If you have been involved in an accident that was not your fault, and you have been injured as a result, you may have a claim for compensation.
Another term for compensation is ‘damages’ and there are two types of damages for which you can claim – these are General Damages and Special Damages. General damages is the compensation for your injuries – i.e. for the pain and suffering you have endured and the effects those injuries have had on your life. Special damages are the quantifiable financial losses which you have suffered as a result of your accident – these will be the topic of the following blog.
There are many types of losses which you can recoup and claim back from the other side – I have listed some of the more common types below:
- Loss of earnings – if you have been absent from work as a result of your accident and you were left unpaid or on a reduced rate of pay, such as Statutory Sick Pay, then you may be entitled to claim for a loss of earnings.
- Treatment costs – this can include past and future treatment costs.
- Care and Assistance – if you have required the assistance of a carer in tasks such as household chores (cleaning, hoovering, meal preparation etc) or personal care tasks ( dressing, washing etc), then the carer’s time can be claimed back at an hourly rate. Any monies received are payable to your carer. The amount of time you declare must be reasonable in view of your injuries, and be supported by your medical report.
So, in summary, you can claim for losses such as those above, but there is an added duty on you – this duty is to mitigate your losses. This means that you must ensure that your losses are kept to a minimum where possible. A good example of this would be returning to work as soon as you are able to so you are not unnecessarily adding to your loss of earnings claim. Where possible and practical you should return to work on light duties if you are unable to complete your normal duties yourself.
If you fail to mitigate your losses then the other side may not meet the full amount for which you may want to claim. Using the above example, you may not be able claim for the period off work which you failed to mitigate.
If you require any further information on your personal injury claim then feel free to give us a call.
