Compensation is meant to put you back in the position you would have been in had the accident never have occurred. This means that, not only do you receive compensation for your pain, suffering, and loss of amenity – e.g. unable to complete hobbies or continue with your social life as normal – but that you can also claim compensation for the financial losses you have suffered as a result of your accident as well.
A good personal injury lawyer will advise you regarding losses right from the outset of your claim, so these can be kept a note of and evidence such as receipts and wage slips can be retained in a safe place. Once your losses are collated they are drafted into a document known as a Schedule of Loss. Your losses are dealt with separately to the claim for your injuries, therefore the Schedule of Loss would not contain a provision for your injury compensation. Injury compensation is a point of negotiation; losses can also be a negotiation process as you do not always get 100% of what you claim for, but the amount you are claiming is generally quantifiable.
I have listed some of the more common types of losses below:
- Loss of earnings – you may not be able to work due to your injuries, so we can claim for the income for which you are losing.
- Care and Assistance – if you have required the help of a friend or family member in completing daily household tasks or personal care tasks, their time can be claimed back at an hourly rate. Whatever you receive is then payable to the carer.
- Treatment costs – if you have incurred costs for medical treatment for your injuries, this may be able to be claimed back from the other side as well.
- Loss of Use – if, due to your accident, either because of your injuries or because your car was severely damaged, you lost the use of your car, you can claim back for a ‘loss of use’. This takes into account the fact that you are paying tax and insurance on the car without having the benefit of using it.
- Miscellaneous costs – this takes into account phone charges you have incurred, postage stamps, or photocopying charges and so is a standard ‘miscellaneous’ claim.
If you require any further information regarding your claim for losses then feel free to give The Injury Lawyers a call.
