‘How much compensation will I get?’ This is a phrase that is known all too well here at The Injury Lawyers. And so it should be; it is important to determine a rough amount of how much compensation you are likely to receive. After all, you deserve the compensation and are entitled to it as you have sustained injuries in an accident that was not your fault. But often it can be difficult to determine how much your claim is worth from the outset. Calculating how much compensation you are entitled to involves a number of different factors.
So, how do we determine the amount of compensation that you deserve?
The law is clear – if you have sustained injuries because of a negligent third party you are entitled to compensation in order to put you back in the position you would have been if the accident had not occurred. You can receive compensation for not only your injuries but also for any other losses you have incurred directly as a result of the accident and your injuries – placing you back in the position you would have been in financially.
Compensation for your injuries is called General Damages and compensation for any other losses is called Special Damages.
General Damages
In order to determine how much General Damages you could receive it is important to obtain a medical report. This involves us organising a medical appointment at a time and place that is convenient for you. There is nothing to worry about either; it is exactly the same circumstance as visiting your local GP. Once the medical report has been produced it will provide information about your injuries linking them to your accident and will provide a prognosis.
Once we have all of this information your General Damages can be valued using the Judicial Studies Board guidelines. An example could be that for a minor whiplash injury the General Damages can be worth somewhere between £1,000.00 and £5,000.00. Obviously we aim to get you the maximum compensation that you deserve.
Special Damages
Special Damages is the compensation for all your other losses you have incurred as a result of your accident. These can include any loss of earnings, travel expenses, medical costs, loss of memberships and can include any money used for any care or assistance you may have had to receive.
It must be noted that everyone’s Special Damages will be different and individual to that specific person. Not everyone earns the same amount of money, and not everyone even requires time off work. Therefore it is hard sometimes to determine how much Special Damages you are entitled to at such an early stage in your claim, as you may find yourself incurring more losses as your claim progresses down the line.
So, as a quick re-cap, your compensation will amount to your General Damages and Special Damages and it is not until we have all the relevant information that we can place a valuation on your claim. The one thing you need to know is that we aim to get you that maximum compensation that you deserve.
