When pursuing a claim for Personal Injury, many clients would like to know from the outset how much compensation they should expect to receive. Unfortunately, we are usually unable to give an accurate estimate at the start of a claim, particularly if symptoms are ongoing and a full recovery has yet to be made. We normally base our valuation on medical evidence which will be obtained at a later stage of the claim.
Compensation in Personal Injury cases is made up of two different types of loss: General Damages and Special Damages.
General Damages
General Damages relate to the injuries you have suffered as a result of the accident. These are calculated using the Judicial College Guidelines and with reference to cases decided by the Courts where the injured person has comparable injuries.
The Judicial College Guideline provide suggestions as to what amounts should be awarded for specific types of injuries. These are split into higher and lower amounts, depending on the severity and duration of the injury sustained. If your symptoms were permanent, or you recovered within 3 months of the accident, the guidelines give us a steer on the likely value of your injury.
Often, we will give you a range of valuations for your injury, from a lower amount, which we think an ungenerous Judge might award you, to a higher amount which we think you might recover from a very generous Judge. If for example, we told you that your claim was worth between £5000 and £7000, we would try and obtain an award of damages of £7000 or more, but would advise you that any offer of £5000 or more should be taken very seriously as we could not guarantee that you would be awarded more than that by the court.
Special Damages
Special Damages are the financial losses you suffer as a result of an accident. These include both past and future losses. By contrast to General Damages these are fixed in amount and have a precise monetary value. Special Damages may include, but are not limited to the following
Loss of Earnings:
You are entitled to claim this if you have had to take time off work due to your injury and as a result lost out on earnings. You may receive full sick pay from your employer and not have a loss of earnings but, depending on your contract of employment, you may be required to repay your sick pay to your employer, in which case that amount is added to your claim and repaid to the employer (usually a Council, NHS Trust or other large employer, which includes such clauses in their contracts) at the conclusion of your case.
It is possible to make a claim for loss of overtime or bonuses, if these were part of your remuneration prior to the accident. Injured claimants may also claim for loss of pension, if appropriate and these awards can be very large if injuries cause a person to take a reduced pension earlier than they would have done but for the injury.
If you are self employed you can claim for loss of earnings, loss of profits and/or loss of business. You will need to provide documentary proof in the form of accounts and tax returns to show the taxable income you would have received but for the accident.
Loss of earnings can also include future earnings losses in cases where the injuries are permanent, or you have symptoms that will resolve at some time in the future. For example, if you are unable to carry out the same job as prior to the accident and you earn less than you did before (or even if you lose your job as your injuries prevent you from working), your claim will include a calculated sum to represent your future loss of earnings, which will be explained in detail by your Solicitor and will be very dependent on the medical opinion and evidence in your case.
Medical Expenses
Most of the hospital treatment required following an accident will be provided for free by the NHS. However, you do not have to use the NHS to treat accident-related injuries. The law says that you can recover the cost of private treatment from the compensator even though this same treatment would be free on the NHS. Common treatments such as physiotherapy, dental work, cognitive behavioural therapy and chiropractic may therefore be sought as a private patient and these costs can be included with the claim for special damages.
Cost of prescriptions, over the counter medications and medical equipment can also be claimed under this heading. You should always keep receipts for expenses such as these.
Travelling Expenses
You may need to attend medical appointments, either at your GP surgery or at a hospital or clinic, which causes you to incur financial outlay in terms of taxi/ public transport fares, mileage (if you are using your own transport), parking expenses and such like. Again, you should keep any receipts.
You might not be able to drive following the accident and could be more reliant on taxis or lifts from others. We can usually put a value on this, but it is very important to keep notes of any lifts (mileage, who the lift was given by) and receipts for any taxis.
Care and Assistance
Very often after an accident, care is required for a period of time, until you are able to look after yourself again. Very often this care is provided by friends and family. However, if friends and family are not able to provide care then you are entitled to pay someone to do this for you. An award can be made to the claimant for damages for the cost of care and assistance provided, be it by professionals or friends and family who received no financial payment.
Care and assistance is claimed on an hourly rate basis at a reduced rate to reflect the fact that the care has been provided by a family member or a friend and not an employed professional.
Care and assistance can be split into 2 categories: personal assistance and domestic assistance. Personal assistance can include things such as help with washing, dressing, personal care and also any mobility assistance both at home and whilst out and about.
Domestic care can include tasks such as housework, preparation of meals, washing, shopping, driving, looking after children etc. It is important to remember that only additional care and assistance can be claimed.
It is always extremely helpful in supporting your claim if you keep a diary of care provided to you, including how long was spent providing each type of assistance, by whom, how often this was done and how this changed as you recovered from your injuries.
Other Items
Also included in the category of Special Damages are items such as cancellation charges, ruined holidays, unused gym membership, rehabilitation costs, vehicle damage, costs of modifying a property or a vehicle, the cost of replacing any damaged items and other aids and equipment.
This list is not exhaustive. There are many losses suffered as a result of an accident that you would be able to claim for, provided they have been, or will be incurred as a result of your injury.
Special Damages can be difficult to calculate, and it is therefore important that you speak to a lawyer to ensure that a full and accurate assessment can be made as to the extent of your financial losses. Our experience shows that those who try to settle their claims themselves usually receive far less than they would have done with the assistance of an experienced Personal Injury Solicitor.
If you have suffered an accident and would like some advice about whether you can make a claim, please call our expert team of lawyers on 0114 2184161 or email info@tayloremmet.co.uk
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