If the infected person’s needs or losses were greater than the set amounts
You may be able to claim extra compensation for the estate via the ‘supplementary’ route if:
- the usual care and financial loss compensation amounts are not enough to cover the money the person who died lost due to their infection, or due to a rare severe health condition they developed as a result of their infection
- they were subjected to unethical research.
This is for exceptional cases and the vast majority of people will only need to use the ‘core’ compensation route.
If you choose to apply through the supplementary route, the core compensation payment will remain unaffected.
Your claim manager will ask you to share extra information about the infected person’s individual situation, which could result in a longer assessment process.
Autonomy award for unethical research
This award compensates people who may have been subjected to unethical research practices.
You are eligible for this award if the infected person:
- attended Lord Mayor Treloar College as a student any time between 1970 and 1983
- was treated for a bleeding disorder in the UK before 1986
If both apply, you will receive the higher award.
This table sets out the compensation amounts for the autonomy award for unethical research:
| Award category | Compensation amount |
|---|---|
| Treated for a blood disorder between 1970 and 1983 whilst attending Lord Mayor Treloar College | £60,000 |
| Treated for a blood disorder before 1986, aged under 18 | £45,000 |
| Treated for a blood disorder before 1986, aged 18 or over | £30,000 |
You will need to provide evidence to show that you are eligible for this award.
Severe health condition award
You may be able to get extra support if the deceased infected person developed a severe health condition that is not covered by the core route. This could include a financial loss award or a care award.
You may qualify if the person had a condition in one of these groups:
- Group 1 – Severe visual impairment
- Group 2 – Neurological disorders resulting in long-term severe physical or mobility disability.
- Group 3 – Neurological disorders resulting in long-term severe neurocognitive impairment.
- Group 4 – Severe psychiatric disorders potentially resulting in inpatient psychiatric care.
- Group 5 – End-stage kidney disease requiring renal replacement therapy
- Group 6 – Other hepatic disorders caused by hepatitis B or hepatitis C resulting in long-term severe disability. This includes where the infection has caused decompensated cirrhosis, liver cancer and/or liver transplant.
- Group 7 – Qualifying chronic hepatitis-associated conditions - Other disorders caused by hepatitis B or C resulting in long-term severe disability.
Severe health condition – Financial loss award
Under the core route, the rate of financial loss for a given year is based on the severity of the infected person’s illness. If they had a qualifying severe health condition, this rate of financial loss is adjusted to take into account that their level of financial loss is likely to have been higher.
Your claim manager will ask you to share official documents to show that the person who died:
- had a qualifying condition
- were unable to work for all or part of the year (if they were in Group 2, 3 or 4)
You cannot apply for this award if they:
- had HIV – this is because the rate you receive via core compensation is already the maximum
- they developed their condition after reaching retirement age – this is because it would not have affected their ability to earn
Severe health condition – Care award
If the infected person has a severe health condition, the estate may be eligible for an additional care award if the years between diagnosis of their severe health condition and their date of death were greater than the years of required care assumed under the core route.
The Severe health condition care award is dependent on how severe their infection was and the number of years and type of care already included in the core care award. Your claim manager will explain this during your claim.
The table below shows the breakdown of Financial loss and Care awards by group:
| Severe health conditions | Condition | Financial Loss award | Care award modification |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Group 1 Severe visual impairment |
HIV | No additional award. | £4,095 per year from date of severe health condition diagnosis to death of infected person. |
|
Group 2 Neurological disorders resulting in long-term severe physical or mobility disability. Evidence of inability to return to work required. |
HIV | No additional award. | Up to £17,568.54 per year from date of severe health condition diagnosis to death of infected person. |
|
Group 2 Neurological disorders resulting in long-term severe physical or mobility disability. Evidence of inability to return to work required. |
Hepatitis |
Financial loss for years following diagnosis is adjusted to 100% financial loss. This equates to £29,657 per annum from year of severe health condition diagnosis until age of 66 (retirement age) then the corresponding pension rate. |
Up to £17,568.54 per year from date of severe health condition diagnosis to death of infected person. |
|
Group 3 Neurological disorders resulting in long-term severe neurocognitive impairment. Evidence of inability to return to work required. |
HIV | No additional award. | Up to £17,568.54 per year from date of severe health condition diagnosis to death of infected person. |
|
Group 3 Neurological disorders resulting in long-term severe neurocognitive impairment. Evidence of inability to return to work required. |
Hepatitis Decompensated cirrhosis | Financial loss for years following diagnosis adjusted to 100% financial loss for years of severe health condition diagnosis beyond 4 years. This equates to £29,657 per annum from year of severe health condition diagnosis until age of 66 (retirement age) then the corresponding pension rate. | Up to £17,568.54 per year from date of severe health condition diagnosis to death of infected person. |
|
Group 4 Severe psychiatric disorder. Evidence of inability to return to work required. |
HIV | No additional award. |
£4,095 per year from date of severe health condition diagnosis to death of infected person. Up to £17,568.54 per year if the person was assessed as needing Level 2 care. |
|
Group 4 Severe psychiatric disorder. Evidence of inability to return to work required. |
Hepatitis |
Financial loss for years following diagnosis adjusted to 100% financial loss. This equates to £29,657 per annum from year of severe health condition diagnosis until age of 66 (retirement age) then the corresponding pension rate. |
£4,095 per year from date of severe health condition diagnosis to death of infected person. Up to £17,568.54 per year if the person was assessed as needing Level 2 care. |
|
Group 5 End-stage kidney disease requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) |
HIV | No additional award. | £4,095 per year from date of severe health condition diagnosis to death of infected person. |
|
Group 5 End-stage kidney disease requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) |
Hepatitis |
Financial loss for years on dialysis adjusted to 100% financial loss. This equates to £29,657 per annum from year of severe health condition diagnosis to the age of 66 (retirement age) then the corresponding pension rate. |
£4,095 per year from date of severe health condition diagnosis to death of infected person. |
|
Group 6 Other hepatic disorders resulting in long-term severe disability |
Hepatitis |
Estate of a deceased infected person: Fixed financial loss award of £71,178. |
Up to £40,950 (10 years of Level 1 care band). |
|
Group 7 Qualifying chronic hepatitis-associated conditions |
Chronic hepatitis B or C | If the infected person was receiving SCM payments through an IBSS before they died, their estate will be eligible for the same awards as a living infected person, as outlined above. | If the infected person was receiving SCM payments through an IBSS before they died: £4,095 per year from date of IBSS SCM assessment to death. |
Exceptional Loss awards
The estate of the infected person who died may be eligible for an exceptional loss award if the person suffered financial loss or care costs that are greater than those assumed under the core route.
This may apply if their care costs were higher than expected before 31 March 2025.
If you apply for an exceptional loss award, your claim manager will ask you to share supporting documents to confirm details to support the claim. This will help them process your claim and calculate the compensation. Documents you can use include records of earnings, invoices of care costs, employment offers, and documents showing early medical retirement.
Exceptional loss of earnings
You can apply for one of three awards for exceptional loss of earnings if the person who died had to significantly reduce the amount they could work as a result of their infection:
- PAYE earnings award (for employed people)
- Self-employment earnings award (for self-employed people)
- Potential earning capacity
You will need to show records of their earnings both before and after their ability to earn was impacted.
The estate is unlikely to be eligible for an additional award if they were able to keep working normally for a number of years after they were infected. This is due to the assumptions already made under the core route.
If this award is a lower amount than the Financial loss award received under the Severe health condition, you will receive the Exceptional loss award amount. You will never receive less than the amount offered through core compensation.
PAYE Earnings award
This is for deceased infected people who were employed through Pay As You Earn (PAYE). The award considers:
- basic salary
- overtime pay
- incentive pay
- employer pension contributions
It is calculated based on the actual salary of the person who died. The highest award available equates to a gross salary of £76,249 per year.
You will need to share documents showing:
- their income from when their earnings fell due to infection until they turned 66
- their annual salary before their earnings reduced due to the infection
Self-employment earnings award
You can apply for this award if the infected person who died was self-employed. The award considers:
- basic salary
- overtime pay
- incentive pay
It does not include income from:
- dividends
- investments
- capital gains
- savings
- shares or trusts
The self-employment earnings award is calculated based on their actual earnings. The highest award available equates to a gross salary of £76,249 per year.
You will need to share documents showing their:
- income from when their earnings fell due to infection until they turned 66
- income records for the 5 years before their earnings were affected — this will be averaged to calculate the award
Potential earning capacity award
This award recognises the probability that infected people already on the path to a high-earning career would likely have earned more if they had not been infected.
It is a £60,000 one-off award.
The estate may be eligible if the infected person:
- had HIV and/or chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C
- was employed, or had a job offer for a career where the average salary was above £38,504 before they were 66
You will need to share documents showing either:
- they started the higher paying job at any point in the 10 years before they contracted the infection
- they could not start a higher paying job due to certain reasons (for example, pregnancy, injury, care giving) within 10 years before contracting the infection. Or if the job did not start for any other reason, that the offer was made within 1 year of contracting the infection.
Past care cost awards
If the infected person paid for professional care before 1 April 2025, you may be eligible for one of two awards available for exceptional loss due to past care costs.
Excess deemed care costs award
You may be eligible for this award if the infected person received Interferon treatment and paid for care for at least 6 months.
The award amount depends on the type of care they received, and how long they received it for.
The documents supporting this must:
- detail the care they received
- show that they paid for the care
Excess actual costs award
If the costs of the infected person’s past care are higher than the total amount provided through the core route and the Severe Health Condition award, the estate may be eligible for the Excess actual costs award.
This award is capped at an additional 25% above the total you would have received under both the core route and Severe health condition award, if applicable.
The documents supporting this must show all of their past care costs.