What Are Serious Injury Claims?

Serious injury claims could be made on your own behalf, or for a loved one who is no-longer able to do so. These types of claims deal with instances in which the person harmed has suffered more severe degrees of harm. Examples may include where a person has lost a body part, sustained severe organ damage or suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Key Points

• You could make your own serious injury claim or make one on behalf of a loved one.
• They deal with some of the most severe forms of injury.
• Serious injuries could happen on the road, at work, in public spaces, or even due to assaults.
• An interim payment may be made in advance of your final settlement to help with lost income, medical or other expenses.
• A specialist No Win No Fee solicitor could help you to claim compensation.

Get help with a serious injury claim by contacting Legal Helpline. We work with a panel of specialist solicitors who are experts in helping people secure compensation payouts.

• Phone our advisors on 0333 000 0729.
• Use our online chat to tell us what happened.
• Click here and complete our contact form.

Jump To A Section

• What Are Serious Injury Claims?
• How Could A Serious Injury Be Sustained?
• Can I Claim Compensation For A Serious Injury?
• What Serious Injury Compensation Could Be Awarded?
• How Can Compensation Help After Sustaining A Serious Injury?
• What If Compensation Is Needed Before The Serious Injury Payout?
• Legal Helpline Serious Injury Claim Case Study
• Is There A Time Limit To Making Serious Injury Claims?
• How To Prove A Serious Injury Was Due To Negligence
• No Win No Fee Serious Injury Claims
• More Information

What Are Serious Injury Claims?

Serious injury claims are a way for those (or the loved ones of those) who have sustained a severe form of injury in an accident which was not their fault to receive compensation. They deal with injuries which are more severe and which may be more complex than more common injuries or which leave the claimant with more complex needs.

Examples of serious injury claims may be those made for,

• Amputations, such as the partial or full loss of a limb. This may include the hands, arms, feet or legs.
• Head and brain injuries. Catastrophic or traumatic brain injuries may leave a claimant with life-long complex needs and limited or no environmental responses.
• Spinal cord injuries. These could include monoplegia, paraplegia, quadriplegia or other forms of paralysis.
• Severe forms of post-traumatic stress disorder may leave a person unable to go about all aspects of their daily life.
• Organ damage, such as the loss of a lung, could leave you with severe and ongoing health complications and a reduced quality of life.

These are some examples of when serious injury claims could be made. Please speak to one of our advisors to find out if you could claim for yourself or a loved one.

How Could A Serious Injury Be Sustained?

A serious injury could be sustained in a variety of different types of accidents, such as those in the workplace, public places, or on the roads. They may also be the result of poor medical care or of a criminal assault.

In the following sections, we look at how each of these types of incidents could lead to serious injuries. We will also look at when you could claim compensation.

Workplace Accidents

Workplace accidents may be due to unsafe working practices and an employer’s failure to follow applicable legislation, such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. An example may be where an employer does not provide proper safety training or equipment to those working at heights, such as on a roof. The employee trips over a loose tile and falls due to the lack of safety harness or proper scaffold. The injured person suffers catastrophic injuries, including those to the brain and spine.

Public Liability Accidents

Accidents which happen in public places may be dealt with as public liability claims. The party in control of a public space, such as a leisure centre, has a duty of care to ensure the reasonable safety of those visiting and using the facilities. This duty falls under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.

A public liability accident could occur where there are cracked and loose tiles around a swimming pool. A member of the public trips over the tiles, hitting their head and falling into the swimming pool unconscious. The head injury and lack of oxygen when in the water leaves them with traumatic brain injuries and being reliant on others for 24 hour care.

Road Traffic Accidents

Road traffic accidents could occur where road users, such as car drivers, fail to adhere to relevant road safety legislation such as The Road Traffic Act 1988 or the Highway Code.

An accident on the road could be caused by a motorist failing to look or signal before turning left from a side road onto a main highway. A vehicle already travelling on the main road tries to perform an emergency stop, but strikes the turning vehicle. The driver of the turning vehicle is at fault for not signalling or checking to ensure it is safe to emerge onto the main road. The driver of the other vehicle suffers spinal injuries due to the impact speed.

Medical Negligence

Medical negligence may occur where a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional fails to meet relevant professional standards (their duty of care), delivering substandard care and causing harm where it otherwise would have been avoided. If this occurs, then you could claim medical nelgigence compensation, either for yourself or on behalf of your loved one.

All such professionals must deliver medical care which meets professional standards, such as those the General Medical Council sets. Failure to do so amounts to a breach of duty. An example of medical negligence may be where a doctor at a hospital fails to order a scan of a possible brain injury despite presenting with symptoms that indicate this type of injury and witnesses brought in with the patient telling A&E staff of a blow to the head. As such, the brain damage becomes worse than it would have been due to the lack of a scan.

Assault

Assaults can also leave victims with serious injuries. An assault which causes you (or a loved one) a serious injury may be classed as Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH). Criminal injury claims work differently to those for personal injuries and medical negligence. You can find out more about compensation claims for assault and how a solicitor could support you in our dedicated guide.

You can learn more about different types of serious and catastrophic injury claims you could make by contacting one of our advisors now.

Can I Claim Compensation For A Serious Injury?

You could claim compensation for a serious injury sustained by yourself or a loved one. As seen above, you may be owed a duty of care by a variety of different parties and in different circumstances. While the applicable legislation varies depending on the type of accident claim, the general criteria that any personal injury case must meet are;

1. Another party, whether an employer, driver or other entity, owed you a duty of care.
2. This party failed to meet their duty of care. For example, an employer may fail to adhere to relevant workplace safety legislation.
3. This failure leads to you or a loved one being injured in an avoidable accident.

As already highlighted, serious injury claims could be made for yourself or for a loved one who is unable to do so themselves. They may be unable to do so because they no longer have the mental capacity to do so, or because they are under the age of 18. In either instance, you must ask the court to act as their litigation friend. Doing so allows you to act on their behalf in any claim.

Our advisors could help to assess your eligibility to claim compensation for yourself or a loved one. Please get in touch to learn more about your eligibility to claim compensation.

What Serious Injury Compensation Could Be Awarded?

The compensation bracket for tetraplegia set out in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is between £396,140 and £493,000. The Judicial College publishes guidelines with compensation brackets for different injuries. Personal injury lawyers may consult this publication when determining how much compensation a claimant may seek. However, this is only a guideline figure for one specific type of injury. In serious accidents, the claimant may have suffered multiple injuries, all of which can be claimed for. Additionally, claimants may also recover any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by their injuries.

Furthermore, serious injury compensation awards may be based on a variety of factors. This could include the nature and degree of severity of the injury sustained, as well as how this has impacted the person’s life.

The first part of this, compensation for yours or your loved ones pain and suffering, is called general damages. Personal injury solicitors, the courts and other relevant parties may refer to compensation brackets in the JCG when assessing what a serious injury payout for pain and suffering may be worth. The second part is known as special damages and discussed later in this guide.

Below we present examples of relevant compensation brackets from the JCG. Note, claimants are not guaranteed to receive these amounts and that first example does not come from the JCG.

One of the personal injury lawyers from our panel could provide an individual assessment of your case.

How Can Compensation Help After Sustaining A Serious Injury?

After sustaining a serious injury, compensation could help you to meet the plethora of expenses you may need to meet in addition to helping with your financial losses.

Below, we look at some of the different expenses and losses you could be compensated for.

Can Compensation Cover Lost Earnings?

Compensation can cover lost earnings, income and related workplace benefits. During your recovery and beyond you may be either unable to work at all or only be able to at a reduced capacity, compared to your pre-injury norm. The financial impact of catastrophic injuries may include reduced or lost wages, bonuses, pension contributions and other workplace benefits.

Special damages may take the immediate and long-term impact of your inability to work as you did before and the effect on earnings into account.

What If Family Members Are Providing Care?

If family members are providing you with care, they may have had to take time off work, losing income and workplace benefits. If you are caring for a loved one who suffered catastrophic injuries and have had to take time off work or reduce your hours to do so, this lost income could be considered as part of their claim. However, it will need to be proved and you will need to show how much time was spent caring for your loved one.

What If Ongoing Care Will Be Needed?

If ongoing care is needed, such as long-term care at home or in a care home, the money spent on this could be included as part of a serious injury claim. This may include ongoing domestic care, helping with everyday tasks, such as personal hygiene and/or house work. It may also include the cost of more specialist care, such as with bowel and bladder management, mobility assistance or administering medication(s).

Will Compensation Pay For Rehabilitation?

Compensation may also pay for rehabilitation. Rehabilitation services compensation may pay for include,

• An initial needs assessment.
• Physical therapy.
• Occupational therapy.
• Pain management.

Can The Cost Of Home Or Car Adaptations Be Compensated?

The cost of home or car adaptations can be included as part of your settlement. Examples of home or vehicle adaptations you could claim for may include,

• Ramps fitted to your home and/or vehicle, allowing wheelchair access.
• Handrails, stair lifts and other assistive devices.

Can We Be Awarded Travel Expenses?

You and your loved one may be awarded travel expenses which are related to the accident and resulting medical condition. A common reason for travel may be to attend necessary medical appointments, such as to get specialist treatment.

These are some of the ways in which compensation could help after you sustain a serious injury. As with general damages, one of the serious injury lawyers from our panel could assess yours (or your loved ones) entitlement to claims for special damages.

What If Compensation Is Needed Before The Serious Injury Payout?

If compensation is needed before the final serious injury payout a claimant may be awarded an interim payment. Interim payments may be made in advance of (and deducted from) a final settlement. They may be paid out to help claimants (and their loved ones) meet immediate expenses and losses such as,

• Medical expenses.
• Rehabilitation and care costs.
• Loss of income and earnings.

Interim payments are only made in instances where a personal injury claim has a high degree of succeeding. This may be where the defendant has already accepted liability or where it is otherwise likely the case will succeed. Any interim payment made will be deducted from the final settlement awarded.

An advisor could assess your claim for compensation and help determine whether you may be able to secure an interim payment.

Legal Helpline Serious Injury Claim Case Study

This is a fictitious Legal Helpline serious injury claim case study. In this example, we look at a case where a claimant (hereafter referred to as Mr G) sustained a serious spinal cord injury in a car accident.

The claimant’s vehicle was turning left at a T-junction and was struck by another driver who was both speeding and driving erratically. The claimant’s vehicle suffered extensive damage and they needed to be cut out of it. He was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a serious back and spinal injury. Mr G required extensive surgery.

Despite the immediate surgery, the claimant suffered extensive spinal cord injuries. Initially, this left him with severe paralysis. However, over time the inflammation reduced. The claimant was left with problems with sensation in his left leg, and required care. Whilst able to walk, doing so caused him pain and stiffness. As such, Mr G was unable to return to working as a scaffolder.

Mr G worked with a personal injury solicitor to claim compensation for his pain and suffering. His claim also included damages for past and future lost income, medical costs and care bills. The combination of compensation for these amounted to £2 million in damages.

Whilst a fictitious case study, this example illustrates how someone could claim for a serious injury.

Is There A Time Limit To Making Serious Injury Claims?

There is a time limit to making serious injury claims. As with any personal injury or medical negligence claim, you must file the case for you or your loved one within the time limit set by the Limitation Act 1980. Typically, this is 3 years from the date of the incident or the date on which the injury was discovered (if this is later) when claiming for yourself.

There are 2 notable instances in which the time limit may be suspended or where it may not be immediately enforced, such as where claiming on behalf of a loved one (as identified earlier in this guide). These instances are,

• Where the person harmed does not have the mental capacity to make their own claim. The time limit will only come into force if they recover this capacity.
• Where the person harmed is a minor, the time limit does not come into force until they are 18, giving them until their 21st birthday.

Please note, if you are making a claim through the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority, then different time limits apply.

Speak with one of our advisors to find out if you are still within the compensation claim time limit or to discuss starting a claim on behalf of a loved one.

How To Prove A Serious Injury Was Due To Negligence

Medical records and witness statements may be used in conjunction with other types of evidence to show a serious injury was due to negligence. Negligence refers to a breach of duty plus the harm suffered. Meaning, your evidence must show that the claim for you or a loved one meets the criteria set out at the beginning of this guide.

Evidence which could help you prove a claim for compensation may include,

• Medical records – including details of the serious or life changing injuries you or a loved one experienced, the treatment this required and your long-term prognosis. This can help to identify the impact the injury will have going forward.
• Witness statements – anyone who witnessed the accident take place may be asked to provide a statement later into the claims process. Be sure to note their contact information.
• Incident reports – including reports for accidents in public places or at work, police reports covering road accidents and assaults or the results of investigations into negligent medical care.
• Photo and video evidence – this may include video of the incident taking place, photos of the scene of the accident or of visible serious injuries.
• Expert evidence – such as reports from an independent medical expert who has assessed the injuries.

By collecting more evidence you can build a stronger serious injury compensation claim. Our advisors are on hand to answer any questions you have about evidence for serious injury claims.

No Win No Fee Serious Injury Claims

No Win No Fee serious injury claims are a way for people to seek compensation they may be owed, without having to pay solicitors’ fees upfront. To do this, a solicitor may offer to handle your case under a Conditional Fee Agreement, also known as a CFA.

A CFA enables a claimant to work with one of the serious injury lawyers from our panel without having to pay for their work when the claim commences or as it is ongoing. Instead, the solicitor or lawyer will only charge for the work they carry out upon successful conclusion of the claim. This is commonly called a success fee.

The fee is agreed upon in advance and details of it will be contained within your CFA. Typically, claimants are charged a small percentage of their compensation as a success fee. There is legislation in place to limit the percentage which may be charged.

The benefits of a CFA include;

• No payments for the solicitor’s services before or during the claims process.
• No payments for their services if the claim is unsuccessful.
• A legal limit on the percentage which may be taken as a success fee if the claim succeeds, ensuring you keep the majority of your compensation.

Further benefits of making serious injury claims for yourself or a loved one with a solicitor from Legal Helpline’s panel include,

• Help accessing physiotherapy, rehabilitation and other medical or occupational services.
• An independent medical assessment.
• Assistance collecting evidence.
• Guidance on the claims process.
• Communicating with the defendant and any other relevant parties, such as the courts.

Legal Helpline provide claimants and their loved ones with a high standard of customer service, connecting them to solicitors from our panel who are experts in serious injury compensation claims.

Contact Legal Helpline’s Advisors

Contact Legal Helpline’s advisors today to learn more about how we could help with serious injury claims.

• Phone a member of our team on 0333 000 0729.
• Use our form to contact us about your case.
• Tell an advisor what happened to you.

More Information

In the final part of our guide, you can find further information on related personal injury claims as well as helpful references.

• Get further information on what your claim for severe PTSD could be worth.
• This guide provides further information on how amputation compensation claims work.
• Learn more about serious injury claims for deafness in this guide.

References.

• Learn more about paralysis in this NHS resource.
• Find urgent and emergency care services from the NHS in this resource.
• View road safety statistics in this government resource.

Thank you for reading our guide on making serious injury claims. You can contact our team for further help and assistance.