Dental Compensation Worked-Calculation Examples
The examples show how evidence changes the calculation while deliberately avoiding invented injury tariffs.
How separate losses combine
Worked example 1: a tooth saved after corrective treatment
| Head of loss | Illustrative evidence | Illustrative amount | Calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury award | Expert-supported pain and treatment period. | To be assessed | Judicial College guidance and comparable evidence; no invented figure used here. |
| Corrective treatment | Paid specialist retreatment. | £1,450 | Invoice: £1,450. |
| Earnings | Two unpaid half-days. | £240 | £120 × 2. |
| Travel/medication | Receipts. | £86 | Documented total. |
| Known financial subtotal | Excludes unassessed injury award. | £1,776 | £1,450 + £240 + £86. |
Conclusion: The financial subtotal can be calculated early, but the complete value remains open until injury and prognosis evidence are available.
Source note: CPR Practice Direction 16: schedule of past and future loss; Judicial College report describing the Guidelines.
Worked example 2: lost tooth with future replacement cycles
| Head of loss | Illustrative assumption | Raw amount | Legal treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immediate correction | Extraction, temporary tooth and grafting. | £4,200 | Supported by treatment plan and invoices. |
| Definitive restoration | One implant restoration. | £3,800 | Requires expert support for suitability and timing. |
| Future replacements | Two illustrative replacement events at £3,000 today. | £6,000 raw | Timing, inflation and discounting require proper calculation. |
| Past earnings/expenses | Documented absence and travel. | £1,100 | Receipts and earnings evidence. |
| Raw pecuniary total | Before adjustment and injury award. | £15,100 | £4,200 + £3,800 + £6,000 + £1,100. |
Conclusion: Future dentistry is not simply multiplied at today’s price; timing, probability, inflation, discounting and avoided ordinary costs must be addressed.
Source note: Ministry of Justice: personal injury discount rate; CPR Practice Direction 16.
Worked example 3: subtracting treatment needed anyway
| Item | With negligence | Competent-care counterfactual | Illustrative additional loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original disease treatment | Extraction eventually required. | £900 root-canal treatment would have been required. | Not every original treatment cost is additional loss. |
| Replacement | £3,500 restorative plan. | No replacement at that time. | £3,500 before prognosis adjustments. |
| Additional emergency care | £650. | £0. | £650. |
| Illustrative net financial comparison | £4,150 additional items less £900 avoided treatment. | — | £3,250 before other adjustments and injury award. |
Conclusion: Compensation measures the difference caused by negligence, so reasonable costs that would have arisen anyway may need to be deducted.
Source note: GOV.UK: full and fair compensation principle; CPR schedule-of-loss requirements.
Attach a source to every number
Past losses use invoices, receipts, payslips and employer confirmation. Future dentistry needs a reasoned expert plan covering necessity, timing, lifespan, alternatives and maintenance. General damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity are assessed separately using medical evidence, Judicial College guidance and comparable decisions. An online calculator cannot replace those inputs.
Do not treat examples as reported settlements
The figures above are invented solely to demonstrate arithmetic and are clearly labelled as such. They do not represent averages, awards or offers. Published dental settlements are sparse and selection-biased; reliable valuation requires the patient’s own breach, causation, condition, prognosis and financial evidence.
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