Severe tears & pelvic floor injury · Compensation
How Much Compensation for a Third or Fourth Degree Tear or Pelvic Floor Injury?
The short answer
Compensation for a severe tear or pelvic floor injury depends on how lasting your symptoms are, how they affect your work, relationships and daily life, and what treatment you'll need. In NSW, pain and suffering ranges from nothing, for injuries that heal well, to hundreds of thousands of dollars for serious lasting injuries, up to a maximum of $804,000. Lost income and future treatment are added on top. For women whose injury affects their ability to work, that's often the largest part of the claim.
These made-up examples, using NSW rules, show the range. They aren't predictions for any real claim.
| Injury | Example | Pain and suffering (NSW) | Example total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healed well | A second degree tear that healed with no lasting problems after a few months | $0. Below the 15% threshold. | Usually only out-of-pocket costs. Often not worth a claim. |
| Moderate | A third degree tear, repaired, leaving occasional urgency managed with physiotherapy. Assessed at 20%. | $28,140 | Around $50,000 to $120,000 with treatment costs and some lost work |
| Significant | A missed sphincter tear causing ongoing leaking of wind and occasional bowel accidents, needing sphincter surgery. Assessed at 25–28%. | $52,260 to $112,560 | Around $150,000 to $400,000, depending on surgery and effect on work |
| Serious | A levator avulsion and prolapse after an unwarned forceps birth. Surgery, and dropping from full-time to part-time work. Assessed at 30%. | $184,920 | Around $800,000 to $1 million, mostly from lost future earnings |
| Severe | A fourth degree tear with ongoing faecal incontinence, several surgeries, unable to work, and a recognised psychiatric injury. Assessed at 40%. | $321,600 | Often over $1 million, depending on income and care needs |
Caps differ by state. The current maximum for pain and suffering is $850,000 in the NT, $494,150 in Queensland and $444,340 in SA, and there's no cap in the ACT. My full guide to medical negligence compensation in Australia covers every state.
The question you're allowed to ask.
Many women feel awkward asking what their injury is "worth". It can feel crass, or as if you're putting a price on your body.
But compensation isn't a reward. It's how the law pays for the surgery, the physio, the lost income and the life you've had to rearrange.
Birth injuries carry a huge cost. Women's Agenda has reported estimates that birth injuries cost Australia around $17.5 billion a year. When an injury was caused by negligence, that cost shouldn't fall on you.
First: there has to be negligence
Compensation is only available if your care fell below the expected standard, and that caused your injury or made it worse. For tears and pelvic floor injuries, that might mean:
- a severe tear was missed or poorly repaired. See severe perineal tears and "I can't control wind after birth"
- you weren't warned about the risks of forceps. See "Why didn't anyone tell me forceps could do this?"
- the birth was mismanaged, causing a levator avulsion or prolapse
- your symptoms were dismissed, delaying treatment
Pain and suffering: how it's assessed
In NSW, your injury is compared to "a most extreme case", something like quadriplegia or catastrophic brain injury. It's given a percentage. Under 15% receives nothing for pain and suffering. Between 15% and 32%, you receive a reduced share of the maximum, set by a table in section 16 of the Civil Liability Act 2002. From 33%, you receive the same percentage of the maximum. The maximum is $804,000 for awards from 1 October 2025.
| Severity | Share of maximum | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 15% | 1% | $8,040 |
| 20% | 3.5% | $28,140 |
| 25% | 6.5% | $52,260 |
| 28% | 14% | $112,560 |
| 30% | 23% | $184,920 |
| 35% | 35% | $281,400 |
| 40% | 40% | $321,600 |
Other states work differently. Queensland uses an injury scale from 1 to 100, worth $2,010 to $494,150 for 2026–27. Victoria requires a "significant injury", generally more than 5% whole person impairment. The NT caps it at 680,000 monetary units, which is $850,000 at the 2026–27 unit value.
Treatment, earnings and other costs
These are added on top of pain and suffering, and often matter more.
Medical and treatment costs, past and future.
- sphincter repair, prolapse surgery, corrective perineal surgery, and any revision surgery
- pelvic health physiotherapy, sometimes for years
- continence pads, pessaries and other products, potentially for life
- psychology or counselling
- specialist appointments, tests and travel
Lost earnings and super.
If you've had to reduce hours, change jobs or stop working, you can claim the income you've lost and will lose, plus employer super. In NSW, earnings above about $4,778 gross a week are disregarded (three times average weekly earnings, per current litigation tables). Future losses are discounted to a lump sum.
Help at home.
If you've needed help from family, or paid help, for at least 6 hours a week for 6 months, that can be claimed, at capped rates. You can also claim if your injury stops you caring for your children and someone else has to step in.
Future births.
If your injury means a planned caesarean next time, or you've decided not to have more children because of it, that can be part of the claim.
If this is landing for you, and you'd like to understand what your own situation might involve, I'm happy to talk it through. There's no pressure and no cost to an initial conversation.
What makes a claim bigger or smaller
- How often symptoms happen: occasional urgency is assessed very differently from daily incontinence
- Whether treatment works: a successful repair reduces long-term loss, while failed surgery increases it
- Your age: a younger woman lives with the injury, and its effect on earnings, for longer
- Your work: physically demanding jobs, or jobs without easy toilet access, can be especially affected
- Your relationships and intimacy: painful sex and loss of confidence are part of the assessment
- A psychiatric injury: a diagnosed condition such as PTSD or depression can add significantly
- The strength of the evidence: clear records and expert support matter enormously
The Judicial Commission's civil trials bench book on damages sets out how NSW courts approach these assessments, if you'd like the technical detail.
A worked example
Example: a 32-year-old woman in NSW
She had a levator avulsion and prolapse after a forceps birth she wasn't warned about. She needed surgery, physiotherapy and counselling, and dropped from five days a week to three.
- Pain and suffering: 30% of a most extreme case = $184,920
- Past lost earnings: two years at two days less a week, about $70,000, plus super
- Future lost earning capacity: the same reduction to retirement, discounted, perhaps $450,000 to $550,000, plus super
- Medical costs: surgery, possible revision, physiotherapy, psychology and continence aids, perhaps $80,000 to $150,000
In plain terms: a claim like this could total roughly $800,000 to $1 million. Every figure depends on the medical evidence, her actual income, and the strength of the negligence case.
For a fuller explanation of each type of compensation, see living with a pelvic floor injury, and what a claim can cover, and severe pelvic floor damage and incontinence.
Frequently asked questions
How much compensation do you get for a fourth degree tear?
It varies widely. If a fourth degree tear was caused or mismanaged negligently and left you with lasting incontinence, pain and suffering in NSW might range from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand dollars. Lost income and treatment costs are added on top. Serious cases can exceed $1 million.
Can I get compensation if my tear healed well?
Usually very little, because in most states injuries that heal well fall below the threshold for pain and suffering. You may still be able to recover out-of-pocket costs, but a claim may not be worth pursuing.
Do I get compensation just for having a severe tear?
No. Severe tears can happen despite good care. Compensation depends on showing that care fell short, for example a missed tear, a poor repair, or no warning about forceps, and that this caused your injury.
Is there a time limit?
Yes. In NSW it's generally three years from when you knew, or ought to have known, about the injury and its cause, under the Limitation Act 1969. Other states differ. Please get advice early.
A closing thought
Knowing what's possible doesn't commit you to anything. But it can help you decide whether asking questions about your care is worth it, for you.
So here's a question to sit with: if the cost of your injury weren't yours to carry, what would change for you?
Keep reading: Birth trauma and obstetric negligence
This article is general information only. It is not medical or legal advice, and it doesn't replace advice from your own doctor, midwife or physiotherapist. Reading it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. If you are in crisis, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 000 in an emergency.
