Solicitors for Future Treatment Compensation

Yes, where the medical evidence shows you are likely to need treatment going forward. Future treatment is a form of special damages, which means it compensates for money the injury will cost you rather than for the injury itself. It can cover surgery, therapy, medication, specialist consultations and rehabilitation that has not yet happened. The claim is built from expert evidence on what you are likely to need, how often and for how long, rather than from an estimate.

A medical expert reports on your condition and prognosis, which means their view on how it is likely to develop. Where further treatment is expected, that report sets out what will be required. A specialist, sometimes a care or rehabilitation expert, then works out what that treatment will cost, how frequently it will be needed and over what period. The two together produce the figure for this head of loss.

Yes, where a medical expert considers that surgery is likely to be needed. This is common in orthopaedic injuries, where a joint may eventually need replacing, and in spinal and brain injuries where further intervention may be required. The claim reflects the cost of the procedure, the recovery period, and any associated care or lost earnings. Because it depends on a prediction, the medical reasoning behind it matters.

That is a difficulty the law recognises, and there are ways of dealing with it. Where deterioration is possible but not certain, the medical evidence has to address the likelihood and the consequences. Sometimes a settlement can be structured to allow for review if the injury develops in a particular way. Settling too early where the future is unclear is one of the main risks in a serious claim, which is why the medical picture matters so much.

Yes. Where the injury has caused psychological harm and further therapy is likely to be required, counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy or psychiatric treatment can form part of this head of loss. Evidence from a psychologist or psychiatrist is usually needed to establish both that the therapy is necessary and how long it is likely to continue.

It depends on the circumstances. Where NHS treatment is available within a reasonable time, the claim is usually based on the NHS provision, because that is what would otherwise meet the need. But where the wait is excessive, where the treatment is not available on the NHS, or where private treatment is medically necessary to avoid deterioration, a claim for private treatment can succeed. The medical evidence and the availability of NHS care both matter.

General damages compensate for the injury itself and its effect on your life, and they are assessed rather than calculated from documents. Future treatment is a financial loss, so it is worked out from what the treatment will actually cost. The two are claimed together but proved in completely different ways, and a serious injury claim usually includes both.

Sometimes. Where the NHS would have met the need at no cost to you, the claim may be limited, because you would not have had to pay. This is why the medical and treatment evidence needs to set out clearly what treatment is required and how it would be provided. It is a technical area, and it is one where the detail of the expert evidence really matters.

Often it can be. Where liability is admitted or the insurer accepts responsibility in principle, it is sometimes possible to arrange treatment or rehabilitation early with the cost met by the insurer, and an interim payment may occasionally be sought to fund it. This matters most where early treatment improves recovery. It is never guaranteed, and it depends on the attitude of the insurer in the individual case.

Yes. Future treatment is simply one element of the compensation, funded in the same way as the rest. Suitable claims may be accepted under a Conditional Fee Agreement, commonly called No Win No Fee, subject to an assessment of liability, the evidence and the prospects of success. If 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.