Last Updated 4th July 2025. In this guide, we will look at the process of using a medical negligence calculator when making a claim against the NHS. 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 in the public sector.
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 criteria for claiming, they could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
You can:
- Call us on 0800 408 7826
- Use our online contact form
- Reach us using the live chat feature below
Jump To A Section
- Using a Medical Negligence Calculator
- Claiming Against The NHS For Medical Negligence
- Common Types Of Medical Negligence You Could Claim For
- How Long Do I Have To Start A Medical Negligence Claim?
- No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Claim Agreements
- Get Free Legal Advice About Your Claim
- Resources And Case Studies
- Frequently Asked Questions On Medical Negligence Claims
Using A Medical Negligence Calculator
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 general damages as the document compiles suggestive compensation brackets for many forms of harm.
We’ve included some of these brackets in the table below, but please keep in mind that they are not a guarantee of compensation. The top figure also doesn’t come from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Bracket | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple types of severe avoidable harm and special damages | Severe | Up to £500,000+ | An award for sustaining multiple types of severe avoidable harm and financial losses, such as lost earnings and medication costs. |
| Bowels | Double incontinence (a) | Up to £224,790 | Complete loss of natural bowel and bladder function and control, along with other medical complications. |
| Kidney | Loss or serious and permanent damage (a) | £206,730 to £256,780 | The loss or serious permanent damage will be to both kidneys. |
| Female reproductive system | Infertility (a) | £140,210 to £207,260 | With dysfunction of a sexual nature, severe anxiety/depression, scarring, and pain. |
| Male reproductive system | Total impotence and loss of sexual function and sterility in the case of a young person. | £140,220 to £181,020 | The level of compensation in bracket will depend on factors like age, whether claimant has children, and presence of scarring or pain. |
| Chest | Serious heart damage and/or the total removal of a lung | £122,850 to £183,190 | With serious and sustained pain and suffering, plus significant permanent scars. |
| Amputations of arms | Loss of 1 arm (i) | Not less than £167,380 | Amputation at the shoulder. |
| Back | Severe (ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 | Cases featuring symptoms like nerve root damage along with a loss of senses and impaired mobility, bladder, and bowel functions. |
| Leg | Severe (iv) moderate | £33,880 to £47,840 | Complex or multiple fractures or severe crushing injuries, usually to a single limb. Bracket may consider factors like employment impact, degree of treatment, and muscle wastage. |
| Spleen | Loss of spleen (a) | £25,380 to £32,090 | Cases where there is ongoing internal infection risk and disorders caused by damage 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. You will need evidence like payslips, invoices, and bank statements to claim for any financial loss.
As part of special damages, you could claim back:
- Loss of earnings
- Loss of future earnings
- Travel costs
- Medicine/prescription
- Home or vehicle adaptations to improve accessibility
Our compensation calculator for NHS negligence can help provide valuable insight into successful claims. Otherwise, you can get in touch with our team today for more information.
Claiming Against The NHS For Medical Negligence
Now we’ve explained how our compensation calculator could be of use to you, we need to explain what NHS negligence is. While our guide is specifically focused on claiming against the NHS, all medical professionals, whether they work in public or private healthcare, owe a duty of care to their patients.
This duty of care requires that the correct standard of care be provided to all patients. If the correct standard isn’t met, and the patient then suffers avoidable harm as a result of this, this is said to be medical negligence.
If you can demonstrate, with clear evidence, that the following occurred, you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim against the NHS:
- You were owed a duty of care by a medical professional.
- That duty was breached when the medical professional failed to meet the correct standard of care.
- This breach of duty caused you to suffer avoidable harm.
For further guidance on using a medical claim calculator and to get a free eligibility assessment, contact our advisory team today using the contact information provided below.
What Evidence Will I Need If I Want To Successfully Claim Against the NHS?
When seeking to claim compensation against 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. Evidence that could support your claim can include,
- Medical evidence that shows the cause and/or severity of your harm
- Photographs of the harm
- Contact details for family members, staff, and anyone else who might be able to supply your solicitor with a supportive witness statement
- Copies of test results as well as scans like X-rays, ultrasounds, and MRIs
- Any letters or documentation you have for the medications you were prescribed, such as packaging and labels
A member of our team can advise you on specific evidence to collect and how one of the solicitors from our panel could assist. Our advisors may also be able to provide further discussion on compensation payouts and guide you on your potential next steps.
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 medical negligence to help 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 leave your child with serious issues from birth.
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 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.
How Long Do I Have To Start A Medical Negligence Claim?
Understandably, if a medical professional has caused you unnecessary or avoidable harm, you may be suffering from pain and discomfort. However, to be compensated for your suffering, you must start a medical negligence claim in a specific time frame, but our experienced panel of solicitors are here to support you.
In accordance with the Limitation Act 1980, you have three years to start a medical negligence claim. This time limit will begin from:
- The date the medical negligence occurred or;
- The date you received knowledge of the medical negligence
However, as the circumstances of all claims differ, there are some exceptions to this rule for anyone who cannot make a claim on their own, such as:
- If the claimant is a minor, the time limit is paused until their 18th birthday and will run until their 21st birthday.
- If the claimant lacks mental capacity, the time limit will be indefinitely frozen. However, if they regain mental capacity, the 3-year time limit will commence.
If the time limit on a claim has been paused or indefinitely frozen, a litigation friend can be appointed to act on behalf of the claimant in accordance with their best interests. A litigation friend can also access our compensation calculator for medical negligence.
If you are unsure whether you are still within the claims time frame, contact our helpful advisors for assistance with this and using a medical negligence compensation calculator.
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 a solicitor under a CFA supports your case, you will not need to pay a fee for their services before the claiming process starts or during it. You also don’t need to pay these solicitor fees for their work if your claim is unsuccessful.
If you win 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. Since the percentage is legally capped, you can rest assured that you will receive most of the compensation for your successful claim.
Get Free Legal Advice About Your Claim
For more advice on claiming with a No Win No Fee solicitor and using a compensation calculator for medical negligence, please contact us for free today. You can reach us by:
- 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:
- Find out about the work of NHS Resolution.
- The General Medical Council maintains a framework of professional standards for doctors.
- The duty of care outlined by the Royal College of Nursing.
- See our guide on making hysterectomy claims.
- Find out how to claim for sepsis compensation.
- Learn about endometriosis compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions On Medical Negligence Claims
Do I Need To Use A Medical Negligence Calculator?
No, you do not need to use a medical negligence calculator, but it can be a helpful tool as part of the overall process for making a claim for compensation.
What Is The Average Medical Negligence Payout?
According to NHS Resolution, the average medical negligence payout between 2023 and 2024 was around £4,345,227, but you can use an NHS compensation calculator to get more specific insights.
How Do You Prove NHS Medical Negligence?
There are many ways to prove medical negligence when making a claim against the NHS, including providing copies of your patient records, a diary of your symptoms, and any correspondence from the healthcare facility that provided your treatment.
What is NHS compensation and how does the payout system work?
NHS compensation is awarded via the NHS Resolution scheme rather than directly from NHS Trust budgets. All NHS Trusts contribute to this central "pot," and when claims are successful, NHS Resolution handles the payments—not the NHS itself
Who can make a medical negligence claim against the NHS?
To qualify for a clinical negligence claim you must show:
- Duty of care by an NHS practitioner
- Breach of that duty causing harm
- And that it occurred within the typical 3-year time limit (from date of incident or when harm was discovered).
Exceptions exist for minors (3 years from 18th birthday), those lacking capacity, and fatal cases (3 years from date of death or discovery)
Thank you for taking a moment to read our guide on using a compensation calculator for NHS medical negligence.
