Advice On Serious Injury Claims
Our expert No Win No Fee solicitors have years of experience helping clients win compensation in serious injury claims.
£85 million in compensation
Advice On Serious Injury Claims
Our expert No Win No Fee solicitors have years of experience helping clients win compensation in serious injury claims.
Serious Injury Claims – A Complete Guide
Being seriously injured presents drastic alterations to your daily life as well as a considerable level of distress and uncertainty. You may have also had to pay for various medical expenses and care costs while you recover. In this serious injury claims guide, we explain when you could claim compensation and how it could help you.
Key aspects of the claims process will be covered, including eligibility, who owes a duty of care, how serious accidents could occur and when you can make a claim on behalf of someone else, such as a child.
We will also examine how compensation is calculated in personal injury claims. In the final section, we look at the No Win No Fee contract offered by our solicitors.
To find out more about making a claim, and to get a free eligibility consultation, talk to our team today using the contact details provided here:
- Call us 0151 375 9916.
- Or contact us online by completing our callback form.
What Classes As A Serious Injury?
A serious injury is any injury that presents a risk to life or has a lasting impact on your ability to carry out daily tasks. This includes head and spinal injuries, as well as the loss of limbs or sensory impacts.
Serious injuries can occur at work, in road traffic collisions and in public areas. We’ll examine the eligibility criteria for each of these occurrences in the next section. Below, you’ll see a brief explanation of various serious injuries.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord is the nerve structure inside your spine that goes from the base of your brain to your lower back. Falls, car crashes, and being hit by falling objects can all result in a spinal cord injury. Serious effects such as paralysis, loss of sensation and problems with organ function can arise from spinal damage.
Brain And Head Injuries
A brain or head injury is any damage to the skull, brain, and surrounding tissues. Serious brain injuries can cause substantial impediments to motor function, deficits of personality and intellect, and significant impairments of bodily functions.
Amputations
An amputation is the surgical or traumatic removal of a limb or appendage. As well as being deeply traumatic, losing any body part can have serious impacts on your mobility and your ability to take care of yourself and complete daily duties. The payouts in amputation claims are often very high to reflect this.
Serious Burns, Scars Or Lacerations
All forms of scarring can have lasting cosmetic and psychological impacts, but at their most severe, such as a serious burn injury and large laceration scars, these impacts can be very severe. Burns can also result in impairment of function if nerve endings or soft tissues are damaged. They can also cause disfigurement and cause you to suffer psychologically.
Eye Injuries
Injuries that permanently affect eyesight are considered serious. Even a small reduction in this primary sense can have substantial effects on daily life. The most serious eye injuries involve the complete loss of an eye or damage to the nerves and other tissues that results in a permanent loss of sight.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is any pain that lasts a minimum of 12 weeks despite treatment. The pain can continue even after the injuries themselves have healed as the brain continues to send out pain signals, often sharp and intense, as the brain misinterprets nerve impulses. Chronic pain conditions can make it very hard to work, carry out domestic tasks and participate in sporting or social events.
Fatal Incidents
The worst possible outcome to any serious incident is the death of those involved. It is still very much possible to claim compensation in the event of a fatality. Our advisors can provide more information on fatal injury claims.
No matter the circumstances of your serious accident, JF Law can help. Get in touch at any time for your free eligibility assessment.
Am I Eligible To Make A Serious Personal Injury Claim?
You could be eligible to make a serious injury claim if you can prove that negligence took place. In personal injury claims, negligence is when:
- You were owed a duty of care by a third party. A duty of care means a legally binding obligation to ensure the safety of another person(s).
- This duty was breached in some way.
- That breach resulted in an accident in which serious injuries were sustained.
Below, we have set out the various types of accidents where you could suffer a serious injury and the duty of care you owe in each situation.
Accidents At Work
Employers are required by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to take reasonable steps to ensure employee safety. This can include things such as ensuring that sufficient training has been carried out and that all work equipment is in good working order.
An example of when you may be able to make an accident work claim includes:
- Inspections of the company’s forklifts were not carried out. You and your colleague were instructed to use a forklift that had a fault with the lifting arm. The arm collapsed, causing the load to fall, and your leg was badly crushed and later required to be amputated.
Accidents In Public Places
The parties in control of public places, referred to as “occupiers,” must take steps that ensure the reasonable safety of any visitors to their premises as per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.
An example of when you may be able to make a public liability claim includes:
- Managers in a museum failed to organise a repair for a loose light fitting in the reception area, despite multiple staff members reporting the potential hazard. The light came free from its mounting and fell, hitting you on the head and causing a serious head injury.
Road Traffic Collisions
Every road user has a duty of care to each other to navigate the roads in a safe manner and do everything they reasonably can to avoid causing harm. This means adhering to both the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
An example of when you may be able to make a road traffic accident claims includes:
- You were cycling along a street in a residential area. A van pulls out of a driveway at speed, without checking if it was safe to pull out, and hits you, launching you from your bike. You experienced multiple broken bones including spinal injuries.
There are many other scenarios where serious injuries can arise. To get a free assessment of your eligiblity, contact our advisors today.
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Can I Claim On Behalf Of A Loved One Who Has Been Seriously Hurt?
There are two scenarios where you could claim on behalf of a loved one who has suffered serious injuries. These are:
- Where the injured person is a child
- Where the injured person lacks the mental capacity to claim for themselves
In these instances, you would need to be appointed as their litigation friend. Part of your duties would include working with their solicitor and making decisions in their best interests.
To learn more about how to make serious injury claims on behalf of another, you can contact our advisors.
How Can Claiming For Compensation Help Me?
Compensation can help you in various ways. Although it cannot undo the injury you have suffered, being awarded compensation can help you feel a sense of justice.
Additionally, after suffering a serious injury, you may have expereinced various financial losses, such as medical expenses and lost earnings due to being unable to return to work. Compensation could also help you cover these costs.
Interim Payments
Interim payments can be awarded for immediate and necessary costs in cases where it looks very likely that compensation will be paid out.
This payment will be taken out of your compensation and deducted from the amount that is paid to you at the end of your claim.
I Cannot Work Due To A Serious Injury I Sustained, Am I Entitled To Claim?
Yes, you are still entitled to claim even if you cannot work after you suffered a serious injury, as long as your case meets the eligibility requirements.
If you have needed to take time off work due to your injuries, or are unable to return to work at all, you could claim compensation for these lost earnings.
Contact our advisors today to learn more about claiming compensation in serious injury claims.
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We pride ourselves on providing the best service possible for our clients.
Compensation Amounts For Serious Injury Claims
Compensation amounts for serious injury claims can vary depending on the circumstances of each case.
However, all successful claims will have general damages included in the compensation payout. This head of loss compensates you for the injuries you have suffered, whether they are serious or minor.
Whoever is calculating this may use your medical evidence in conjunction with the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
This document contains compensation guidelines for a multitude of different injuries. We’ve used some of the most severe compensation brackets in our table here.
Compensation Table
Please be advised that the top entry in this table is not a JCG figure. This information has been provided for guidance purposes only.
| Type of Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries with Significant Financial Losses | Very Serious | Up to £1,000,000 and above | Very serious injuries with significant financial harm including lost pay, medical expenses and care costs. |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 | Little or no environmental response or language function requiring full time nursing. |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 | Very serious disability with a substantial dependence on others. | |
| Leg Injuries (Amputations) | Loss of Both Legs (a)(i) | £293,850 to £344,150 | Awards where both legs have been lost depend on factors such as the success of prosthesis and psychological impact. |
| Below-Knee Amputation of One Leg (a)(iv) | £127,930 to £167,760 | Cases involving complications such as phantom pain and issues with the remaining joints will be awarded at a higher level. | |
| Back Injuries | Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 | Spinal cord damage and nerve root damage. |
| Severe (ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 | Features of such an injury will include impaired mobility and nerve root damage. | |
| Epilepsy | Established Grand Mal (a) | £124,470 to £183,190 | Epilepsy awards are dependent on the success of medication and the impact on daily life. |
| Chest Injuries | Total Removal of One Lung(a) | £122,850 to £183,190 | Lung removal and/or heart damage that is serious with permanent scarring. |
| Permanent Damage (b) | £80,240 to £122,850 | Traumatic injury the chest and internal organs causing permanent functional impairment. |
Additionally, you could also be awarded special damages. Any financial losses your injuries have caused you would be compensated under this heading. Examples include:
- Loss of earnings, both past and future.
- Physiotherapy costs
- Rehabilitation fees
- Care costs
- Childcare expenses
- Travel costs
To be able to receive compensation for these expenses, you would need to provide evidence of them, such as invoices and payslips.
To get a free eligibility assessment and to ask any questions you may have, get in touch with our team today.
How Can I Claim For A Catastrophic Injury?
To be able to claim for a serious or catastrophic injury, you will need to submit some supporting evidence. Any evidence you provide will not only assist solicitors in calculating a fair and accurate compensation figure for you, but also help show that a duty of care was breached, and this is why you were injured.
Examples of evidence that could be gathered for serious injury claims include:
- Medical documents.
- CCTV and dashcam footage.
- Photographs of your injuries, the accident scene and its cause.
- A copy of your incident report from the workplace or public place accident book.
- Witness contact information so their statement can be taken at a later date.
One of the many tasks our solicitors can support you with is gathering evidence. You can check your eligibility to work with one of our solicitors by contacting our advisors today.
What Is The Time Limit For Making Serious Injury Claims?
As per the Limitation Act 1980, there are 3 years to make a personal injury claim, including those for serious injuries.
However, exceptions apply to the following cases:
- Any injured person who was a minor at the time of the accident will have the limitation period paused until they turn 18. This gives them until 21 to start their claim from this date.
- If the injured person’s mental capacity is not sufficient to claim for themselves, whether due to the accident itself or a pre-existing condition, then the time limit is halted completely. They will have 3 years to begin the claiming process if they recover this capacity.
As we said previously, in these cases, a litigation friend can be appointed and make a claim on their behalf while the time limit is not in effect.
To learn more about the time limits in serious injury claims and to find out if any exceptions are applicable to your particular circumstances, contact our team today.
Can I Use JF Law’s Injury Claim Solicitors To Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
Yes, provided you have an eligible case, one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help with your claim. They work under a particular type of contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). When instructing a legal representative under such an agreement, the claimant gets some key advantages, including:
- No fees to pay for the solicitor to start work on the claim.
- You will also not incur any fees for that during the actual claims process.
- Lastly, if the claim doesn’t succeed, there will be no solicitor fees to pay.
Should you win the claim, you’ll receive compensation. The solicitor will deduct their success fee from this, but since The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 imposes a binding cap on these fees, you will keep most of whatever is paid out.
Contact Us
We fully appreciate just how much information we’ve put into this guide and how distressing experiencing a serious injury can be. To ask any questions you might have, or to get your eligiblity to claim assessed for free, talk to any advisor today using the details given here:
- Call us 0151 375 9916.
- Or contact us online by completing our callback form.
More Information
You can read some of our other personal injury claims guides here:
- Read about the average payout for nerve damage with this guide.
- Learn more about making an office accident claim after an injury in your workplace.
- Find out when you could be eligible to make a zebra crossing accident claim and how our dedicated solicitors could help you.
We have also provided some external resources for additional information:
- The NHS has provided this guidance on when to dial 999 after an incident.
- You may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay following a serious injury. You can find out more on the government website.
- See the latest campaigns from road safety organisation THINK! on this page.
Thank you for reading this guide to serious injury claims. For a free assessment of your eligibility or for answers to any questions you may have, get in touch with us today.
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