We take a look at how much compensation you may receive as a result of losing an arm due to medical negligence.
The starting point for judges in England and Wales when determining how much money a victim should receive for a particular type of injury is the Judicial College Guidelines. Those Guidelines specify a range of figures that a judge should take into consideration when awarding compensation for losing an arm due to medical negligence.
When considering a loss of limb negligence claim, the court will look at a number of individual factors which will vary from case to case. These include:
- whether the amputation is above or below the elbow. This is because loss of the additional joint adds greatly to the disability;
- the extent to which prosthetics may help in restoring function;
- whether or not the dominant arm was amputated;
- the intensity of any phantom pains;
- the age of the claimant; and
- the effect of the loss of the limb (or limbs) on the claimant’s work, domestic, and social life.
According to the 17th edition of the Guidelines (applicable in 2024) the average compensation for losing an arm is broken down between amputations at the shoulder, amputations above the elbow and amputations below the elbow.
For an amputation at the shoulder compensation starts at £167,380.
For an above-elbow amputation the range is £133,810 to £159,770. The court will take into consideration the fact that a shorter stump is likely to make the use of a prosthesis more difficult. An amputation through the elbow will usually merit an award at the bottom end of the bracket.
Compensation for a below-elbow amputation has a bracket of between £117,360 and £133,810.
The recommended bracket for the loss of both arms is between £293,850 to £366,100.
All of these figures are for what lawyers call, ‘pain, suffering and loss of amenity’. Additional compensation can be claimed for financial losses such as lost earnings, medical care and prosthetics. When we deal with your claim we will work closely with you to identify precisely how the amputation will impact on your life and construct a compensation package that truly reflects your situation, both now and in the future.