Compensation For Nerve Damage After Surgery

When we undergo surgery, we expect to be treated with the highest level of care and professionalism. However, errors can occur and the impacts of these can be very serious. That’s why we’ve made this guide to claiming compensation for nerve damage after surgery.

You’ll find information on key aspects of claiming, including eligibility to claim, how compensation is calculated in cases of medical negligence and some examples of how nerve damage could be sustained due to surgical errors.

Our final section examines the No Win No Fee contract offered by our solicitors, focussing on the benefits to claimants of instructing a legal representative under these terms.

To get in touch with our advisors for a free eligibility assessment, complete our “claim online” form today.

Surgeons performing a corrective procedure on a patient who suffered nerve damage

Browse Our Guide

Am I Eligible To Make A Medical Negligence Claim?
Average Compensation For Nerve Damage After Surgery
Nerve Damage After Surgery – How Could It Happen?
How To Make A Nerve Damage Claim
How Our Solicitors Can Help You Claim
More Information

Am I Eligible To Make A Medical Negligence Claim?

All medical professionals in both public and private healthcare settings have a duty of care to provide medical care at the correct standard. A failure to meet this standard that causes the patient avoidable harm is medical negligence.

We have summarised the eligibility criteria here:

A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
This duty was breached when the medical professional failed to provide care at the correct standard.
This failure caused you avoidable harm.

By “avoidable harm”, we mean any harm that would not have occurred had the correct standard of treatment been given. For a free assessment of your eligibility to claim compensation for nerve damage after surgery, contact our advisory team today.

Average Compensation For Nerve Damage After Surgery

It wouldn’t be of much use to provide an average compensation for nerve damage after surgery since claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis. There are a number of factors that determine how medical negligence compensation is calculated, including what harm was caused, how serious that harm is and how it affected your life; therefore, knowing the average compensation figure won’t be helpful to you.

How Compensation Is Calculated

Medical negligence compensation can be awarded under two different heads of claim. These are:

General damages: compensation for the physical and psychological damage caused.
Special damages: awarded for financial losses stemming from the avoidable harm.

If our advisors assess your potential claim as valid, one of our solicitors could take on your claim. Those tasked with calculating a potential compensation figure can refer to your medical evidence alongside the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

The JCG publication sets out guideline award brackets for various types of harm. We have taken a relevant selection of these brackets and created the below table. Please be advised that the top entry was not taken from the JCG.

Compensation Table

It is important we emphasise that this information has been included for guidance purposes only.

Type of Harm	Severity	Guideline Compensation Figure	Notes
Various Instances of Harm That Is Very Serious with Additional Special Damages	Very Severe	Up to £1,000,000 +	Multiple instances of very severe harm as well as major financial damage including lost pay, medical bills and care costs.
Brain damage	Moderate (c)(i)	£183,190 to £267,340	Moderate to severe intellectual deficit, personality shift, sensory impact and a significant epilepsy risk.
	Less Severe (d)	£18,700 to £52,550	While a good recovery has been made, there may be persisting problems with memory and concentration.
Paralysis	Paraplegia (a)	£267,340 to £346,890	The level of award for paraplegia is influenced by the level of independence, psychological effects, the extent of pain and life expectancy.
Epilepsy	Established Grand Mal (a)	£124,470 to £183,190	Compensation for epilepsy will depend on the effectiveness of medication, the impact on daily life and the prognosis.
Severe Leg Injuries	Severe (b)(ii)	£66,920 to £109,290	Injuries that cause permanent mobility issues thus requiring aids for the rest of the injured person's life.
	Severe (b)(iii)	£47,840 to £66,920	Injuries to the joints or ligaments causing instability, prolonged treatment and a lengthy period of non-weight-bearing.
Wrist Injuries	Complete Loss of Function (a)	£58,710 to £73,050	Where there has been a complete loss of function in the wrist.
Elbow Injuries	Severely Disabling Injury (a)	£47,810 to £66,920	Injuries that cause severe disability.
	Less Severe Injuries (b)	£19,100 to £39,070	Functional impairment but not involving major surgery or significant disability.

Will I Receive Special Damages As Part Of My Compensation For Nerve Damage After Surgery?

As we said above, special damages can be awarded for the financial impacts of the nerve damage you sustained. Special damages also account for the ongoing expenses and the loss of future earnings as well as immediate costs.

With the impacts of nerve damage potentially lasting the remainder of a person’s life, it is very often the case special damages payouts will be much higher than those awarded under general damages.

Potential examples can include:

Loss of earnings due to time taken off work to recover from the harm caused.
Medical expenses such as prescriptions, therapy sessions and other out-of-pocket costs.
Assistance with childcare or other domestic tasks such as meal preparation, cleaning or tending to any outside space if you can no longer do these tasks safely on your own.
Home modifications in cases where mobility has been affected. For example, a stair lift or accessible shower.
Transport costs if you can no longer drive to and from work.

Make sure you hold onto your payslips, as well as other documents such as travel tickets, invoices, receipts and other bills as evidence of the losses you have incurred.

This section is intended to provide guidance on how medical negligence compensation is calculated and what costs could be incurred as a result of substandard surgery. To get a more in depth idea of what your particular claim could be worth, contact our advisors for a free eligibility assessment today.

Nerve Damage After Surgery – How Could It Happen?

Surgical errors can occur more a multitude of different reasons. We’ve set out a few potential scenarios here, but these are by no means the only ways in which nerve damage can occur. For a free assessment of your eligibility to claim in your particular circumstances, contact our advisors using the information given below.

Potential examples of nerve damage after surgery can include:

Surgical errors during a bone graft operation on your left leg and severed a nerve. The damage resulted in a total loss of sensation and function in your lower limb.
You were in hospital awaiting surgery on your right elbow. Administrative errors in the hospital resulted in your patient notes being mixed up with someone else’s, and the operation was performed on your left elbow instead.
A much higher dose of general anaesthetic was administered due to errors in your patient notes. The anaesthetic negligence caused a significant drop in blood pressure, damaging your brain and central nervous system.

Symptoms Of Nerve Damage You Can Check For

There are many symptoms that could indicate nerve damage. We must emphasise that there could be several other reasons why you are experiencing symptoms. Always seek professional medical help.

Potential signs of nerve damage can include:

Numbness, loss of sensation or tingling in the hands or feet.
Muscle weakness in the limbs.
Dizziness, loss of balance or difficulty coordinating movement.
Increase in heart rate.

For a free assessment of your eligibility to claim compensation for nerve damage after surgery, get in touch with our advisors today via the contact information given below.

How To Make A Nerve Damage Claim

You can contact our advisors for a free consultation to find out if you have a valid claim. If you are deemed eligible, there are a few things to consider when making a compensation for nerve damage after surgery claim.

A blue folder marked evidence on top of a notepad containing proof of negligence for a nerve injury compensation claim

Gathering Evidence

Evidence is a key part of any medical negligence claim. You will need to demonstrate that the care provided to you by the medical professional fell below the expected standard and caused you avoidable harm.

Examples include:

Medical records from your treatment, such as copies of your scans, test results and patient notes. You can also use records from any subsequent treatment you had to correct the harm caused.
Proof of any financial losses you incurred.
The contact information of any potential witnesses so they can give a statement during the claim itself.

Time Limits For Making A Claim

In most medical negligence cases, there is a time limit of 3 years from the date you received the substandard treatment. The 3 years may also be counted from the date you would have been reasonably expected to realise the harm you experienced was caused by substandard care. This is known as the date of knowledge.

Exceptions to the time limit can apply in certain cases. To find out about this, ask our advisors.

Finding The Right Solicitor For You

The most important thing when choosing a solicitor is ensuring they have the right knowledge, experience and track record of winning compensation for clients in claims like yours.

Our solicitors have years of experience and have won millions of pounds in compensation for their clients. Get in touch with our advisory team to find out if one of our solicitors could help you today.

Considering A No Win No Fee Agreement

A No Win No Fee agreement is a type of contract between a solicitor and their client that stipulates the client won’t pay any solicitor fees unless the claim is won. What this does is impose minimal risk on the client when making a claim. We’ll examine the specific contract offered by our solicitors in the final section of the guide.

How Long It Takes To Get Nerve Damage Compensation

This can vary as every case is different. The length of time a claim takes depends on the severity of your injuries, whether liability was admitted and the approach the other side take to settlement negotiations.

Our solicitors will do their utmost to ensure your claim is handled as swiftly and with as much care as possible, but we cannot guarantee a timescale for your claim.

How Our Solicitors Can Help You Claim

There is no legal obligation to instruct a solicitor to represent you during your claim. There are, however, significant advantages to doing so. You will benefit from their years of knowledge and experience and get assistance with a number of key tasks.

For example:

Calculating a potential compensation figure.
Communicating with the defendant’s solicitors or representatives.
Helping you gather supporting evidence.
Ensuring all court instructions and deadlines are met.

Our solicitors can offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This contract means you won’t incur fees at the start of or during the claim for the solicitor’s work. There will also be no solicitor fee if the claim fails.

If your claim succeeds, you will receive medical negligence compensation. A percentage of this award will make the solicitor’s success fee. As success fees are capped at 25% by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, you will keep the majority of any payout you receive.