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Advice On How To Claim Compensation
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Need help to know how to claim compensation? We look at how much compensation can apply after a minor or serious injury and detail each aspect of the claims process. This guide is packed with free legal information to help you make an informed choice about starting a claim. Whether it was because of:
- Accidents at work, on the roads or in public.
- After a data breach.
- Because of a criminal assault.
- Or due to medical negligence.
Key Takeaways On How To Claim Compensation
- Anyone is eligible to start a personal injury, medical negligence, criminal injury, or data breach claim. It is free to do so, but a skilled solicitor could help present a better case.
- How much compensation you get relies on the strength of evidence you can collect together. It needs to prove liability and how you were harmed or injured.
- In personal injury and medical negligence claims, the compensation awarded often includes an amount for the physical pain and suffering, emotional injury and the financial harm caused by the injuries.
- A solicitor working under a No-Win, No-Fee agreement could help with your claim.
One of our friendly advisors can discuss the details of your claim. They can help assess whether you have valid grounds to seek compensation as well as provide you with a free claim valuation.
- We offer a free initial consultation if you contact us online.
- Discuss taking legal action with our dedicated team on 0800 073 8801
- Start the conversation via live discussion below.
Browse Our Guide
- How To Claim Compensation
- How To Claim For A Personal Injury
- How To Claim For A Data Breach
- How To Claim For A Criminal Injury
- How To Claim For Medical Negligence
- How To Claim With The Help Of No Win No Fee Solicitor
- More Information
How To Claim Compensation
The best way to understand how to claim compensation for personal injury or medical negligence is to look at the three main aspects of the claims process:
Eligibility
At the start of a personal injury compensation claim, establishing that you are eligible is essential. It’s important to answer three questions:
- Did a duty of care apply at the time of injury?
- Were those responsible for that duty in breach of it?
- Were your injuries a direct result of this?
These points are used to define negligence in tort law. All three must be in place to start a compensation claim for personal injury or medical negligence. If you feel confident that you were harmed due to a failure by others to meet the duty of care owed to you, speak to our advisory team.
Evidence
Evidence plays a vital role in personal injury claims. You can take this opportunity to start pulling together as much proof as possible that the third party concerned failed to meet their duty of care to you and as a result, caused you injury. Some examples of valid evidence include the following:
- Photos of your injuries.
- Copies of CCTV footage from the area.
- Dashcam and helmet cam footage that captured the event.
- Eyewitness contact details who can be approached for a supporting statement.
- The medical notes that detail your injuries from the GP, hospital or specialists who treated you.
Other types of evidence could help support your claim. It’s best to check with our advisory team and see whether you have grounds to launch one. Just call to learn more, or you can email a claim request.
Legal Professionals
You can also consider appointing a personal injury solicitor. With decades of expertise, our solicitors have been helping claimants just like you access the compensation you are owed on a No Win No Fee basis. Call or ask the discussion portal below a question to learn more.
How To Claim For A Personal Injury
In certain areas of daily life, there are duty of cares that protect your rights to reasonable safety. The main ones are as follows:
- The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA) requires all UK employers to ensure that practicable and reasonable steps are taken to protect their staff from experiencing harm whilst working.
- The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 outlines how those in charge of spaces open to the public must implement whatever reasonable steps are necessary to prevent visitors from experiencing harm whilst lawfully using their facilities.
- The Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code detail how all road users should fully meet their duty of care obligations to each other so that they avoid causing road traffic accidents.
Claiming for personal injury is possible if you can show how this duty of care was breached in a way that left you injured. Perhaps it was a manual handling injury or a colleague injured you. If you feel that your case meets the eligibility criteria we looked at above, call our team to discuss your next step.
How Much Compensation Could I Get?
Up to two heads of loss, called general and special damages, can make up the total compensation award if successful. General damages assess the physical pain and psychological toll caused to the person. To apply a monetary value for this, those calculating the amount can refer to a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) and we include an excerpt from this below to illustrate:
| INJURY | SEVERITY | GUIDELINES | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple forms of serious harm with special damages | Serious | Up to £1 million plus. | Awards of this magnitude typically involve more than one serious injury and an amount made for lost earnings, care provision and medical fees under special damages. |
| Head/Brain | (a) Very Severe | £344,150 up to £493,000 | Hardly any evidence of meaningful interaction with the world and a permanent and complete reliance on others for all needs is shown. |
| Leg | (b) Severe (i) | £117,460 up to £165,860 | Injuries that are almost as impactful as as a traumatic amputation such as extensive de-gloving and shortening of leg. |
| Neck | (a) Severe (ii) | £80,240 up to £159,770 | Damage to cervical spine discs and severe fractures, as well as permanent brachial plexus damage and substantial loss of movement. |
| Back | (a) Severe (iii) | £47,320 up to £85,100 | Vertebral soft tissue injuries, lesions and fractures that create chronic problems and conditions like pain, immobility, depression and a higher risk of arthritis. |
Importantly, these are guidelines only as each claim varies. The first entry is not from the JCG and it’s always a good idea to consult our advisors for a more accurate idea of what compensation you could be owed. Additionally, our advisors can provide you with information about what financial losses you could be eligible to recover as part of your claim.
How To Claim For A Data Breach
All organisations need to safeguard the personal data they process. The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) detail how all businesses and organisations are expected to properly comply.
Failure to process personal data securely can lead to security incidents involving this data. If harmful, the impacted data subject could be entitled to compensation for the financial losses and emotional damage caused by this.
An organisation called the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) defines a security incident as the loss of integrity, availability and confidentiality of data. Therefore, a breach might entail the loss, unauthorised access or destruction, duplication or alteration of either paperwork or digital information.
The data itself can range from the most basic contact details to much more sensitive ‘special category‘ data like medical records, ethnicity, trade union and political or religious beliefs. However, in order to be considered personal data, it must be able to identify the subject (that’s you), either by itself or in conjunction with other pieces of data.
What Could My Compensation Include?
Successful data breach claims can compensate for either your material damage or non-material damage (or both of these). Material damage refers to the financial losses experienced which need to be proved with documented evidence. Non-material damage refers to the data breach distress caused by the event. The Judicial College Guidelines may also be used to value non-material damage in a data breach claim.
Mental health harm may be valued as follows:
| TYPE OF HARM | HOW SEVERE? | GUIDELINE AMOUNTS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple types of harm in addition to material damage award. | Severe | Up to £500,000 plus | Here the person suffers significant psychological injury and is awarded material damage for lost earnings, counselling fees and relocation costs, or other expenses connected to the breach. |
| General Psychological Harm | (a) Severe | £66,920 up to £141,240 | A prognosis that is poor is given and the person has permanent problems dealing with daily life. |
| (c) Moderate | £7,150 up to £23,270 | Despite initially significant problems, the person makes a good level of recovery by the point at which a trial may take place. | |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | (a) Severe | £73,050 up to £122,850 | Permanent trauma impacts felt across all areas of the person's daily life stopping them from functioning as they did before the event on any level. |
| (b) Moderately Severe | £28,250 up to £73,050 | Despite the person suffering a similar level of initial psychological harm, they have a better recovery after counselling has helped. |
Again, the first line is not from the JCG. Additionally, this table is only to be used as a guide. It’s a good idea to contact us to discuss how the help of a data breach compensation solicitor could boost material damage in your compensation claim.
How To Claim For A Criminal Injury
It can be possible to claim for criminal injuries by applying to the Government. Often an attacker is not apprehended or if they are, they lack sufficient funds to make any meaningful restitution to their victim. Claiming through an alternative route can allow those impacted some form of compensation.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is a government agency that could award compensation to victims of violent crime in Great Britain. Certain eligibility requirements need to be met to claim this way:
- You must suffer injury in a crime of violence.
- The incident must occur in England, Wales, Scotland (or another associated place e.g. a ship registered in one of these places).
- The incident must have been reported to the police.
- Your claim must be made within a two-year time limit which runs from the date the incident took place. Exceptions can apply if exceptional circumstances stop you from claiming within this limitation period.
- Importantly the perpetrator of the violent act does not need to have been caught or prosecuted to make a claim.
In CICA claims, you need:
- A police reference number.
- Proof that you meet the residency requirements.
- The medical evidence of the injuries you’re claiming for.
Injuries are valued using the tariff listed within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012. They are fixed amounts. In cases of multiple injuries, you can claim for up to 3 injuries under this tariff. Our excerpt below illustrates this but again, the topline is not from this Tariff:
CICA Tariff Amounts
| INJURY | SEVERITY | CICA TARIFF | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Injuries | Serious | Up to £500,000 | Cases of several serious forms of injury and special damages for associated losses like care cost, income and counselling. |
| Head/Brain | Moderately Severe | £110,000 | Disablement arising from serious impact to faculties and requiring substantial professional care from others. |
| Arm | Total function loss | £82,000 | Total function loss of one arm and where no remaining arm/hand has useful function. |
| Eye | Serious | £13,500 | Cases of permanent double or blurred vision. |
| Face | Multiple fractures | £11,000 | Multiple fractures involving Le Fort facial bones structure |
| Facial Scarring | Serious | £11,000 | Cases where the scarring is considered seriously disfiguring. |
Please only use this table for illustrative purposes.
You could also be eligible to receive other amounts for any issues directly resulting from the injury. For example:
- Damaged equipment you relied upon, such as eyewear or a hearing aid that was broken in the assault or violent crime.
- Any essential adaptations to your home (such as adding wheelchair access).
- Care costs.
- Supervision costs (if there is substantial danger to yourself or others).
- Admin costs if a lack of mental capacity prompted the need for this.
- Also, loss of earnings if you can prove them.
We offer free guidance on criminal injuries claims like this and how a solicitor could help.
How To Claim For Medical Negligence
Anyone seeking medical attention from a qualified professional is automatically owed a duty of care. At each stage of the treatment process, those involved need to meet expected professional standards.
If a failure to meet these expected minimum standards causes unnecessary harm, you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim.
Call our advisors for guidance on how to claim compensation for medical negligence.
Medical Negligence Compensation Payouts
The following compensation figures (except the first one) are from the JCG and relate to typical medical negligence injuries. Remember, the table is only a guide. Please speak to an advisor for a more accurate valuation based on your circumstances.
| INJURY TYPE | HOW SEVERE? | GUIDELINES | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than one type of serious injury and an award for special damages. | Severe | Up to £1 million plus. | A variety of medical negligence injuries and an amount made for the lost earnings, care costs and medical bills to correct the errors. |
| Head/Brain | Moderately Severe (b) | £267,340 up to £344,150 | A very serious disability that demands a substantial reliance on other people for care. |
| Bowel | Complete function loss | Up to £224,790 | Cases where the person experiences double incontinence because of bowel and urinary dysfunction. |
| Bladder | Serious (c) | £78,080 up to £97,540 | Impaired control with incontinence and pain. |
| Spleen | Total loss | £25,380 up to £32,090 | Cases where the spleen is completely lost and the person suffers ongoing immune deficiency issues. |
How To Claim With The Help Of No Win No Fee Solicitor
Not all solicitors offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis, but our solicitors do. Our solicitors have specialist knowledge and experience in personal injury, medical negligence, criminal injury and data breach claims.
They can support eligible claims under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under which you can typically expect:
- No upfront costs to instruct a solicitor to start work on your claim.
- No fees for their services as the claim develops.
- No fees for completed work if the claim fails.
- A successful claim outcome requires a percentage of your compensation to be paid to your legal team. This percentage is called the success fee. It is also restricted by the law.
- Because of this, you receive virtually all the compensation awarded.
Contact Us
Interested in learning more? To see if your claim is eligible, simply connect with our advisory team. If you satisfy our eligibility, you could be connected to one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
- You can contact us online.
- Discuss your claim on 0800 073 8801
- Start the conversation via live discussion below.
More Information
Below you’ll find some more helpful information from our website:
- Read how to claim compensation if you tripped and fell at work here.
- Public liability claims are discussed here.
- Also, read more on medical negligence claims.
Here are some additional external resources that you might find helpful:
- Government guidance on the Data Protect Act 2018.
- Further reading about claiming criminal injuries via the CICA.
- Lastly, read about doctors’ professional standards owed to patients.
Thank you for reading our guide on how to claim compensation. We hope it has been useful. The team are happy to help further on the contact options above.