Solicitors for Personal Injury Compensation

No accurate figure can be given for an injury by name alone. Compensation is assessed on the medical evidence about the injury and its prognosis, the effect it has on your day to day life, your age and circumstances, and the financial losses it has caused. The Judicial College Guidelines give ranges for many injuries, but they are a starting point rather than a quotation, and two people with the same diagnosis can receive very different awards. Any reliable indication has to come from the evidence in your individual claim.

Compensation has two parts. General damages cover the injury itself and its effect on your life, sometimes described as pain, suffering and loss of amenity. Special damages, now often called financial losses, cover the money the injury has cost you: lost earnings, treatment and rehabilitation, care and assistance, travel, aids and equipment, and in appropriate cases future losses such as ongoing care or reduced earning capacity. Each element has to be supported by evidence.

Valuation starts with medical evidence. An expert reports on the nature of the injury, its severity and the prognosis, which means their view on how it is likely to develop. That report is measured against the ranges in the Judicial College Guidelines. The financial losses are then calculated separately from documents such as payslips, accounts, receipts and care records. Where the injury is significant, further experts may be needed on care, accommodation, equipment or future earnings.

Yes, where the injury caused you to lose pay. Past loss covers the earnings you have already lost while recovering, including overtime and bonuses where these can be shown. Future loss covers the difference between what you would have earned and what you are likely to earn now, taking into account whether you can work fewer hours, in a different role, or at all. Evidence usually includes payslips, contracts and, in larger claims, an accountant's report.

Treatment and rehabilitation that the injury has made necessary can form part of the claim, whether you have already paid for it or will need it in future. That can include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychological support, private medical treatment and specialist equipment. Where liability has been admitted, it is sometimes possible to arrange treatment early, and an interim payment may occasionally be sought to fund it. Nothing is guaranteed, and what is recoverable depends on the medical evidence.

General damages compensate for the injury itself and the effect it has on your life, so they are not calculated from receipts. Special damages, or financial losses, compensate for money the injury has cost you and are proved by documents. In a serious claim the financial losses often exceed the general damages by a wide margin, because care, equipment, accommodation and lost earnings over many years add up to far more than the award for the injury alone.

Yes. Where a family member has provided care, help around the house or personal assistance that you would otherwise have needed to pay for, that care can be claimed even though no money changed hands. The claim reflects the value of the help provided, usually assessed against what a professional carer would have charged. A claim is often possible both for care already given and for care you are likely to need in future.

A straightforward claim where responsibility is admitted and the injury resolves may settle within six to twelve months. Where the prognosis is uncertain, or where liability is disputed, it takes longer, because the claim cannot be valued properly until the medical picture is clear. Serious injury claims often take two to four years. Settling early to speed things up risks accepting compensation for a position that later turns out to be considerably worse.

A claim can often still be brought. Where an accident is partly your responsibility, compensation is usually reduced to reflect your share of the blame rather than refused altogether, which is known as contributory negligence. A common example is not wearing a seatbelt. The reduction is applied as a percentage to the total value of the claim, so the claim is still worth pursuing even where some blame rests with you.

Suitable claims may be accepted under a Conditional Fee Agreement, often called No Win No Fee. Under that arrangement, if the claim does not succeed, you generally do not pay our basic legal fees. Where the claim succeeds, a success fee may be payable, and in many personal injury claims the legal cap is 25% of the relevant categories of damages including VAT. The exact terms are always explained before you decide whether to proceed.