How is my injury compensation calculated?

Suffering an injury that wasn’t your fault can affect your life in many ways.  Unfortunately, we cannot turn back the clock and prevent your injuries from ever occurring. The only way to compensate you is financially, so you may be wondering how this is calculated.

Every claim is different and there isn't a one size fits all approach. Each case is determined on its facts and there are potentially three elements to a claim for compensation.

General Damages

This means compensation for your pain and suffering. This is valued using case law as well as the Judicial College Guidelines which sets out brackets of compensation depending on your injuries and their severity.  

Another word you may come across for general damages is PSLA which stands for Pain, Suffering and Loss of Amenity, and this takes into account how your injuries have impacted on your hobbies, leisure activities and quality of life.

Injury can be physical and/or psychological and throughout your claim we will arrange examinations with appropriate medical professionals, such as an Orthopaedic Surgeon for fractures and a Psychologist for mental health injuries. These medical experts will prepare reports dealing with your injuries, their severity, whether they are attributable to the incident, and what your recovery predictions are.

There is no set figure for injury compensation unless they fall within the Whiplash Tariff. Compensation will only be decided based on how well you recover and how your injuries have affected your life, and we rely on the medical expert evidence we obtain to decide the correct level. 

Once we have gathered all medical evidence and valued your claim, we will decide on the highest possible figure and the lowest acceptable figure and aim to settle your claim within that range.

Special Damages

As well as compensation for pain and suffering, you can claim for financial losses arising as a result of your injury. 

Often after suffering injuries, you are unable to work for a time and you may lose earnings.  You may also have several journeys back and forth to medical appointments as well as parking costs.  Further examples are prescriptions, aids and appliances, damaged clothing, and treatment costs.

Claims for special damages can be significant.  It is very important to keep a diary of the losses you are incurring, and put together a folder containing any documentary evidence of these losses. This could include payslips, fuel receipts, taxi receipts or bus tickets, parking receipts and clothing receipts if replacing damaged items.

Future Losses

In more serious cases, future losses will need to be taken into consideration. It may be that a medical expert has recommended future surgery, and we will claim the cost of this privately. Flowing from this future surgery could be more time off work, so we will include a future lost earnings claim. For catastrophic injuries, including brain and spinal injuries, a future care package may need to be secured to ensure the long term effects of your injuries are properly considered and planned for. 

If you are unable to work for a lengthy time, or at all, due to your injuries, you may also suffer a pension loss and specific calculations will be required. We will also consider what promotions and career advances were likely in the future and calculate losses in respect of these, if they are no longer a possibility.

Another future loss I have come across is prostheses. Severe trauma can result in amputation of a limb, and an expert may recommend an artificial replacement.  A specialist report will be obtained to determine whether the prosthesis needed is functional or cosmetic in nature, or both, and we will calculate the replacement costs throughout your life.  This helps to put you back in the position you were in before the incident insofar as we are able.

Summary

As you can see, there are so many different elements to consider when valuing your personal injury claim, and there are many more not covered in this article.  A Google search looking at likely awards will often give you incorrect results, and a very detailed analysis by your legal representative is required. Your advisor should carefully take you through each potential element of loss to ensure you are being fully compensated.

Contact Us

If you or someone you know has suffered injury arising from another’s negligence and needs guidance, we are here to help.  Please do not hesitate to contact our team on 01205 315 308 for a friendly chat.