Personal injury solicitors for clients throughout England & Wales
England & Wales
Some injuries change the whole shape of a life. A serious accident can affect a person's employment, mobility, independence, finances and family life for years, and sometimes permanently. Our personal injury solicitors have a particular interest in claims involving significant and life changing injuries, and in making sure nothing that matters is overlooked.
This is the most detailed area of our work. Serious claims need more evidence, more planning and considerably more time than straightforward ones, and they need to account for rehabilitation, future treatment, care, equipment, accommodation and long term financial consequences.
The main difference is scope. In a straightforward claim, the central question is what the injury was and how long it lasted. In a serious injury claim, the injury is the starting point rather than the whole picture. The claim has to consider treatment and rehabilitation, care and assistance, equipment and adaptations, the effect on the ability to work, and the financial consequences that may follow a person for the rest of their life. Serious claims are valued individually, and nearly always need evidence from more than one expert.
That difference in scope is the reason serious claims take longer and need more evidence. A single medical report may be enough to value a straightforward injury. A serious injury may need evidence from a consultant in the relevant specialty, together with a care expert, a rehabilitation specialist, and in some cases an employment or accountancy expert. Each of those pieces of evidence takes time to obtain, and arranging them properly is a significant part of the work.
It also means the timing of settlement matters a great deal. Where an injury is still developing, or where further surgery is expected, settling too early risks accepting compensation for a position that turns out to be worse than it appeared. There are mechanisms designed to deal with that, including obtaining updated medical evidence and, where necessary, structuring a settlement to allow for future review. They need to be considered deliberately rather than by default.
Serious injury is a description of consequence rather than a single diagnosis. These are the categories we are asked about most often, each with its own evidence requirements and its own approach to valuation.
Traumatic brain injury
From severe injuries affecting speech, movement and cognition, to more subtle changes in memory, concentration, mood and behaviour. The subtle effects can be harder to prove but are often the ones that most affect work and relationships.
Head and brain injuriesSpinal injuries
Including injuries causing paraplegia or tetraplegia, and incomplete injuries where function is affected. Housing, transport, care, equipment and long term personal support all form part of the claim.
Spinal injuriesAmputation and limb loss
Claims following the loss of a limb, including the cost of prosthetics over a lifetime, adaptation of the home, and the effect on work, independence and family life.
Amputation claimsComplex and multiple fractures
Where fractures are multiple, involve joints, need surgical fixation, or where recovery is incomplete and permanent symptoms remain. Polytrauma involving several parts of the body needs very careful assessment.
Broken bones and fracturesBurns and significant scarring
Claims involving burn injuries, skin grafts and scarring that is visible or affects movement, sensation or confidence, particularly where further treatment or reconstruction is required.
Burns and scarringMultiple and complex injuries
Where several injuries combine, or where an existing condition is made considerably worse, so that the overall effect is greater than any single injury considered on its own. These claims are often the hardest to value accurately.
Multiple and serious injuriesWe can consider personal injury claims ranging from relatively straightforward cases to serious and complex claims. If your injury is not listed here, that does not mean we cannot help, and the free assessment exists precisely so that the circumstances can be looked at properly.
Serious claims are built around evidence, and the evidence takes time. Medical experts in the relevant specialties assess the injury and give a prognosis, which means their view on how it is likely to develop. Where care, equipment or housing needs are in issue, further experts assess what is reasonably required and what it will cost.
The reports are often obtained in stages. An initial report establishes the nature of the injury. A later report updates it once the condition has stabilised, which may be a year or more afterwards. Where the injury is still changing, settling on the strength of the first report alone would risk under-compensating for problems that had not yet emerged.
Alongside the medical and care evidence, the financial losses have to be proved. That may mean obtaining payslips, accounts, pension records and benefit information, and in larger claims instructing an accountant to project what the person would have earned had the injury not happened. Only once that picture is reasonably clear can the value of the claim be advised on properly, which is why we are cautious about early figures.
A serious injury claim is not only about money at the end. Where it is possible to improve someone's position now, that matters more than a settlement in three years time.
Where liability is admitted or the insurer accepts responsibility in principle, it is sometimes possible to arrange physiotherapy, occupational therapy or psychological support early, funded by the insurer. We cannot promise privately funded treatment in every case, but where it is achievable it is usually better than waiting until the claim concludes.
An interim payment is money paid on account of compensation before the claim settles. It can fund treatment, rehabilitation, care, equipment or everyday living 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 they make a real practical difference when they are.
For the most serious injuries, a case manager can coordinate treatment, care and support so that the family is not left to organise everything themselves. Where a professional case manager is appropriate, the cost can form part of the claim.
Where a person can no longer live safely in their existing home, the cost of adaptations or alternative accommodation can be claimed, together with aids, equipment, wheelchairs, prosthetics and vehicle adaptations. These elements need expert evidence on what is reasonably required.
Where an injury interrupts education or makes a person's previous career impossible, the cost of retraining or of additional educational support can be claimed, particularly where the injured person is a child or a young adult.
Where someone lacks capacity to manage their own affairs, the court can appoint a deputy. The costs of the deputyship and of managing the award can be substantial over a lifetime, and they are a recoverable head of loss where properly evidenced.
Not every serious claim will include every one of these elements. What is recoverable depends on the injury, the expert evidence, and the individual circumstances, and we will explain frankly which are likely to apply in your case rather than presenting an unrealistic list.
Recoverability depends on the evidence and the individual circumstances. These are the heads of loss that serious claims most often involve, and in the most serious cases the financial elements far exceed the award for the injury itself.
Pain, suffering and loss of amenity
General damages for the injury itself and for the effect it has on day to day life, including the things a person can no longer do or can no longer do without difficulty.
Care and assistance
The help a person needs now and in future, whether provided by professionals or by family members, including the additional care a child may need and the support a spouse or partner provides.
Rehabilitation and treatment
Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychological support, specialist treatment and private medical care where it is appropriate and can be justified by expert evidence.
Equipment and adaptations
Wheelchairs, prosthetics, aids, assistive technology, vehicle adaptations, and alterations to a home such as ramps, wet rooms, lifts or extensions.
Loss of earnings
Past loss of earnings, and future loss where the ability to work is affected, including reduced earning capacity where a person can only work fewer hours or in lower paid work.
Pension loss
Where a career has been curtailed or ended early, the effect on pension rights can be a substantial element of the claim in its own right, and needs actuarial evidence.
Future treatment and care costs
The cost of treatment, therapy and care that the person is likely to need for the rest of their life, calculated on life expectancy evidence rather than on a guess.
Accommodation costs
Where the person cannot remain in their existing home, the additional cost of suitable accommodation, whether that means adaptations or moving somewhere more suitable.
Other financial losses
Travel to appointments, additional household expenses, the cost of managing affairs, and other losses arising from the injury that can be supported by evidence.
We do not publish figures for particular injuries, and we would be cautious about any source that does. Serious injury awards are assessed individually on the medical evidence, the person's age and circumstances, and the losses they have suffered. Two people with the same diagnosis can receive awards that differ by a very large margin. Any reliable figure has to come from the expert evidence in the individual case.
How personal injury compensation is assessedThe cause of the accident changes who the claim is brought against. It does not change the way the injury itself is assessed or the way the claim is valued.
High speed collisions, motorcycle accidents and accidents involving pedestrians or cyclists are among the most common causes of serious injury. Where a driver is uninsured or cannot be traced, a claim through the Motor Insurers' Bureau may be possible.
Road traffic accident claimsFalls from height, machinery accidents, construction site incidents and moving vehicle accidents at work regularly cause life changing injuries. Employers' liability insurers usually meet these claims.
Accidents at work claimsSerious injuries can follow a fall on defective premises, an unsafe car park or an unmarked hazard. These claims are brought against the occupier or the body responsible for the site.
Public place accident claimsWhere medical care has fallen below the standard reasonably expected and caused avoidable harm, a clinical negligence claim may arise. These cases need evidence from independent medical experts on both the standard of care and the resulting injury.
Medical negligence claimsWhere a serious injury results from a crime of violence, an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority may be possible. That is a separate route from a negligence claim, with its own rules, tariff and time limits.
Criminal injury claimsWhere an accident resulted in death, certain dependants and family members may be able to claim, and a claim may also be possible on behalf of the estate. These matters need handling with particular sensitivity.
Fatal accident claimsThe work begins with establishing what happened and who was responsible, which in serious cases can involve a substantial investigation of its own. Where liability is admitted, attention turns quickly to the injury and its consequences, because that is where the value of the claim lies.
Medical and expert evidence is assembled in stages. An initial report establishes the injury and a provisional prognosis. Care, rehabilitation, equipment and accommodation needs are assessed separately. Financial losses are then calculated, which for a young person with a lifetime of lost earnings ahead of them can involve actuarial evidence on life expectancy and pension loss.
Only when the picture is reasonably complete can the claim be valued and presented. Where the other side disputes the evidence or the valuation, negotiations follow, and where agreement is not possible, the case is decided by the court. Many serious claims settle through negotiation well before any hearing.
There is no single legal definition. In practice, a serious injury claim is one where the consequences are substantial and long lasting: brain and spinal injuries, amputations, multiple or complex fractures, significant burns and scarring, and injuries that leave permanent impairment, require further surgery, or affect a person's ability to work or live independently. The distinction matters because serious claims need a wider range of evidence and consider losses over a lifetime.
There is no figure that can be applied to an injury by name. Serious injury awards vary enormously depending on the severity of the injury, the age of the claimant, the medical prognosis, and above all the financial losses and future needs that follow. Two people with the same diagnosis can receive very different awards. Any reliable figure has to come from the medical and expert evidence in the individual case.
Serious claims usually need evidence from several medical specialists rather than one. Depending on the injury, that may include a consultant in the relevant specialty, a neuropsychologist, a care expert, a rehabilitation specialist, and sometimes an employment or accountancy expert. Evidence may also be needed on housing and equipment needs. The reports take time to obtain, and often need to be updated as the injury develops.
Often it can. Where liability is admitted or the insurer accepts responsibility in principle, it is sometimes possible to obtain treatment or rehabilitation early, and sometimes an interim payment can be sought to fund it. This matters most in serious injuries, where early rehabilitation can make a real difference to recovery. Whether it is achievable depends on the attitude of the defendant and insurer in the individual case.
An interim payment is a payment on account of compensation before the claim is finally settled. It can be used to fund treatment, rehabilitation, care, equipment or living costs while the claim continues. Interim payments are not available in every case, and usually require an admission of liability or a court order. Where they can be obtained, they make an enormous practical difference to a family coping with a serious injury.
Serious injury claims generally take longer than straightforward ones, often two to four years and sometimes longer where the full extent of the injury is not yet known or where liability is disputed. That is not delay for its own sake. Where the injury is still developing, settling early risks accepting compensation for a position that turns out to be considerably worse than it appeared.
A claim can still be brought. Where someone lacks the mental capacity to give instructions, a litigation friend is appointed to act on their behalf, and any settlement requires the approval of the court. The court also has power to appoint a deputy to manage any award. These protections exist to make sure the person's interests are properly looked after, both in the claim and afterwards.
Yes, where the evidence supports it, and in serious cases these elements often make up the greater part of the award. Compensation can include past and future care, rehabilitation and treatment, aids and equipment, the cost of necessary accommodation adaptations, past and future loss of earnings, reduced earning capacity, and in some cases pension loss. Each has to be justified by expert evidence.
The answers above explain the position generally. Every claim turns on its own facts, and the applicable rules are those in force at the relevant time. Nothing on this page is medical advice, and any medical questions should be directed to your treating team.
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