Compensation is meant to put you back, as far as money can, in the position you would have been in if the negligence had not happened. It comes in two parts: an award for the injury itself, and a separate award for what the injury has cost you.
This guide explains what each part covers, and why nobody can tell you what a claim is worth at the start.
DAMAGES - is the legal word for compensation, it is worked out to make up for what you have lost. It is not a fine, and it is not meant to punish anyone.
What are the two parts of an award?
Every award is built from two separate calculations, added together at the end.
General damages - The injury itself: the pain it caused and the things you can no longer do. This is judged, not counted.
Special damages - The financial losses: everything the injury has cost you or will cost you, worked out from evidence.
In serious claims, the money side is usually the larger of the two.
What does the award for the injury cover?
It covers the pain and suffering you went through, and anything you can no longer do because of it. Psychological harm counts too, as long as a doctor has diagnosed it.
Four things shape the amount:
How serious the injury is
How long it lasted, or whether it is permanent
What the medical evidence says about your future
Your age, and how the injury affects your daily life
Solicitors and courts compare your injury against published guidelines, based on awards the courts have actually made. The current edition came out in April 2026.
What financial losses can I claim?
Anything the negligence has cost you, as long as the cost is reasonable and you can evidence it.
Lost earnings - wages, reduced earning capacity, lost pension contributions
Care - paid carers, and care given free by family
Treatment - further surgery, physiotherapy, counselling, private treatment where reasonable
Travel and medication - appointments, hospital parking, prescriptions, dressings
Equipment - mobility aids, wheelchairs, specialist beds, and replacing them over time
Help at home - cleaning, gardening, childcare and other things you can no longer do
If a family member has cared for you without being paid, the value of that care can be claimed, and the money is passed on to them. Keep a rough note of the hours, receipts and payslips are far easier to collect as you go than to find later.
Can I claim for losses I haven't had yet?
Yes, and in serious claims this is usually the biggest part. Future loss covers earnings you will not now receive, care you will need for years to come, surgery that has not happened yet, and equipment that will need replacing.
Where someone needs care for the rest of their life, part of the award can be paid as a guaranteed annual sum rather than a lump sum, so the money cannot run out.
Future loss is the hardest part to agree, and it is often what makes a claim take longer. It depends on what the medical evidence says about your long term prognosis, and that cannot be settled until your condition has.
What if I was already ill before the negligence?
Most people who make a medical negligence claimwere already ill or injured when they sought treatment. That does not stop a claim, but it does change what the claim covers.
You are compensated for the extra harm the negligence caused, not for the condition you already had. If a cancer diagnosis was delayed, the claim is not about the cancer. It is about what the delay changed: extra treatment, a worse outcome, harm that an earlier diagnosis would have avoided. If the outcome would have been the same anyway, there may be no claim, however poor the care was.
How is the amount decided?
Not from a formula. It is built from evidence, in four stages:
Independent medical evidence - experts from outside the treating team report on what happened and what harm was caused.
A schedule of loss - your solicitor lists every part of the claim, with the evidence for each one.
The response - the other side agrees some items and disputes others.
Negotiation - most claims settle by agreement. The few that cannot are decided by a court.
Why can't you tell me what my claim is worth?
This is what almost everyone wants to know first, and the honest answer is that nobody can say at the start.
Any figure quoted before the medical evidence exists is a guess, two people with the same injury can end up with very different awards, because the award reflects the effect on that person's life. Until the experts have reported, the information needed simply is not there.
What we can do is tell you which parts of this guide apply to you, what evidence would be needed, and whether it looks worth investigating. If a firm gives you a figure on a first phone call, be careful.
What if someone has died?
Two claims can arise, the estate can claim for what the person suffered before they died. Certain close relatives can claim for the financial support they have lost, and for funeral costs. A fixed bereavement award is also available to a limited group of relatives.
Not sure whether what happened to you was negligence?
Talk it through with our medical negligence team, free and without obligation.
Frequently asked questions
There are more on our FAQ page.