24th to 28th June 2024 is Injury Awareness Week dedicated to raising awareness about the frequency of injuries caused by negligence and to give insight into the impact these injuries have on victims and their families. This year the focus is on the impact of avoidable injuries in the workplace.
This awareness week is organised by APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) of which many solicitors in the Personal Injury Team at Oliver & Co are proud to be members of.
If you have been injured in an accident in the workplace or any other place that was not your fault and this was due to the negligence of someone else, you may have a claim for compensation for your injuries and financial losses. This article explores how personal injury claims are calculated and what you can claim for.
General damages – compensation for your injuries
General Damages covers the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by the accident. Factors influencing how much you are awarded include:
- Severity and nature of the injury – more severe and permanent injuries typically result in higher compensation.
- Impact on quality of life – how the injury affects your daily activities and overall quality of life.
- Duration of suffering – the length of time you endure pain and suffering.
The Judicial College Guidelines for the assessment of general damages provides a framework for calculating general damages, offering benchmark compensation amounts for various injuries. This guide is used by all legal professionals including Judges and Personal Injury Solicitors to assist them when assessing the value of an injury. The guidelines were first published over 30 years ago with latest edition being published in 2024.
Special damages – financial losses
Special Damages are the compensation you can claim for your out-of-pocket financial expenses or items that can be quantified which can include amongst many:
- Medical Expenses – For example, the cost of private medical treatment, cost of physiotherapy treatment or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), cost of prescriptions or over the counter purchased medications. Where possible always keep your receipts.
- Loss of Earnings – Injuries can result in time off work, leading to a loss of income. Compensation for loss of earnings includes: current loss of earnings i.e. your income lost during the recovery period and future loss of earnings i.e. if the injury affects your ability to work in the future, compensation is calculated based on projected future earnings.
- Travel Expenses – this includes any travel you have had to incur as a result of the accident which you would not normally do, such as the cost of travelling to the hospital or your GP for treatment or to physiotherapy sessions.
- Care Costs – this could be the cost for professional care or compensation for assistance provided by family members or friends which you would not normally receive.
- Home Adaptations – this includes the cost of modifications required to accommodate your injury such as bathroom adaptations or wheelchair ramps etc.
- Property Damage – in cases where your injury results from an accident that also caused property damage such as a car accident or bicycle accident the cost of repairing or replacing the damaged items can be included in the claim. Please ensure you retain any receipts for repairs.
Contributory negligence
If you are partly at fault for your injury the amount of compensation awarded may be reduced proportionally. For example, if you are found to be 25% at fault your compensation would be reduced by 25%.
If you have been injured as a result of an accident within the last 3 years give our Personal Injury Team here at Oliver & Co a call on 01244 312306 or email law@oliverandco.co.uk. We can call at a time convenient for you and advise if you have a claim, we can help you with on a no win, no fee basis.
