How to ask for more compensation?

[LycheeFizz]

I made a complaint against a private hospital and they have admitted an error was made, apologised and offered me £750 compensation.

I feel the amount they have offered me is not enough as I spent £140 on travel and lost approx £250 in earnings - so that's £390 they actually cost me before you consider the non-tangible harm that I experienced eg pain, unpleasant procedure, distress, physical scarring.

But how do I respond and say it's not enough - what even is enough? No solicitor involved as the sums are small, just me writing to them directly.

£750 is very welcome but I just feel it isnt really fair compensation for what happened. Or should I just be grateful for this offer and draw a line under it?

I don't want to pursue them for the sake of it. It was a ridiculous mistake but they have explained in great detail what measures are now in place to stop it happening again. Apart from a pretty big and still painful scar, I have no ongoing health issues as a result fortunately.

All you can do is ask for more, or involve a solicitor. Maybe say "I'd be willing to accept X figure to reflect my pain & suffering, transport costs etc".

Or escalate it to the ombudsman x

Thanks for the wording suggestion, I like the idea of suggesting a figure which I think is appropriate.

How long ago was it? Scars take a couple of years to mature, so it might be hard to tell how it'll recover.

Where on your body is the scar? They may be properly diddling you with that offer!

This website explains about scarring: www.legalexpert.co.uk/how-to-claim/how-much-compensation-for-a-permanent-scar-injury/

The scar is on my shoulder, it's visible in summer clothing eg sleeveless tops. It's about 6 months old now and I'm sure it will flatten and fade a bit more, but it won't shrink!

Oh god. How long is it?

FWIW, I also had a 'ridiculous mistake' injury during surgery and I have a scar around the top of my bicep. Mine's a bit older than yours now, and probably smaller (3.5" or so).

£750 is definitely too little for a large scar.

There was a scar of approx 0.5cm x 3.5cm which was flat and well healed 3 months after the first procedure.

Thanks to their mistake they went into the same area again and the new scar is approx 1cm x 9cm and after 6 months it is not flat and it's still sore and tight.

TBH the fact that I had to redo the procedure and go through the recovery bothers me more than the scar.

Sounds like a palaver for you.

Have you seen a plastic surgeon to see if it's capable of scar revision? I had plastic surgery on my injury the week after the initial surgery went wrong, then had my follow up a couple of months later. If I hadn't, my scar would've been hideous! Mine is about 0.5cm - 1cm thickness along the length.

My plastic surgeon recommended this cream for scar reduction.

@NoWordForFluffy thanks for the recommendation. I've been slathering it with Sudocrem to try and alleviate the tightness, but as it is situated across my shoulder blade it's constantly pulling and quite sore.

I don't want to derail your thread but in terms of scar management one would hope that they (or perhaps another medical professional) could offer some advice. My DS had a bad scar and his plastic surgeon went to great lengths over the course of his treatment and beyond to make sure that a suitable emollient cream was identified to improve the scar tissue as well as making sure we knew how to apply this using the correct massage technique to maximise the impact. It sounds like you might benefit from this given the size and location of your scar.

Good luck with everything else, I hope you get a good outcome

@toomuchlikemyusername thank you so much, I hadn't really thought about that and the hospital just said to keep moisturising. But it has only been 6 months so perhaps it still needs to heal a bit more.
I'll think about getting some advice (from another hospital!)

You need to massage scars way more firmly that you'd think (my plastic surgeon demonstrated on mine 🤢). You might need assistance to do it properly, given the location.

Massage firmly???
I had no idea
Given that it's still quite sore to the touch that sounds horrible.

Yeah. She really got her fingers into it; it was really grim.I was like you though and it still hurt. My correction surgery was early July last year and I only stopped having pain / altered sensation in the last couple of months.

@LycheeFizz Do you legal cover on your home insurance policy which will enable you to get legal advice regarding this issue from a specialist lawyer. ?
Have you considered the possibility of further medical treatment that may be needed due to the issue either for plastic surgery or otherwise?

@NoWordForFluffy

WTAF I've got goosebumps. There's no way I could tolerate this right now.

Glad to hear you have finally turned a corner.

Also why don't you get 2 x quotes from plastic surgeon. Then you could suggest that amount to correct it, plus damages = £x.

Please speak to a solicitor about this, it sounds as though they are massively undervaluing your claim from what you say.

This. £750 is an insult. Good luck op x

Sudocream is not a moisturiser

I've no legal background but I think there are guidelines to what compensation you could expect.
Judicial College Guidelines (17th Edition) for Injury Claims In 2024
There are also sites which give info about how to make a claim. LIKE THIS. I've no idea if it's legit but it looked like it might be useful.

If you contact them and make it clear you have done your research and wouldn't be shy to take it further they might be keen to increase their offer. Refer to all your evidence so that they know you are organized and able to go to court if needed.

Do you have legal cover with your home insurance?

I did get legal advice and was told that while the claim clearly had merits, compensation would probably be eaten up by the legal costs so I was advised to complain directly.

That's what I've done and they've sent a response admitting their mistake, apologising and offering the £750.

I'm not going to threaten them with legal action because I know I can't follow it up. I might just go back and try and spell out the actual financial cost to me plus the extent or the stress, pain and the permanent scarring.

I want to suggest a figure to them but have no idea what is even reasonable.

No win no fee solicitors are only allowed to deduct a certain percentage from your damages, so you're left with the bulk of your compensation. Who gave you that advice?

Unless you send a Letter of Claim, they're likely limited to an ex gracia payment from their own funds. You probably need to trigger referral to their insurer to get proper compensation.

There's a sample LoC in the Pre-Action Protocol. You could also send a Part 36 offer to them with your letter.

Would you have revision surgery if it's possible? If you wouldn't, there's no point including the cost of it in your offer. Add your financial losses in, then an amount for the scar itself. That will be your offer.

If they've offered money to you, I'd hope they'd agree to their insurer admitting liability and just getting your claim settled. It will cost way less dealing directly with you than with a solicitor, so you might get lucky and get it sorted sooner rather than later.

@NoWordForFluffy thanks that's very helpful, I'm going to try and come at this more formally so that, as you say, they may decide it makes more sense to just compensate me properly rather than risk it going to legal.

You need to wait rather than jumping in amd settling. You may need further treatment and your discomfort might continue for a long time.
Yiu may have legal cover on yoyr house insurance which would help.