It’s a difficult question to answer on its own. There is really only one way to value a claim for compensation – with a specialist expert injury lawyer on your side, and a good quality medical report. Any other method is based on guesswork, statistics, or estimation.
For example – I can tell you that if you have suffered a minor whiplash injury after a road accident, you could claim around £2,500. In fact, you could be entitled to up to £5,000. For a moderate whiplash injury, you could be entitled to up to around £15,000. If you are suffering from a severe whiplash injury, we could get you even more.
How do I know this? The figures are based on statistics, averages, and the JSB Guidelines that are used to assist solicitors during the process of valuing your claim. But realistically, it all depends on your injuries and whether you have a quality injury lawyer representing you for the case.
To put it in to context – your payout is based on the severity and length of your suffering, and the impact it has had on your life. So, the longer you are suffering, the more your claim will likely be worth. If you are an international rugby player and you have broken your arm or your foot (say, you are Toby Flood, or Ronan O’Gara), your injury is going to have far more of an impact on your life than if you had cut your leg and had been left with a manly scar. You can still kick a rugby ball over the bar with a cut to the leg. A fractured leg – I’m not so sure! The more impact it has on your life, the more you can claim for.
So, how do we assess the severity, length, and impact the injury has had on your life? We use our carefully selected specialist medical consultants. You will see a medical expert, and they will produce a report detailing the above. The information in the report is what we need as the specialist injury lawyer to put a value on to your claim. Only a fully qualified expert injury lawyer is best placed to value your medical report.
You are also entitled to claim for any losses you have incurred that are a direct result of your accident. You can claim back any lost earnings, medical and treatment expenses, travel expenses, and care expenses.
So, you are entitled to an amount for the pain and suffering for the injury, and you are entitled to make a claim for any losses you have incurred. We aim to put you in the position you were in before you had the accident – so if you’ve lost it, we’ll aim to recover it.
The overall aim is to make sure you are compensated with the maximum amount you are legally entitled to recover under law. As a specialist firm of personal injury lawyers, we aim to make sure nothing, no matter how small, is ever missed out. Strong sources have indicated that there are firms out there that actually procedurally do not claim back certain losses, or accept offers early because they’d rather get the claim settled more quickly to increase their profit margins. This is wrong. So, take care who you choose – always go to an expert directly, and ensure they offer a high service level right from the start.
Avoid accepting any offers from third parties and insurance companies directly. Even if they offer you medical evidence, you still don’t have an expert lawyer on your side. Your claim can so easily be under settled on purpose! Avoid letting an insurance company or Claims Management Company (or any other company) refer your claim over to a lawyer. It’s likely your claim will be sold for a referral fee – leaving you with a solicitor with less money to spend on your claim – and you could end up with an under settled claim and less losses than you are entitled to claim back for.
For advice and information on making a claim, feel free to get in touch for a no obligation chat at any time.
