With any personal injury claim, you can seek to recover compensation for the pain and suffering that your injuries have caused (this is called General Damages) and you can seek to recover compensation for any losses or expenses that you have sustained as a result of the accident or your injuries (this is called Special Damages).
Special Damages can cover a wide range of things. In terms of a suffering a whiplash injury, Special Damages could be awarded for the care and assistance that you have received.
Say for example that, before the accident, you did all of your own gardening. However, due to your injuries, you were not able to do the gardening for 6 months following the accident. If you paid for a gardener to do the gardening then providing it is reasonable you may be able to recover the fee paid. If a family member took over the gardening for you then you can still recover money for this. Care and assistance covers personal care, domestic chores in and around the house, gardening, decorating, car maintenance etc. If someone (even a non paid family member) has taken over these chores then you can attempt to claim an hourly rate for this care and assistance.
Obviously if your Special Damages claim is unreasonable or excessive then the insurers are more likely to dispute it. You should also, where possible, justify any losses by keeping invoices, receipts etc. For example if you took a taxi to a medical appointment then we would advise you to retain the receipt and we could try and recover the fee as part of a Special Damages claim. With Special Damages it is all about reasonableness and the insurers are likely to consider whether you could have taken an alternative, cheaper option – i.e. such as going to the medical appointment by bus rather than taxi. Remember you are under a duty to mitigate and minimise your losses and while you can attempt to recover taxi fees etc, it will all be a question of reasonableness in the circumstances.
Special Damages can amount to thousands of pounds and are different in every case.
With severe injuries a huge amount of care and assistance may be required. A person may also have been off work resulting in loss of earnings (another element of special damage). In severe cases a person may never be able to work again and in this scenario a special damages claim could be substantial.
In terms of whiplash injuries, special damages are likely to be more moderate but you can still claim for loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel expenses, medical expenses etc. Basically special damages can cover any losses or expenses that you have incurred as a result of the accident.
Like with any accident it is best that you seek legal advice before looking to pursue a possible injury claim. Give our claims team a call on 0800 634 7575 for free, expert advice on making a claim for compensation.
