If you are reading this blog, you may have been involved in an accident, and you may well be suffering from whiplash, and are sat at home wondering how much your claim could be worth! With compensation claiming, there are two heads of damages – these being General Damages and Special Damages. I will discuss each one in turn in the following blog.
General Damages
General damages is compensation which you can claim for your injuries. A solicitor will place a value on your General damages by looking at a number of factors:
- Pain and suffering: The pain aspect obviously means the pain your injuries have caused you as a result of the accident, and the length of time you are suffering is also a crucial factor. Suffering can cover aspects such as psychological injuries as a result of the accident as well.
- Loss of amenity: Loss of amenity can cover a multitude of issues. It covers the effects your injury has had on many aspects of your life. These aspects can include professional, domestic, and social life. For example, if prior to the accident you went out with friends twice per week, however after the accident you were unable to do this for 2 months, then this is a loss of amenity.
Once liability has been admitted on your claim, your solicitor should arrange for you to be medically examined. Following this examination, a medical report is produced which will detail your pain, suffering, and your loss of amenity. The report can then be used as a basis to assess your claim for General damages.
Another tool a solicitor can use to value your claim for General damages is that of the JSB Guidelines. These guidelines set injuries into bands as a basis for valuation – I have set out these bands below:
- Minor injuries – £875 to £5,150
- Moderate Injuries – £5,150 to £16,400
- Severe Injuries – can increase up to £97,000
- Minor Whiplash claims on average are worth around £2,500
Special Damages
Special damages aim to reimburse the Claimant for the financial losses which they have suffered as a result of the accident. These losses are quantifiable, and are collated in a Schedule of Loss separate from your claim for General damages. I have listed some of the more common types of special damages below:
- Loss of earnings
- Treatment costs
- Care and assistance
- Travel costs
If you have any further questions regarding your whiplash claim please feel free to give us call.
