Clients often say this when we tell them the value of their claim.<\/p>\n
They are usually right, which doesn\u2019t surprise us because everyone is different and very similar injuries may result in very different financial outcomes depending on a number of factors including:-<\/p>\n
There are currently no fixed tariff amounts for injuries in any claims except those made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and low value soft tissue Road Traffic Accidents.<\/p>\n
The award of damages for the injury itself, known as \u201cPain, Suffering and Loss of Amenity\u201d is tailored to the individual and will reflect how it has affected them personally, particularly in relation to their work, lifestyles, hobbies and other personal interests. For example, if a middle-aged man was left with a 3cm scar on his forehead, it would probably be worth in the region of \u00a33000, but if a young person in their teens had the same injury, it might be worth \u00a310,000 or more to them, particularly if it caused great embarrassment leading to psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n
If one person sustains a fracture in their foot and recover within a year, they might normally expect to recover a sum up to \u00a32500, but another person\u2019s claim for the same injury might be valued by a Court in a higher sum, for example, if it happened just before their wedding or their \u201choliday of a lifetime\u201d or prevented them taking part in something they had been looking forward to for a long time like running the London Marathon or taking part in a charity parachute jump.<\/p>\n
Such an injury would probably cause more pain and distress to, say, a pregnant woman or a person with pre-existing conditions or disabilities such as arthritis so they would be awarded more compensation than the average person who would generally suffer less pain and discomfort during their recovery.<\/p>\n
As the amounts of personal injury awards are not fixed and if the parties cannot agree a settlement, a Judge will decide how much a claim is worth. Judges vary in their approach to cases and some are more likely to award higher sums than others, so how much you receive in compensation that goes to a hearing will largely depend on the views and opinions of the particular Judge who hears your case. We often tell clients that if we asked five judges to value their claims, then they would probably be given five different amounts, knowing that is very likely to be correct.<\/p>\n
Awards are affected by the amount of earnings lost by the injured Claimant as a result of their injury. In the injured foot example, a person earning \u00a3400 per week net of tax who is off work for 2 weeks would have \u00a3800 included in their award for loss of earnings whereas a person who is not employed would not recover anything under that head of damages. A person earning \u00a3250 net per week would only recover \u00a3500 for loss of earnings over the same period, again making a noticeable difference in the compensation between people with an almost identical injury.<\/p>\n
Personal injury damages may include sums for unpaid care and assistance provided by relatives and friends as well as sums paid to others to carry out work that the injured person would have done themselves such as gardeners, decorators, cleaners, builders and the like. For example, Person A who lives alone may receive less care than Person B who lives with a partner that assists them for say 100 hours during the early stages of their recovery which was reimbursed by the opponent at \u00a37.00 per hour.<\/p>\n
Person C may have been in the process of decorating their house at the time of the accident and had to pay a decorator\u2019s labour charges of say \u00a3800 to ensure the work was completed which they will be able to claim as compensation, whereas persons A and B who had no plans to decorate their homes at the time of the accident would not receive such a sum.<\/p>\n
If the victim was injured just before a holiday, the enjoyment of which was clearly ruined by their injuries, then they will be able to recover part of the cost of the trip in their damages. If person A was going to Barbados for two weeks, they would probably recover more than person B who was going for a weekend caravan holiday on the East Coast of the UK as the cost of the holidays would vary considerably. Those who recover fully before their next holiday would recover nothing under this head of loss.<\/p>\n
Some people suffer injuries that lead to their incurring losses after their claim is settled such as lost earnings or the need for paid care. If they do, that normally leads to a large increase in the value of their claim. An example of how these awards vary would be two people of the same age who suffer a hip injury that leads to a permanent disability so they can no longer walk long distances or run at all. If one of them is an office-based worker, they would receive very little or no damages for future earnings, whereas if the other was a professional footballer, their lost future earnings award might be huge, depending on their salary and bonuses!<\/p>\n
These are just some examples of how personal injury awards vary from person to person and why two people with very similar injuries may recover very different amounts of damages.<\/p>\n
The best way to maximise your damages is to instruct an experienced personal injury solicitor, preferably one who will be able to see you face-to-face and take detailed instructions from you on your losses. That way you are likely to be the one that your friends will say \u201cgot more than I did\u201d<\/p>\n