How much is a NHS birth injury litigation claim worth for a Birth Injured Child? It depends on several factors and is assessed during Interim/Quantum.

I’ve tried to set out as simply as I can what factors will influence the amounts. The amounts allocated for certain sectors are called ‘heads of claim/loss’.

Your legal team will look at the most generous figure provided by their experts, and the defence at the least generous. So be prepared for the high you’ll get with your team’s figures, and the low, when the defence counter it.

How much is a Medical Negligence claim worth for a Birth Injured Child?

This very much depends on several factors, and are designed to compensate for financial and non-financial losses for life. The idea is to put the child back in the position ‘but for’ the injury. Which for us as families, is pretty laughable.

The value of a medical negligence claim is based on:

The pain, suffering, and loss of amenity, both physical and psychological
The out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the negligence, both past and future

Because of this compensation is divided into two areas:

General Damages

Pain and Suffering; Compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity is assessed using the Judicial College’s Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases. The Guidelines provide brackets to assist with valuation, rather than fixed amounts, and the particular circumstances of the individual claimant are taken into account. The current edition is the 18th Edition, published in April 2026.

Loss of Amenity; Damages for how the injury affects the child’s quality of life including the ability to participate in normal activities.

Special Damages-Financial Losses and Expenditure

Compensation awarded for special damages is to cover any financial losses directly linked to the clinical negligence; these include

Loss of future earnings. Loss of future earnings. This is assessed using evidence about the child’s likely educational and employment prospects, earning potential and the impact of their injury.
Medical and care costs; Medical treatments, surgeries, medication, and long-term care. It also accounts for future care needs; professional care, therapy, and equipment.
Cost of travel and accommodation; Additional accommodation and transport costs where these are reasonably required because of the child’s disability, together with appropriate adaptations and vehicle costs.
Adaptations to the house; to better accommodate the child’s needs and disabilities.
Equipment and aids; to include wheelchairs, aids, and specialist equipment to help the child live more comfortably.
Educational support and specialist care; if the child needs additional tutoring or assistance to cope in school.

Past Losses to date of trial/mediation/settlement)

Some losses will be family provided and will be compensated often with interest. Some examples are provided, but a larger checklist can be found under my blog section

Family based personal care
Privately paid services provided (private hydro, horse riding, private tuition, speech and language, physiotherapy etc)
Past Equipment
Past Travel expenses/costs (WAV deposit etc)
Past accommodation costs – if you’ve needed to pay for extensions in addition to the local authority disability grant scheme.
Privately funded treatments
Past miscellaneous expenses

The above list is not extensive, but where family members have provided care because of the child’s injury, the reasonable value of that care may form part of the past losses claimed (past care)

During interim costs for the Deputy and the Case Manager, and their respective teams will also be paid by the Defence. Any rental accommodation is paid as is adaptations to the claimants current home if required, from an Interim payment.

Some Local Authority care, treatment, equipment and services provided or funded by the NHS or Local Authority may not be recoverable as damages where the claimant has not incurred the relevant loss. Your legal team will assess what can properly be included in the claim.

The DWP can reclaim some benefits. Certain social security benefits paid as a result of the injury may be recoverable by the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU). Your legal team will deal with this as part of the compensation process. 5 years is a common timespan, but all cases vary. The aim is not to compensate the claimant twice for the same injury.

Future Losses and Expenditure

This is what the legal teams will be quantifying in Interim and forms the Settlement Agreement. Future losses may be paid as a lump sum, periodical payments, or a combination of both. Periodical payments are often particularly useful for recurring lifelong costs such as care. Housing is usually secured via the lump sum.

Personal care support
Case Management
Aids and Equipment
Physiotherapy
Hydrotherapy
Physiotherapy equipment
Transport
Future increased costs

Speech and language therapy
Occupational therapy
Future treatments
Special educational needs
Assistive technology
Holidays
Deputy costs

Other Factors

Those are the basic principles of compensation for damages, but other factors do play a part.

The severity of the injury
Medical experts will assess how the injury affects the child, how much care they will need for life, long term prognosis and so on.
The life expectancy of the child
The Ogden Tables are used as an important tool when calculating future losses, although the evidence in an individual case may require adjustments or a different approach. Experts use them to assess life expectancy, including such factors as mobility and tube feeding. The use of the ‘Ogden Tables’ which allows very little leeway for individual cases and can be unfair to some claimants in my opinion. More information here and Further information here
The percentage at which the claim is settled
Some claims are settled on a percentage basis where the Defendant accepts some responsibility but disputes that the negligence caused all of the injury or losses claimed. For example, the parties might agree that the Defendant is 70% responsible. The effect of such an agreement depends on the terms of the settlement and the issues being compromised. Your legal team will advise whether accepting a percentage settlement is appropriate or whether the evidence justifies continuing towards trial.
The discount rate
The Lord Chancellor reviews the discount rate every five years and it is set according to various scales. The discount rate is applied to future damages and at a basic level is designed so that the amount of compensation awarded, when invested, is enough to pay the claimant for care etc, but should not make a profit and should not fall short. Further information here and Read my blog here
Interim Payments
Interim payments are usually made when the case is being quantified to cover costs such as care, adaptations, equipment, therapy etc. Interim payments are normally taken into account when the final compensation is calculated, as they have been paid ahead of settlement.
Contingencies (Provisional Damages Award)
A provisional damages award can sometimes be appropriate where there is a serious possibility of a specified future deterioration. The initial damages are assessed on the assumption that the deterioration will not occur, but the court order preserves a right to claim further damages if the specified deterioration occurs within the period stated in the order.
Compensation Recovery Unit
In many personal injury claims, the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) can recover certain benefits paid because of the injury from the compensation. For an accident or injury, the recovery period is generally from the day after the injury until the final compensation payment, or for up to five years, whichever is earlier. The precise benefits and period recoverable depend on the circumstances of the claim. It ensures that the claimant is not paid twice for the same injury. Further information here

The cost of litigation is covered by the Defence if the claim is successful. With a conditional fee agreement (no win/no fee) any costs are discussed and agreed at the outset with the legal firm, with claimants often paying nothing. However, it is too diverse an issue to make generalisations here.

Not every birth injury claim involves the NHS. Where the alleged negligence involves a private healthcare provider, independent midwife or another organisation, the potential source of compensation and available insurance may be different. This can affect how a claim is funded and the compensation available, so specialist legal advice is particularly important

Sources as listed above including a further Guide to Compensation from AvMA

Sources: Judicial College Guidelines, GOV.UK, Government Actuary’s Department, DWP/CRU, Ministry of Justice