By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 12th December 2023. Welcome to our guide on calculating compensation for a personal injury claim. The claims process can often be a complex and daunting experience – especially to those with limited legal knowledge. Understandably, if a negligent party has injured you, then you may consider taking legal action. However, you may question how to calculate compensation in a personal injury claim. Throughout this guide, you will find free legal advice on how to begin a claim, how to calculate compensation in a personal injury claim, and how a solicitor could be of assistance.
One of the most commonly asked queries any personal injury lawyer receives, besides queries about the personal injury claims time limit, is how much could you claim. The simple answer is that there is no one figure that anyone can pluck out that will cover every case. You may take a look at other sites that have compensation calculator forms on there, but usually, these are not accurate to what your award will be should you choose to go ahead and lodge a claim.
To understand why this is, you should certainly look at the guide below, which talks about how much money can you sue for pain and suffering, what is included in pain and suffering, how much do you get for medical negligence, and more. We go in-depth about how these amounts are arrived at and what intricacies in your case may make a difference to your personal injury claim.
How can Accident Claims help?
Should you prefer to talk to the team at Accident Claims to get more of an idea of how much you’d be looking at for a specific claim, calling, 0800 073 8801 would ensure you are connected to someone who can help. We at Accident Claims can connect you with a personal injury solicitor that best suits your case, whether for slips, trips and falls, road traffic accidents, or even medical negligence, but we also offer free advice with no obligation to use our service. Alternatively, why not read on to find out all you need to know about calculating pain and suffering and all the other facets of a compensation claim.
Select A Section
- How Are Personal Injury Compensation Claims Calculated?
- When Are You Eligible To Make A Personal Injury Claim?
- How Do You Start A Personal Injury Claim?
- Examples Of Personal Injury Claims
- Time Limits in Which to Make A Claim for An Injury
- Why Make A Personal Injury Compensation Claim with Us?
- Contact Accident Claims UK Today
- Useful Links for Calculating Compensation for a Personal Injury Claim
How Are Personal Injury Compensation Claims Calculated?
Typically, successful personal injury claims could result in a payout consisting of two different types of damages. The first is general damages. This compensates you for the pain you have endured because of your injuries and their impact on your day-to-day life.
General damages payouts are unique to each case. When it comes to how compensation is calculated, solicitors assigning a value to general damages could look to your medical evidence as well as the Judicial College Guidelines. This is a publication that provides guideline compensation brackets for different types of injuries at different severities. Serious injuries, for example, attract more compensation.
You can find a selection of the figures from the JCG in the table below. Please only use this as a guide.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries With Financial Losses | Serious | Multiple physical or psychological injuries that are severe and cause financial losses such as medical expenses and lost wages. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe | The person will suffer with little or no language function, double incontinence and will require full time care. | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Foot | Amputation of One Foot | The ankle joint will be lost. | £83,960 to £109,650 |
| Back | Severe (ii) | Injuries may include nerve root damage with impaired mobility and scarring that is unsightly. | £74,160 to £88,430 |
| Ankle | Very Severe | Injuries may include a transmalleolar fracture that causes deformity with extensive soft tissue damage. | £50,060 to £69,700 |
| Leg | Severe (iii) Serious | Joint or ligament damage, or comminuted or compound fractures that cause instability. | £39,200 to £54,830 |
| Psychiatric Damage | Moderately Severe | Serious issues regarding copying with daily and working life but there is an optimistic prognosis. | £19,070 to £54,830 |
| Arm | Less Severe | Despite suffering with disabilities that were significant a degree of recovery will have or is expected to take place that is substantial. | £19,200 to £39,170 |
| Neck | Moderate (ii) | A disc lesion, soft tissue or wrenching-type injury that seriously limits the neck’s movement and causes discomfort and stiffness. | £13,740 to £24,990 |
| Knee | Moderate (ii) | Injuries may include bruising, lacerations or twisting that causes discomfort and continued aching. | Up to £13,740 |
The second head of claim that could be awarded in a payout following a successful claim is special damages. This compensates you for financial costs and losses that have resulted from your injuries. Special damages can include:
- Medical expenses
- Travel costs
- Loss of income
- Care costs
It is vital that you have evidence to prove that you have incurred costs and losses due to your injuries. Documents such as receipts, medical bills and payslips could be useful in this regard.
To learn more about how personal injury compensation is calculated and get an estimate of how much you could potentially receive, please contact an advisor.
When Are You Eligible To Make A Personal Injury Claim?
Before we look at how to make a compensation calculation, let us look at when you could claim for a personal injury.
To be able to make a personal injury claim, you will need to demonstrate that the injuries you have suffered were caused by someone breaching a duty of care they owed you.
Some examples of daily situations where you are owed a duty of care include:
- At work – your employer has a duty of care towards you under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). Per the act, they should take reasonably practical steps to reduce the risk of illness or injury at work.
- On the road– Every road user owes other road users a duty of care not to use the roads in a way that could cause harm to themselves or others. They must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988, as well as follow the guidance and rules contained within the Highway Code.
- In public places – Those in control of public places are known as occupiers by law. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, they have a duty of care to reasonably protect members of the public from avoidable harm due to their premises. This could include supermarkets, shops, libraries, pavements and parks, for example.
If any relevant third party breaches a duty of care that they owe you, and this leads to injury, you could be eligible for compensation.
To learn more about how to calculate compensation in a personal injury claim or check whether you are eligible to claim, please contact an advisor.
How Do You Start A Personal Injury Claim?
Before you begin calculating compensation for a personal injury claim, you’ll need to know where to begin the claims process. Beginning claims for personal injury is easier than most people think, especially if you take the guesswork out of the process of choosing a solicitor and call Accident Claims. Our team will talk you through anything you need to know about the process, including calculating compensation for personal injury questions, and we’ll talk through what has happened to you at your own pace.
When we know whether you have a valid claim, we’ll offer to connect you with a solicitor with experience in handling claims just like yours. You can rest assured there are some fantastic solicitors that we can provide to you that will work hard to secure your compensation as quickly and as simply as possible. And they are experts in knowing how to calculate compensation in a personal injury claim.
If you say yes, we’ll provide the solicitor that best fits your needs, and they will take care of the rest, including the arrangement of a medical at a convenient location for you to reach. Once the report is back, then the solicitor we’ve provided will put together all the evidence and begin your claim for significant amounts of compensation!
Examples Of Personal Injury Claims
Some examples of personal injury claims include:
- Accident at work claims – from slips, trips, and falls in the workplace to trapping your hand in machinery, to stress and harassment, there are several accidents and opportunities for injury in some way that your employer should be protecting you from. If they have failed to do so, you could likely find yourself looking up workplace injury compensation calculator pages to get an idea of what you could get. Or you could call us, of course!
- Road traffic accident claims – you will probably already be aware of the importance of being able to see who is at fault for a road traffic accident, and when it comes to personal injury claims, how much compensation is awarded is based on the amount of fault you have borne in the accident. If you were not at fault at all, you would see higher payouts than if the accident were partially your fault.
- Accidents in public places – Slips, trips and falls are common in public places, but if they have happened because of someone else’s negligence, then you may be able to claim. With these scenarios in mind, read on for further details about calculating compensation in a personal injury claim.
Time Limits in Which to Make A Claim for An Injury
There is a time limit for everything these days, which obviously extends to how long you have to make personal injury claims. For most cases, 3 years is when you’re allowed to make your claim, but some cases fall outside of this rule. For example, should you have suffered medical negligence and were not aware of this at the time, as consequences did not appear until after the three years were taken from the time you were aware of the negligence?
Other exceptions can include those who had suffered brain damage, where there is no limit, and if something has happened to a child, and their parents or guardians didn’t claim on their behalf before they turned 18. They have three years from this date, so until they are 21 to claim once they hit adulthood. As always, if you’re not sure whether you’re within the time limit, call us to find out!
Why Make A Personal Injury Compensation Claim with Us?
If you were looking to begin the often-complex process of starting a claim, you might question how calculating compensation for a personal injury claim works or you may be looking for recommendations for solicitors to use to take your claim forward. However, it can be difficult to know whether you’ve made the right choice – even if a friend or a family member has a solicitor they regularly use for other matters. Personal injury law is complex, and choosing a solicitor that doesn’t specialise in this area could mean the difference between a won and lost case.
Instead, why not look at using our service. We can offer free advice over the phone and provide a solicitor that specialises in this area and has experience handling claims like yours. We have been in the business for years and can back up our knowledge and expertise with client recommendations that confirm that you’re in extremely good hands.
Contact Accident Claims UK Today
Now that you have read how calculating compensation for a personal injury claim works, you may have additional questions. Or, you may feel ready to kick-start your claim. Whatever your situation, one call to 0800 073 8801 should give you all the confirmation you need on whether you’d likely be awarded compensation for what has happened to you. There’s no obligation, so no reason not to get in touch. Our contact details can be found on our website if you prefer an alternative method to the phone!
Useful Links for Calculating Compensation for a Personal Injury claim
Here are some useful links which relate to calculating compensation for a personal injury claim:
This is the government’s body that arranges compensation for crime victims. Your personal injury solicitor will approach these on your behalf for your accident at work claim.
The HSE collates accident at work statistics. You can find them here.
Please take a look at our guide to learn more about elbow injury personal injury claims.
Assaulted at Work Claims Guide
If you have been assaulted at work, then you could have grounds to make a claim. Why not read our guide to learn more?
Road Traffic Accident (RTA) Claims Guide
This link leads to our RTA claims guide, where you’ll find information about how to make a personal injury claim following a crash, collision or other incident on the road.
Once again, thank you for reading our guide on calculating compensation in a personal injury claim. We hope you have learned how to calculate compensation in a personal injury claim.
