Solicitors for Multiple and Serious Injuries

Not by adding up figures for each injury separately. The compensation reflects the combined effect of the injuries on the person, which is generally greater than the total of the individual injuries considered alone. The medical evidence has to address how the injuries affect each other as well as each injury by itself, which is why these claims need careful coordination of expert evidence.

Almost always, yes. Each injury is assessed by a consultant in the relevant specialty, so an accident causing a head injury, a spinal injury and fractures may involve three or more medical experts. Where care, accommodation or financial losses are involved, further experts are needed. We coordinate that evidence so the combined effect is properly captured.

Yes, and in serious multiple injury claims it is often the largest element. Where the injuries mean you cannot return to your previous work, or can only work fewer hours or in lower paid work, the financial difference over the longer term forms part of the claim. Where a career has been curtailed, pension loss may also be recoverable.

Where liability is admitted or the insurer accepts responsibility in principle, it is sometimes possible to arrange treatment and rehabilitation early, and sometimes to seek an interim payment to fund it. In multiple injury cases this matters a great deal, because prolonged rehabilitation is usually needed and waiting until the claim concludes is not in anyone's interests.

An interim payment is money paid on account of compensation before the claim is settled. It can fund treatment, rehabilitation, care, equipment or everyday costs while the claim continues. Interim payments usually require an admission of liability or a court order, and are not available in every case, but where they can be obtained they make a real practical difference.

Serious multiple injury claims commonly take two to four years, and sometimes longer where the prognosis remains uncertain. That reflects the volume of expert evidence needed and the importance of establishing the full picture before the claim is valued. Where the injuries are still developing, settling early risks under-compensating for problems that emerge later.

That is common in serious cases, and it is one of the reasons these claims take time. Medical evidence is often obtained in stages, with an initial report followed by an updated one once the position is clearer. Where the prognosis remains genuinely uncertain, it is usually better to wait than to settle for a figure that may prove inadequate.

For most claims in England and Wales the limit is three years from the accident, or three years from the date you knew or ought reasonably to have known that you had suffered a significant injury. Where someone lacks the mental capacity to bring a claim, the limit does not run in the ordinary way. Anyone close to a deadline should take advice immediately.