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“Have you or your loved one suffered from a brain injury as a result of medical negligence? Then this guide will tell all you need to know and what you need to do to make brain injury claims.”
The brain is, perhaps the body’s most vital organ and while organ transplants are becoming common, human brain transplant has never been successfully performed.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common causes of disability and death globally. Common causes are road accidents, falls, fights, blows or severe collisions from contact sports as well as medical negligence. The condition is more prevalent among men. Almost a million people visit the hospital A&E department each year with a form of head injury while about 50% are children below 15years.
Also, about 40,000 persons of the 200,000 that are admitted annually because of head injury shows signs of fracture to the skull or brain damage. While the death rate is low among persons with minor head injury, the mortality rate among persons with moderate and severe head injury is very high.
Inasmuch as patients can recover without some specific care of treatment, some go on to experience life-altering disabilities, others die from the traumatizing effect of the injury; this number is expected to be much lower if there is early detection of the problem and a proper treatment plan.
Our brain injury claims solicitors can assist you make an injury claim in the UK if you or a loved one is a victim of brain damage or a worsened brain injury condition as a result of medical negligence.
What is a Brain Injury?
Brain injury refers to any form of injury to the brain, which can either be;
- A penetrative injury where an object pierces through the skull to injure the brain or
- A closed injury, referring to a brain injury caused by trauma, collision or impact.
Brain Injury Medical Negligence on the other hand refers to a situation where the brain injury is as a result of doctor negligence. Here the brain injury results from negligent care, action or inaction of a medical personnel during treatment.
Brain injuries can be devastating, traumatizing and life-changing. While a compensation may not reverse or cure the injury or the severe impact it has had on you, it can be very valuable helping you take care of medical costs, therapies, acquiring mobility aids or other assistive devices that can ease the pain and suffering. Hence the need to secure the services of specialist medical negligence solicitors in brain injury claims to assist you.
If you or your loved one has suffered from brain injury in the NHS as a result of negligent or substandard treatment, our brain injury solicitors possess the expertise to assist you in your brain injury compensation claims.
What Is A Head Injury?
A head injury on the other hand is an injury to the head comprising the skull and face. It does not always mean an injury to the brain.
To make head injury claims, you will need to prove that the head injury was as a result of medical negligence. At Medical Negligence Direct, we have the best solicitors for head injury claims to help you get a deserved compensation.
Categories of Brain Injury
Brain injury can come in various categories. Some of them are:
- Haematoma- this is blood clot on the brain from ruptured blood vessels
- Haemorrhage – this is heavy bleeding on the brain
- Concussion– when the brain hits the wall of the skull as a result of impact from falls or during contact sport.
- Oedema- swelling of the brain
- Diffuse Axonal Injury a traumatic brain injury where the brain becomes rapidly mobile in the skull
Although some of these injuries may be as a result of a head accident or a stroke, they could also be caused by doctor negligence. Examples of medical negligence causing brain injury in hospital include;
- Error in diagnosis or completely missed diagnosis of a stroke, haematoma, oedema or other brain injury. This would lead to delayed treatment which may be fatal or make the impact of the injury permanent.
- Failure to diagnose viral infections early such as meningitis or herpes simplex which can cause brain damage.
- Negligence during delivery where the baby may suffer lack of adequate oxygen leading to brain damage.
- Errors on the operating table, either in administration of anesthesia or other surgical mistakes can cause brain damage or worsen an existing medical condition.
- Brain injuries may also result when cases of brain tumours were misdiagnosed or mismanaged by the doctor making treatment more difficult, longer or impossible to treat.
If you or your loved have sustained any type of brain injury in NHS or any hospital due to the medical negligence, our medical negligence specialists with vast years of experience in brain injury claims have the technical expertise to assist you with your claims.
Making Medical Negligence Claims for Head and Brain Injury
Claiming compensation after brain injury can be very dicey and needs to be handled expertly. At Medical Negligence direct, our specialist brain injury claims solicitors who have experience in handling such cases can assist you with the needed legal advice on how to go about making a claim. To make a successful claim, there is a need to establish that medical negligence is actually the cause of the brain injury or the worsened condition.
It is therefore, imperative to help you establish that;
- The doctor or other medical professional owed you or your loved one a duty of care;
- That such duty of care was breached:
- That the breach of duty caused you or your loved one harm, injury, exacerbated an already existing medical condition or led to the death of your loved one that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.
It is important to establish a direct causal link between the harm or injury suffered and the negligent treatment received.
Several relevant documents must also be provided to help prove your claims. These include:
- Medical reports including CT scans, MRI scans where applicable
- Detailed statements and reports
- Photographs
- Witness statements
- Financial evidence
- Reports from an independent medical expert that can be used as evidence
Who Can Make Brain Injury Claims?
Four categories of persons can make medical negligence brain injury claims. They are;
- The victim of the negligent care
- Victim’s dependants
- Victim’s family
- The victim’s estate
We understand that the effects of a medical brain injury can be traumatizing and life-changing for the patient and their family. Therefore, our medical negligence claims solicitors will do their best to understand the complexities that may surround the case and win the right compensation value to help our clients get the best possible care to make life easier.
Average Compensation For Head Injury
Compensations for head and brain injury can range from tens of pounds to hundreds of pounds for cases settled out of court. Cases that go to trial which are a very small fraction of all brain injury claims settle for much higher amounts. Compensation awards for head and brain injuries most times are the highest amounts when compared to other injuries. This is in line with Judicial Studies Board Guidelines (JSB), a periodically updated guide containing the average compensation amounts for various injuries taking into account the type and severity.
The guide stipulates the following brain and head injury compensation payout in UK for various levels of brain injuries;
| Injury Type | Description | Average Compensation Amount |
| Very Severe Brain Injury | Severe Brain injuries where the patient is unable to open the eyes or understand what is being said. | £264,650 and £379,100 |
| Moderately Severe Brain Injury | Injuries where there is severe disability requiring round-the-clock professional care. | £205,580 and £264,650 |
| Moderate Brain Injury | Here the victim is able to perform basic functions but with some degree of dependence on care. The victim will receive lower compensation amounts if he is able to carry out some work and needs only minimal care. However, the awards are higher if cognition, sight and communication are adversely affected | £36,740 and £205,580 |
| Less Severe Brain Damage | Here the victim is able to carry out normal day to day activities but with some difficulty in concentration, memory loss and function. | £14,380 and £40,410 |
| Minor Brain or Head Injury | Little or no damage to the brain. Also includes injuries lasting a couple of weeks. There may still be symptoms like headaches | £2,070 and £11,980 |
| Epileptic conditions | Where the brain injury leads to epilepsy, compensation values can be placed based on the severity and frequency of seizures as well as the extent to which the condition is managed by medications | £9,990 and £140,870 |
In line with the above guidelines, our brain injury claims solicitors will use the medical negligence calculator– in this case head injury calculator to give you a range of values you can expect.
Head Injury Compensation Case Studies
- Mrs. B received £830,000 in compensation after negligent treatment caused her stroke depriving her of the ability to work. The stroke made her have difficulty with speech, memory and balance.
- Mrs. C was awarded £10.5m compensation after negligent treatment for brain haemorrhage which caused an aneurysm to rupture causing a catastrophic brain injury.
- Mrs. D was awarded £11.5m after negligent treatment of meningitis led to traumatic brain injury causing her to lose her sight.
- After suffering brain damage due to a surgical error during an ENT surgery, Mr. E was compensated with the sum of £615,000.
- Mr. Y who had his brain tumour misdiagnosed received £300,000 in compensation.
Brain Injury Compensation Time Frame
Most brain injury compensation claims are resolved between 1 year to 3years. However, brain injury claims come in different forms, each with its own complexities. The defendant’s refusal to accept liability and failure to agree on a settlement fee as well as other factors can stretch the claims process beyond 3years.
Time Limit for Making a Brain injury Claims
With exception to cases involving children or where the victim may be mentally incapacitated, a three-year time limit is given to present claims. If the victim is dead, then the three-year time frame begins from the date of death.
No Win No Fee Head Injury Claims Policy
At Medical Negligence direct, we handle brain injury claims on a no win no fee basis. This means that you won’t have to pay upfront legal fees. We wouldn’t want you to put off making a claim because of money. Therefore, we would only charge you after the case is won and the claims are not successful, then you don’t owe us a penny.
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Frequently Asked Question about Brain Injury Claims
What is the average payout for head injury?
The average payout for concussion varies as a result of a number of factors. Settlements however range between £1,880 and £10,890.
How Do You Detect Brain Injury?
To detect brain injury, imaging tests like CT scans and MRI scans are employed.
What are the chances of surviving a traumatic brain injury?
Studies have shown that the chances of surviving a TBI severe enough to cause deep coma and low Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, is very low ranging between 11% and 24%.
Can A Person Recover From A Brain Injury?
A person may recover from a brain injury depending on the severity of the injury suffered. While most people who suffer concussion recover most or all of their brain function within a couple of months, the same cannot be said for moderate and severe brain injuries. The prognosis usually decreases with increasing brain injury severity.
What is Glasgow Coma Scale?
The Glasgow coma scale (GCS) is a scoring system used to describe the level of consciousness in a person who has suffered a brain injury. It is used to determine the severity of the injury suffered. Generally, the GCS would give a score of 8 or less for severe brain injury, 9-12 for moderate injuries while mild injuries will show a GCS score of 13-15.