How much can I claim?

Please click on a part of the body to see how much different claims are worth and how compensation is worked out. You can also see the difference that instructing a specialist personal injury lawyer can make by reading our case studies.

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This area of the website sets out examples of the compensation awarded and how it is broken down.
Usually an award of damages (compensation) is made up of two components:

• General damages - these are damages awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenity. They are designed to compensate for the initial injury together with any ongoing suffering. Loss of amenity is there to compensate a person who is unable to pursue the kind of life they enjoyed prior to the injury or could have expected had the injury not occurred. General damages are not very high, the highest award being in the region of £200,000. Generally the more severe the injury the greater the award which is decided by reference to previous cases and also published guidelines.
  
  
• Special damages - these are specific losses that have been incurred in the past and also take into account future needs. Some claims are of many millions of pounds whilst others seem trivial by comparison. The difference lies in the special damages element of the compensation award. When it comes to special damages no one case is the same, each case is decided upon its own facts.
• the cost of care, both past and future
• the cost of aids and equipment
• the cost of therapy
• the cost of adapting accommodation or buying suitable accommodation
• adapted transport
• loss of past and future earnings
• cost of financial advice or court of protection
• any other out of pocket expenses

In the most severe of cases such as a brain injury, the cost of future care can be significant. One person with a mild brain injury may require minimal care and assistance for example £20,000 per year whereas another might require 24 hour care which can cost in the region of £100,000 per year. It is variations such as this that cause compensation awards to vary greatly.

Each case is different, but it is vital that specialist advice is sought especially in complex and severe cases where the difference in an award of damages can mean the difference in a person having the appropriate care for the rest of their life or not.

Periodical Payments

Periodical Payments are a radical new mechanism that enables all or part of your damages award for 'future losses' to be paid to you by regular instalments

Find out more