Special Damages is something that can be recovered as part of a claim for personal injury compensation.
A claim normally comes in to two parts – General and Special Damages. General Damages covers the injury itself – the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity caused by them. Special Damages is for losses and out of pocket expenses caused as a direct result of the accident or your injuries.
Lost Earnings
One of the more common types of losses – if you are off work for two weeks and lose two weeks worth of pay, you can recover two weeks worth of wages as part of a claim. If you are paid partially through Statutory Sick Pay or some form of company pay, we can make up the difference between what you lost and what you did earn whilst you were off. If you were paid in full and therefore lost nothing, there is normally nothing to claim for.
Medical Expenses
If you pay for prescription or even over the counter medication as a result of your accident, we can recover these as part of the claim. Keep your receipts safe so we can accurately calculate what you have paid out. If there are any treatment fees or other medical fees like braces perhaps, or orthopaedic pillows, we can include these as well.
Travel Expenses
If you have to travel to and from appointments at hospital, your GP, or treatment providers (as examples), keep a record of any expenses or mileage if your are driving or being driven so we can include these as well. Again, keep your receipts or evidence of travel, or appointment cards or letters if it’s going to be worked out from mileage.
Care and Assistance
If anyone has to look after you whilst you are suffering, or has to do something for you like the shopping or cooking and cleaning, we can claim back a carers fee for them. Make a note of the help you have received and, even if you aren’t paying them and they are friends and family helping you out, we can still claim back a fee.
For more info on what you can and can’t claim for in Special Damages, call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 today!
