Damages

Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis

NOTE: A positive 0.5% discount rate is effective from 11 January 2025. Schedule A1 to the Damages Act 1996 provides that subsequent reviews are to take place within five years of the conclusion of the previous review, which means that the next review must commence on or before 2 December 2029.

Damages

When assessing damages, it will not always be as straightforward as attributing all of the claimant’s ongoing medical problems to the alleged negligence. You must ascertain the actual damage caused by the defendant’s negligence. Assessment will be simpler if the claimant suffered no relevant pre-existing problems and the treatment should have fixed the injury, eg timely treatment of a wrist fracture in a young healthy patient. However, assessment can be significantly more complex if there were pre-existing problems that were likely to impact on the claimant in any event, eg osteoarthritis or mental health issues, or if the incident exacerbated or expedited the onset of other conditions.

For further guidance, see Practice Note: Damages in clinical negligence claims.

Loss of a chance and foreseeability

Standard of care and duty of care are tied up with causation and injury. Causation and remoteness are the principles

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Existing user? Sign-in TAKE A FREE TRIAL
Powered by Lexis+®
Latest PI & Clinical Negligence News

LSB publishes final findings on conduct of litigation guidance

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has published its final report on a regulatory review of the advice and guidance issued by approved regulators and...

UKSC and JCPC consult on reducing written case page limits to 30 pages

The UK Supreme Court (UKSC) and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) have launched an informal consultation on reducing the page limit for...

Supreme Court holds court may disapply GLO test case judgment where exceptional circumstances make it unjust to apply and finds Prudential test case did not determine limitation issue (AXA Insurance UK PLC and another v Commissioners of Inland Revenue and another)

The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed the appeal, holding that a court should exercise its discretion under CPR 19.23(1)(a) to disapply a group...

Supreme Court: Foreign state not immune where spyware installed remotely causes injury in UK (The Kingdom of Bahrain v Shehabi)

The Supreme Court, by a majority, dismissed the Kingdom of Bahrain's appeal concerning the scope of the territorial tort exception in section 5 of the...

View PI & Clinical Negligence by content type :  
News
Practice notes
Precedents
Q&As

Popular documents

If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the

If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the current registered owner? Or does the informal exoneration only apply to the parties to the document which informally exonerated the rentcharge?This Q&A considers the situation where, at some point

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal fees, will that count as a PET against their estate?A disclaimer is the refusal of a gift prior to acceptance. The refusal of the gift must take place before the beneficiary accepts any benefit

Template for regulatory references given by SMCR firms and disclosure requirements

Template for regulatory references given by SMCR firms and disclosure requirements[Insert addressee details]Dear [insert name][It is our understanding that [insert name of prospective employee] [was an employee of yours between the dates of [insert dates as appropriate] OR is a current employee of

What are the rules for validly serving a section 27 Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 notice on the landlord

What are the rules for validly serving a section 27 Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 notice on the landlord outside of the UK?There are various rules which govern when a section 27 notice can be served and what information needs to be included which are outside the scope of this Q&A. Notice may be
If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the

If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the

If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the current registered owner? Or does the informal exoneration only apply to the parties to the document which informally exonerated the rentcharge?This Q&A considers the situation where, at some point

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal fees, will that count as a PET against their estate?A disclaimer is the refusal of a gift prior to acceptance. The refusal of the gift must take place before the beneficiary accepts any benefit

Template for regulatory references given by SMCR firms and disclosure requirements

Template for regulatory references given by SMCR firms and disclosure requirements

Template for regulatory references given by SMCR firms and disclosure requirements[Insert addressee details]Dear [insert name][It is our understanding that [insert name of prospective employee] [was an employee of yours between the dates of [insert dates as appropriate] OR is a current employee of

What are the rules for validly serving a section 27 Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 notice on the landlord

What are the rules for validly serving a section 27 Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 notice on the landlord

What are the rules for validly serving a section 27 Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 notice on the landlord outside of the UK?There are various rules which govern when a section 27 notice can be served and what information needs to be included which are outside the scope of this Q&A. Notice may be