At The Injury Lawyers, we provide free legal advice to numerous people every day, whether they be existing clients, or potential new clients wanting more information about the services we offer. A lot of the time such people ask very similar questions. One of the most common is whether they have a claim or not; and an equally common question is how much their claim is worth. In respect of the latter question there is often some difficulty placing a precise value on their claim at the early stages. This is because there are several factors which need to be taken into account when calculating the value of the claim, and because at the start of your claim, without medical evidence, we do not know how your injuries will be in a few months time. This blog intends to set out how can we try and help you value your claim.
If anyone tells you they know exactly how much your claim is worth at the outset, that is simply not possible. This is because your injuries can only be properly valued when your injury lawyers are in receipt of your medical report. This will outline the nature of your injuries, whether they directly relate to your accident, and how long the medical expert believes they will persist. From this, your expert injury lawyer can begin to properly value you your claim. Without it, it is guess work based on other cases that they have experienced that have similar attributes to your own.
There are several considerations when valuing your claim other than the nature of your injuries and their seriousness. If you have had a lot of time off work, or you have suffered a substantial loss of amenity, such factors like these add up to make your claim more valuable. Your injury lawyer can try and recover these related losses and this adds value to your claim. So, for example, a person with a six month back injury who has had six months off work and was not able to go to the gym during these six months, would have a claim that could potentially be worth more than the person who’s back injury lasted 2 months when and had minimal time off work. The value of your claim really does depend on your circumstances, and it is not often easy to predict from the offset.
That said, your injury lawyer will be able to give you a rough idea as to how much your claim could be worth. This is because there are the Judicial Studies Board (‘JSB’) guidelines to assist us. These can provide a good pointer as to how much your injuries may be worth. Here is an example of the JSB guidelines:
- A ‘Simple Fracture’ or ‘Soft Tissue Injury’ could be worth £5,750
- A serious broken nose requiring an operation could be worth anything between £6,750 and £14,750
- Whereas a minor broken nose could be worth just £1,100
What you also have to bear in mind though is that, for instance, if you have suffered a minor broken nose, you could receive more than £1,100, but at the same time you may only receive £1,000. The JSB guidelines are just that – guidelines.
The important thing to consider though is that if you want to get the maximum compensation you deserve you should instruct a quality injury lawyer with vast experience and who will fight tooth and nail for your claim. Also make sure they will not charge you a penny for their claim. This way you know that you have got everything you deserve and that you have not had your claim under-settled.
