If you need to take a trip to the hospital, you expect to receive the treatment you need when you arrive. Thankfully, nine times out of 10, that is the case. We like to think that when we enter a hospital for medical care, that we will be always given the best treatment and care. However, in some cases, the standard of care can drop below what is expected, and may even be detrimental to the lives of individuals.

All hospitals and medical professionals have a legal ‘duty of care’ to the patients they treat. A breach of that duty could result in serious injuries and even death. If you believe that you have suffered as a result of the negligent care of hospital staff, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

If you are considering making a claim, you may be wondering “how much compensation for hospital negligence?” When valuing a claim for hospital negligence, many factors will come into play, such as the type of injury, recovery time, and additional financial losses.

 

What is hospital negligence?

 

Medical accidents are common, however, proving hospital negligence is not as easy as you coming forward and stating what happened. A successful claim relies on there being clear evidence that there has been a clear breach in the hospital’s duty of care. This can be things such as:

 

– Incorrect treatment and/or diagnosis – Sustaining new injuries whilst in hospital due to treatment or surgical errors

– Lack of urgency in treatment

– General lack for concern throughout medical treatment -Unsafe or unhygienic practices being followed, leading to infection -Unnecessary surgery or treatment

 

As a result of this breach in duty, you may have sustained injuries, been subjected to longer periods of pain and suffering, and loss of earnings or other financial losses. In some circumstances, hospital negligence can lead to death. If you or a loved one have suffered due to hospital negligence, you should contact one of our medical negligence solicitors to help start a claim.

 

How much compensation for hospital negligence: How do I start a claim?

 

The first step to taking legal action and starting a claim is contacting us at Wildwood legal for a free, initial consultation about your case. Not many people know this, but personal injury claims must be settled, or Court proceedings must be started within three years of the treatment taking place or when you first became aware that your injuries were caused by hospital negligence.

Once you have been in contact with one of our lawyers, we will look at all the possible evidence that can help build the case. It’s vital that you collect as much evidence that you can regarding the experience you had. Some things which may help support your case are:

 

– Photos or videos of injuries/ treatment

– A personal written statement about your treatment and experience

– Written statements from any witnesses to your experience.

– Receipts for expenses, such as travel expenses or medical costs

– Records of the dates and times of any appointments.

– Medical reports – these will be sourced by our personal injury solicitors once we have started the claim for you.

 

It’s vital that you are seen by another medical professional so they can run an independent assessment on your injuries. This report from the professional will be used as evidence to help determine the extent of your pain and suffering which helps calculate the amount of compensation that you may be awarded.

This medical assessment also helps to estimate an accurate idea on how much future expenses you may incur due to future treatment costs or loss of earnings.

We will arrange this assessment on your behalf.

 

How much compensation for hospital negligence?: How will my compensation be calculated?

 

There are many resources online that can give you a rough estimate of your compensation award. Although, when solicitors and the insurance companies calculate the amount of compensation, there are two main factors they will consider; these are referred to as general damages and special damages.

General damages will include anything related to the pain and suffering caused by the incident. For example, physical pain, loss of enjoyment, emotional distress and general mental health repercussions. Psychological injuries can be quite difficult to value due to there being no clear injury that can be seen. A psychological expert will be required in these circumstances to analyse your state of mind through multiple sessions over a period of time.

Special damages usually include any financial losses caused by the accident, for example:

– Medical treatment costs

– Travel expenses

– Loss of earnings due to time off work (this may also include future loss of earnings)

 

How much compensation for hospital negligence: NHS payout examples

 

Of course, every case is different so there are no clear guidelines to what your compensation payout could be, although, here are some examples from 2019 to give you a general idea:

1. Severe brain damage

Severe brain damage due to incorrect treatment at hospital could give rise to NHS average compensation pay outs of: Up to £354,000

2. Minor post-traumatic stress

PTSD caused, for example, when a mother was incorrectly told by the hospital that her child had died had a clinical negligence settlement of: Up to £7,200. Cases that revolve around psychological

injury are a lot harder to prove and can take longer. You would need to be seen by a specialist for multiple sessions so they can establish your mental well-being.

3. Amputation of one leg

Compensation will depend on the part of the leg (below-knee or above-knee) and its impact on the patient. This can range from £74,000 – £104,000

 

How long will it take for my case to settle?

 

When it comes to personal injury claims, there’s no real set time limit. It all mostly depends on the type of accident you experienced, the severity of the injury and the simplicity of the case. Each claim is unique, so each claims process will take a different amount of time.

 

How much will it cost to make a hospital negligence claim?

 

On a conditional fee agreement, you only have to pay if you win your claim. This is also known as a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.

Your solicitor will deduct a ‘success fee’ from the compensation for winning the claim. This should be no more than up to 25% – the majority of the sum should be yours to keep.

Due to the no win no fee agreement, before you start your claim, your solicitor will need to take out special legal protection policy insurance. This is what pays for the claim if the case is unsuccessful- making a claim is risk free.

This type of legal cover sometimes comes with your home insurance, car insurance, credit card benefits and so on. Our personal injury lawyers will be able to check out whether you are already covered by this, or the extra-legal protection insurance will need to be taken out for you.

If we need to take out insurance on your behalf, you will only be required to pay for it if your case is successful. This will also be deducted from your compensation on conclusion of your case.

If your case is unsuccessful, you will not be required to pay us a penny.

 

How Wildwood Legal can help?

 

If you’re still left wondering how much compensation for hospital negligence will be paid to you, then the simple answer is, it all depends on the specifics of your case. The process can be difficult to go through alone – that is why we are here to help. Wildwood Legal is a firm that specialises in all sorts of personal injury claims that focus on getting people who have unfortunately been involved in an accident that was not their fault.

We specialise in all areas of personal injury claims such as road traffic accidents, injuries at work, injuries in public spaces like supermarkets, and of course, clinical negligence compensation claims.

If you believe that you have been a victim of negligence during a hospital visit, then contact us today and make a clinical negligence claim. One of our specialists will help guide you through the claims process.

We promise to guide you through every step of the claims process and do our very best to get the maximum possible level of compensation for you. You can contact us by phone 0113 320 5000 or by email info@winstonsolicitors.co.uk.