In this guide, we discuss NHS medical negligence payouts. Medical negligence occurs where a medical professional fails to provide the correct standard of care and causes the patient to suffer avoidable harm. A payout can be awarded following a successful medical negligence claim to address the different ways you have been impacted.
Firstly, we provide an overview of what the National Health Service has paid out in clinical negligence compensation in recent years based on statistics from NHS Resolution. This is a body of the Department of Health and Social Care that provides expertise to the NHS on resolving concerns and disputes fairly.
We will then look at the biggest NHS compensation payouts and whether the amount the NHS paid in compensation for successful claims in 2022/23 has increased. You can also find guidance on the way in which clinical negligence claims are calculated and what a payout can comprise.
Finally, we look at how a solicitor offering their services via a No Win No Fee agreement could assist you in claiming compensation if you are eligible to make an NHS negligence claim.
If you have any other questions about medical negligence claims or NHS compensation payouts, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with an advisor using the details provided below. They can offer free advice and guidance 24/7.
To reach out and discuss your potential compensation claim, you can:
- Call on 0333 000 0729
- Use the live chat feature below
- Fill out our online contact form
Select A Section
- NHS Medical Negligence Payouts – How Much Does The NHS Pay In Claims?
- What Is The Biggest NHS Compensation Payout?
- Has The Amount The NHS Pay In Compensation Increased?
- How Much Could I Claim For Medical Negligence?
- How Does No Win No Fee Work For Medical Negligence Claims?
- Where Can You Find Out More About NHS Medical Negligence Payouts?
NHS Medical Negligence Payouts – How Much Does The NHS Pay In Claims?
According to statistics provided by NHS Resolution, there were 13,499 settled clinical claims during 2022/23. Of these:
- 3,248 were paid out £1,501-£25,000
- 1,167 were paid out £25,001- £50,000
- 895 were paid out £50,001-£100,000
- 636 were paid out £100,001-£250,000
- 282 were paid out £250,001-£500,000
- 165 were paid out £500,001-£1,000,000
- 89 were paid out £1,000,001-£2,000,000
- 51 were paid out £2,000,001-£4,249,999
- 157 were paid out £4,250,000 and over
What Is The Biggest NHS Compensation Payout?
NHS medical negligence payouts will vary across different cases. However, as per the NHS Resolution Annual Report, 13% of clinical claims received in 2022/23 by specialities related to obstetrics. Additionally, the total value of clinical claims received in 2022/23 equated to £5,907.2 million. 64% of this total value related to obstetrics.
Furthermore, 65% of the total clinical negligence provision as of 31st March 2023 relates to maternity. This equates to £69.3 billion. However, it is a decrease from 70% in the previous year.
Has The Amount The NHS Pays In Claims Increased?
The NHS Resolution Annual Report shows a comparison between the clinical negligence payments made in 2021/22 compared to 2022/23.
In 2021/22, the total payment came to £2,402.9 million. This was made up of £156.6 million for NHS legal costs, £471.0 million for claimant legal costs, and £1,775.3 million for damages paid to claimants.
In 2022/23, the total payment came to £2,641.7 million made up of £158.8 million for NHS legal costs, £490.9 million for claimant legal costs, and £1,992.0 million for damages paid to claimants.
As such, NHS medical negligence payouts did increase from 2021/22 to 2022/23.
How Much Could I Claim For Medical Negligence?
As mentioned, in order to have a valid claim for medical negligence, you need to prove a medical professional provided substandard care and this led to you suffering avoidable harm. This could include a negligent stomach cancer misdiagnosis, negligent eye treatment or being given the wrong medication leading to avoidable harm.
If you go on to make a successful claim, you could receive a compensation payout comprising of up to two heads of loss. The first head of loss, general damages, compensates for the physical as well as psychiatric harm caused by the failure to meet the correct standard of care.
Those tasked with determining a compensation figure for your claim can make reference to the medical evidence you provide in conjunction with the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document contains guideline valuation brackets for different types of harm. You can find a selection of these in the table, with the exception of the first entry, which is not from the JCG.
Compensation Table
| Harm Type | Severity | Notes | Guideline Award Bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious illnesses and/or injuries with financial costs | Serious | A payout for the pain and suffering of multiple serious injuries and/or illnesses as well as any financial losses, such as medical bills, care costs, and travel costs. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain Damage | Very severe | The person requires full-time nursing care and has poor language function, double incontinence and little evidence of having a meaningful response to their environment, if any at all. | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderately Severe | The person has a very serious disability and is substantially dependent on others as well as needing constant professional care. | £267,340 to £344,150 | |
| Kidney | Loss or serious and permanent damage | Both kidneys are affected. | £206,730 to £256,780 |
| Significant | A significant risk of a urinary tract infection in the future or other complete loss of natural function in the kidney. These cases will incur substantial future medical expenses. | Up to £78,080 | |
| Bowels | Double incontinence | Total loss of natural bowel function and complete loss of urinary function and control. There are other medical complications as well. | Up to £224,790 |
| Faecal urgency and passive incontinence | This persists after surgery and causes embarrassment and distress. Cases are typically following a birth injury. | In the region of £97,530 | |
| Bladder | Serious | A total loss of control and function. | Up to £171,680 |
| Spleen | Loss of spleen | There is an ongoing internal infection risk and other disorders because of a damaged immune system. | £25,380 to £32,090 |
What Are Special Damages?
The second head of loss that could make up your clinical negligence payout is special damages. This compensates for past and future financial losses due to medical negligence. Furthermore, you need evidence to prove any monetary losses, such as payslips for loss of earnings and receipts or invoices for care costs.
Other losses you could claim for with the relevant evidence include:
- Travel expenses
- Medical expenses
- The cost of home adaptations
Special damages payments can often be higher than general damages payments due to them covering future losses as well as past losses. For example, if care is needed for the foreseeable future and returning to work permanently is not possible, the compensation awarded to cover these costs may be substantial.
For further guidance on how much compensation you could be awarded for a successful medical negligence claim, please call our team.
How Does No Win No Fee Work For Medical Negligence Claims?
NHS medical negligence payouts can vary greatly between different claims. To find out if you’re eligible to claim in your specific circumstances and to get a more personalised idea of what your specific claim could be worth, talk to our advisors today.
If you are eligible to claim, our team can put you in touch with one of the highly experienced medical negligence solicitors on our panel of experts. The type of No Win No Fee contract our panel of solicitors can offer is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
The CFA gives a number of highly desirable benefits to the claimant, including:
- No fees to pay for the solicitor to begin work on your claim.
- There will also be no fees for this work during the claims process itself.
- Finally, if the claim fails, you won’t incur any fees for your solicitor’s work.
If you receive an NHS compensation payout, a percentage will be taken as the solicitor’s success fee. Since The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 caps these fees at 25%, you know from the beginning that the majority of any payout awarded will go to you.
Find Out If A Medical Negligence Solicitor Could Help You
If you would like to find out whether you could work with a No Win No Fee solicitor off our panel of experts, please get in touch with our team. They can assess your potential claim for free and put you in touch with one of the dedicated medical negligence solicitors on our expert panel, who could start working on your claim and help you seek compensation.
Furthermore, they can answer any questions you have regarding how NHS medical negligence payouts are calculated as well as the medical negligence claims process. However, there is no obligation to proceed with our services.
To get in touch, you can:
- Call on 0333 000 0729
- Use the live chat feature below to find out if you can claim compensation.
- Fill out our online contact form
Where Can You Find Out More About NHS Medical Negligence Payouts?
Below, we have provided some of our other guides:
- Find out when it could be possible to sue the NHS for misdiagnosis and how payouts are calculated for successful claims.
- Learn about wrong medication negligence claims and when you could have valid grounds to pursue compensation.
- Discover the time limit for hospital negligence claims and how long you have to start legal proceedings.
For further helpful resources:
- Guidance on the NHS Constitution for England from Gov.UK.
- Information on claims management handled by NHS Resolution.
- Advice on claiming for statutory sick pay and when you could be eligible to do so after time off work from Gov.UK.
We hope this guide on NHS medical negligence payouts has been helpful. However, if you have any other questions, please get in touch using the number above.
