UK Personal Injury Solicitors, No Win No Fee service

Road Traffic Accidents . Accidents at Work . Slipping Accidents . Medical Negligence

A successful personal injury claim will provide you with a lump sum of money, which in theory should put your life back on track - to where it would have been had the accident not occurred. Although, in practice this is often not possible as money can never fully compensate for any long-term injury or permanent disability.

You should be able to obtain compensation for all damages suffered as a result of the accident. The pain and suffering is only part of the claim. You can also claim for any loss of earnings, special nursing needs, temporary or permanent disability, damage to your vehicle or someone else's - becoming the victim of an accident or injury can be a very expensive business.

Types of damages:

General Damages
This is the legal term for the lump sum of money to compensate you for the actual injury, the pain and suffering, and the loss of amenity caused by it. Your personal injury solicitor will be able to advise you on the amount you can expect to receive by referring to awards that the Courts have made for similar injuries in the past, and by referring to "The Judicial Studies Board Guidelines". This is only possible when it is known whether or not you will make a full recovery or, whether you are likely to have residual symptoms, or deterioration in the future. Damages cannot be assessed until a medical report has been obtained. In cases of serious injury, it may be necessary to obtain a number of reports from a variety of doctors and specialist consultants before the prognosis can be arrived at.

Special Damages
This is money to compensate you for the financial loss and expense you have suffered as a result of the accident. For example,

loss of earnings,

the cost of private medical treatment,

prescription charges,

care and nursing,

purchase of necessary special equipment,

traveling expenses,

car hire,

costs of hiring help with gardening or household chores etc

damage to property (such as clothes, jewelry, cameras etc)

However, please note that you have a duty to mitigate your loss. The law also requires you (through your solicitor) to prove your loss. Therefore, it is important to keep a record of all your losses and expenses - obtain invoices and receipts whenever possible.

Future Losses
This is money to compensate you for anticipated loss and expense that you would incur in the future because of your injuries - including loss of future earnings, cost of on-going medical care etc.

In order to bring the claim to an end as soon as practically possible, a one-off lump sum payment is made to take these into account. To calculate this lump sum amount, various factors are considered - including the medical prognosis, and the injured person's remaining life expectancy. Also computed into the calculations is the investment value of the lump sum itself.

When assessing damages, the claimant's circumstances are also taken into account. For example, a small facial scar could have a more devastating effect on the social life and career of a 21 year-old photographic model than that of a 55 year-old fireman.