how medical negligence could occur, causing someone harm.

Please bear in mind that this list is not exhaustive, and you might have been harmed by negligence in a way we have not mentioned below. Get in touch with our team today if this is the case; we could walk you through using our compensation calculator for NHS negligence to value your claim.

Medication And Prescription Errors

Medication and prescriptions are an important part of healthcare. In many cases, you could be prescribed medication to improve your condition or help you recover. 

However, medical negligence in this area of healthcare can cause you harm. For example: 

  • Your GP makes a spelling mistake on your prescription. This causes you to be given the wrong medicine. 
  • You’re told to take the wrong dosage of the medicine you’re prescribed. This means that your symptoms persist and your condition gets worse. 
  • In the pharmacy, you’re mistakenly given someone else’s medication entirely. You are allergic to this medication and it makes you very ill. 

Missed Diagnosis Of An Illness Or Injury

When you seek medical attention, it’s important that your condition is diagnosed correctly. A correct diagnosis means that you can get the right treatment and medication needed.

Some examples of how a missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis could occur include:

  • Your doctor fails to listen to you while you describe your symptoms,  meaning that they don’t come to a correct diagnosis. 
  • X-rays are misread, meaning that you’re diagnosed with a strain or sprain instead of a broken ankle. 
  • While giving birth, your doctor fails to spot the signs of preeclampsia. This causes complications that cause your child to be ill. 

Surgical Errors And Never Events

Surgical errors happen while an operation is being performed, and the effects can vary depending on what the surgical error is. A “never event” is something that should be entirely avoidable if the proper guidance and systems are followed. If you experience a never event that causes you harm, you could use a compensation calculator for NHS negligence to see how much you could be owed. 

They can include:

  • Operations on the wrong part of the body. For example, you might undergo surgery on a broken foot and have them operate on the left foot instead of the right. 
  • A piece of surgical equipment is retained by your body when you’re undergoing surgery for a hernia. 
  • You’re subjected to an unnecessarily large scar injury because your surgeon didn’t conduct themselves with the requisite care and attention while operating on you.

Hospital-Acquired Infections

A hospital-acquired infection can worsen your condition or give you entirely new symptoms for your already weakened body to deal with.

Sometimes, patients will contract infections in hospitals even when the right level of care is administered. Other times, though, it can be the result of negligence.

For example: 

  • A nurse failing to wash their hands before changing a catheter. 
  • You’re in a private hospital room as you’re unable to move about, but there is no hand soap in your bathroom. This means you cannot clean your hands and contract an infection. 
  • You’re given a hospital bed, but the sheets have not been changed since the previous patient. You contract an infection because of this.

A doctor holding a tablet device in one hand and medication pills in the other hand

No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Claims

If you’re connected to a No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor from our panel, and they agree to support your case, they will offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). 

When your case is supported by a solicitor under a CFA, you will not need to pay for their services before the claiming process starts or during it. You also usually don’t need to pay for their work if your claim is unsuccessful.

If you are successful with your medical negligence claim, then your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation. This success fee will be just a small percentage of your compensation. It is legally capped to ensure you receive most of the compensation for your successful claim.

For more advice on claiming with a No Win No Fee solicitor, or about other aspects of claiming, such as whether you can use a compensation calculator for NHS negligence claims, please contact us for free today. You can reach us by:

Get Free Legal Advice About Your Claim

To see if you can hire a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor, call our team of advisors for free legal advice. They are available 24/7, so you can get in touch whenever you’re ready. 

  • Telephone – 0800 408 7826
  • Contact us through Live Chat using the window on the bottom right of your screen.
  • Contact us through our website.

Resources And Case Studies

If you would like more information, please refer to the links below:

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