By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 4th December 2023. Throughout this guide, we will take a look at how much compensation you could receive for a successful personal injury claim. We discuss the claims process and how we could be of assistance when claiming compensation for a public accident, for an injury at work, for a road traffic accident, or for a data breach. We also discuss the time limit for personal injury claims, and the exceptions that may apply.
Further to this, we offer insight into payouts for personal injury in the UK and advise on how personal injury claims payouts are calculated and why knowing the average settlement for personal injury wouldn’t give you much insight into your settlement.
Accident Claims UK could help you. If you contact us on 0800 073 8801 today, one of our team of experts will be able to provide a free initial consultation, with no obligation to use our services after. We could help you whether you’re claiming compensation for an injury at work, claiming compensation after a car accident or any other non-fault accident.
Select A Section:
- How Much Compensation Can I Claim For Personal Injury?
- Can I Claim Compensation For Financial Losses?
- What Is A Personal Injury Claim?
- What Personal Injuries Can You Claim For?
- What Evidence Can Help Me Claim?
- Is There A Time Limit To Make A Personal Injury Claim?
- What Does The Personal Injury Claims Process Involve?
- Claim Compensation With Our No Win No Fee Solicitors
How Much Compensation Can I Claim For Personal Injury?
Asking what the average settlement for personal injury is would not give you much insight into your own payout. Personal injury claims and payouts awarded for successful claims are case-specific and depend on the facts and circumstances involved.
How Is A Compensation Claim Calculated?
When looking at what level of compensation you could receive, legal professionals could take into account factors such as:
- The severity of your injury
- How long you are incapacitated for
- Whether you will need treatment in the future
- The impact of the injury on your mental health
- How it has impacted your day-to-day life
Legal professionals who handle cases in England and Wales use the brackets from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help calculate general damages. This publication provides compensation brackets for different injuries.
We have used some figures from this publication in the table below, except for the first entry. We should mention, however, that these are only guidelines. The amount you could receive for your claim may vary based on the specifics of your case.
| Injury | Severity | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Several Serious Injuries Plus Special Damages | Settlements could include compensation for several serious injuries as well as financial expenses, such as loss of income. | Up to £300,000+ |
| Foot Injury (a) | Amputation of Both Feet | £169,400 to £201,490 |
| Neck Injuries (a) (i) | Severe – May be associated with cases of incomplete paraplegia or spastic quadriparesis. | In the region of £148,330 |
| Neck Injuries (b) (i) | Moderate – To include fractures and dislocations that may need spinal fusion. | £24,990 to £38,490 |
| Back Injury (a) (i) | Severe – Damage to nerve roots and spinal cord, for example. | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Back Injury (b) (i) | Moderate – To include compression and crush fractures which may need spinal fusion. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| PTSD (a) | Severe – Every aspect of the person’s life would be affected, with significant impairment of ability to work. | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| PTSD (c) | Moderate – The person would have largely recovered. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| Wrist injury (b) | Significant permanent disability but with some useful movement | £24,500 to £39,170 |
| Fracture to forearm (d) | Simple fractures to the forearm. | £6,610 to £19,200 |
To get an idea of typical payouts for personal injury in the UK, you may wish to speak to our expert team. We could talk to you about what personal injury claims payouts your claim could attract. We could also provide you with a No Win No Fee solicitor who could help with your claim, provided it’s valid and has a chance of success.
Can I Claim Compensation For Financial Losses?
If you are eligible to claim compensation for a personal injury, how much compensation you could receive may be impacted by the financial costs and losses caused by your injuries.
Any financial losses you have suffered due to your injuries could be compensated under special damages as part of your compensation settlement. Under this head of claim, you could be compensated for:
- Travel expenses – These could include costs for transport to your hospital and doctors’ appointments, as well as travel costs paid to get to meetings with your solicitor.
- Loss of income – If you have been unable to work because of your injuries, you may have lost out on income. Both past and future projected loss of earnings could be included within your payout.
- Care costs – If your injuries render you incapable of performing usual daily tasks, such as washing or dressing, you may have to pay for care.
- Medical expenses – You may have incurred costs such as prescription fees or had to pay for mobility aids, for example.
To claim for these costs and losses, you will need to present evidence of them. This could include bank statements, receipts and payslips.
If you wish to know more about claiming for financial losses, or would like to know what evidence could back up your personal injury compensation claim, please contact an advisor. They will be happy to assist you.
What Is A Personal Injury Claim?
You may be wondering, what are personal injury claims? If you are owed a duty of care, and this is breached, causing you harm, you could potentially make a personal injury claim. The harm could be:
- Bodily injuries, such as fractures and sprains.
- Health problems, such as illnesses and infections like food poisoning or an allergic reaction.
- Psychological damage, such as post-traumatic stress disorder caused by a traumatic event or depression caused by dealing with a severe bodily injury.
Parties that could owe you a duty of care include:
- Your landlord.
- Your employer.
- Your GP or other medical professional.
- The local bus company.
- A fast-food restaurant.
- Other road users.
This list is not exhaustive. For a more detailed explanation on duty of care, you can get in touch with our advisors at any time.
Split Liability Claims
If you were partially at fault for the accident, you could still potentially make a successful claim. The compensation paid if the claim is successful will be based on the percentage of liability.
If you are unsure of either whether you have a valid claim or not, or who you might be able to claim compensation from, our experts could help you if you get in touch.
What Personal Injuries Can You Claim For?
There are many reasons for you to make a claim, but some reasons are far more common than others, such as:
Claiming compensation for a road traffic accident
On the roads, road users have a duty of care to each other to act in a way that reduces the risk of harm. This is established in the Road Traffic Act 1988. There is a hierarchy of vulnerable road users in the Highway Code which states that pedestrians and then cyclists are considered the most vulnerable on the roads. Other road users should therefore take extra care around them.
If you suffered an injury due to a breach of duty of care on the roads, you could potentially claim compensation.
Claiming compensation for a data breach
Claiming compensation for a data breach could be possible if your data has been exposed due to wrongdoing of an organisation. Whether you suffered a data breach that has exposed your medical records, or financial information, if it has harmed you psychologically or financially, you could be eligible for data breach compensation.
We could help you when claiming compensation for a data breach. Our solicitors have experience in these types of claims and could guide you through the process.
Claiming compensation from the council or other bodies
If you are in a public space that is controlled by the council, they have a duty of care to ensure that the space is reasonably safe for all visitors. If you are injured due to a breach of this duty, you could potentially claim.
For example, if you were visiting a public park and there was faulty equipment that had been reported a while ago, you could potentially claim for any injuries caused due to the issue not being addressed.
Claiming compensation for injury at work
Your employer owes you a duty of care under the Health and Safety At Work Etc. Act 1974 to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure your safety in the workplace or whilst performing work activities. If this does not occur, and you are injured as a result, this could be considered negligence.
For example, if you were not given the proper training on manual handling and then injured your back whilst doing so, you could potentially claim against your employer.
Food Poisoning and Allergic Reactions
You could potentially claim for an allergic reaction if you could prove you only suffered the reaction due to negligence.
For example, if you had told a waiter about your allergen in a restaurant but they still served you food with that allergen, and you suffered harm as a result, you could potentially claim compensation.
What Evidence Can Help Me Claim?
In order to be eligible to claim personal injury compensation, you will need to provide evidence of:
- The breach of the duty of care that led to your injury
- The injury you suffered
- The effects on your personal life
The evidence you can present will depend on the circumstances of your accident and injury, but you could, for example, collect:
- CCTV footage of your accident
- Contact details of witnesses to your accident
- Your medical records
- Receipts of your injury-related spending
- Payslips, emails or other pieces of evidence that could show your injury’s effects to your income
Our advisers can provide you with direct advice as to how you could prove your personal injury claim. You can reach out to them to make a free enquiry or for information about how much personal injury compensation you could be able to claim.
Is There A Time Limit To Make A Personal Injury Claim?
There is a personal injury claims limitation period that applies when claiming personal injury compensation.
In accordance with the Limitation Act 1980, the time limit to begin a personal injury claim is usually 3 years from the date of the accident.
Are there exceptions to the personal injury claims time limit?
In some cases, the time limit for personal injury claims may differ. For example, should a child be injured due to negligence, they would need a litigation friend to claim on their behalf before their 18th birthday. If no claim is made, the child will have three years from the date of the 18th birthday to begin their own claim.
There are also other exceptions to the personal injury claims limitation period for claimants who lack the mental capability to claim for themselves. In these instances, the time limit is suspended. A litigation friend can make a claim on their behalf during this period. If they make a recovery, they will have the usual 3 years apply.
If you have questions about the personal injury claims limitation period, please call our team. We could help assess whether there is still time to launch your claim. Or, if you’re not sure what personal injury claim time limit would apply in your case, we could guide you on this too.
What Does The Personal Injury Claims Process Involve?
Now we have covered how much compensation you could receive, let us now discuss the personal injury claims process.
- It would be wise to seek out some advice if you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault. One of our advisors could provide this for you, by informing you of the eligibility of your case and providing you with next steps.
- You will need to gather sufficient evidence to support your personal injury compensation claim. This will include medical evidence regarding your injuries.
- If working with a solicitor, they will then submit your claim in full for you to present to the defendant.
- Your solicitor will then negotiate a settlement for you with the defendant. If an agreement cannot be reached, court proceedings may have to follow. If this is the case, your solicitor will guide you through this process.
To see if you could work with one of our solicitors, contact our advisors today. One of our solicitors could help guide you through the claiming process.
Claim Compensation With Our No Win No Fee Solicitors
You may have concerns about the costs of paying a solicitor upfront to help you claim. However, we would recommend working with a No Win No Fee solicitor, where this is typically not required.
A No Win No Fee solicitor could offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement, which is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement. Under such a contract, you are also not required to pay any ongoing costs during the claiming process.
If your claim is successful, the solicitor will deduct a legally capped success fee from your compensation amount. If your claim is not, you typically won’t be required to pay your solicitor for their services.
All of our solicitors can offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. If you get in touch with our advisors and they feel you have a good chance of a successful claim, they could potentially put you in touch with one of our solicitors.
Contact Us For Advice And Support In Making A Personal Injury Claim
Our legal experts have experience with many different types of claims, and could potentially help you. Our advisors are available 24/7 to answer any questions you may have about the claims process. They can offer you a free consultation, assess your validity and provide a compensation estimate. There’s no obligation to claim with us after if you get in touch.
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Use our contact page
- Message the live chat on this screen for instant answers
Additional Resources
You may find the following links to be of use, as they contain relevant information:
- CAB information on personal injury claims
- The UK Law Society guide to personal injury claims
- What Is A Conditional Fee Agreement?
We hope you found this guide claiming compensation from the council and other parties helpful. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
