By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 2nd February 2024. Have you suffered tinnitus after a car accident that happened due to someone else’s negligence? If so, you may be entitled to make a claim.
Tinnitus can cause significant pain and suffering that affects your daily life. Compensation won’t take away the pain you’ve experienced, but it can help you get your life back on track.
Our personal injury solicitors are experienced in helping claimants receive the maximum amount of compensation they’re owed, whether it be for broken bones or if your ears are ringing after a car accident.
If you have a valid claim, an adviser can connect you to a personal injury solicitor to discuss No Win No Fee agreements with you. They can then begin the claims process and work on gaining you the compensation you deserve,
You can also watch our video below which explains the key takeaways from our guide:
You can contact our expert team of advisers via:
- Telephone on 0800 073 8804 any time of day.
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Select A Section
- Can I Claim Compensation For Tinnitus After A Car Accident?
- How Can Car Accidents Cause Tinnitus?
- Proving Who Is Liable In Tinnitus After A Car Accident Compensation Cases
- Compensation Payouts For Tinnitus After A Car Accident
- What Else Can A Tinnitus Compensation Claim Include?
- Can I Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor If My Ears Are Ringing After A Car Accident?
- Read More On Claiming Compensation For Tinnitus And Whiplash
Can I Claim Compensation For Tinnitus After A Car Accident?
If your ears are ringing after a car accident, you may wonder if you are eligible for personal injury compensation.
In order to have valid grounds to seek compensation for whiplash and tinnitus, you must meet the personal injury claims eligibility criteria. This means that you will be expected to prove that:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- You suffered injuries because of this breach.
While using the roads, all road users owe each other a duty of care to navigate the roads in a way that prevents injury and damage to themselves and others. To uphold this duty, road users must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 as well as any relevant rules and regulations found in the Highway Code. If you suffer an injury because another driver failed to comply with this duty, you could be eligible to make a tinnitus compensation claim.
Additionally, you must start your claim within the personal injury claims limitation period. Generally, you will have 3 years from the date of the accident that caused your injuries to begin the legal process. However, there are some exceptions to this time limit. To find out more about eligibility and time limits, speak with one of our advisors.
How Can Car Accidents Cause Tinnitus?
There are various injuries that you could sustain in a road traffic accident that may result in tinnitus. These include:
- Suffering a neck injury, such as whiplash.
- Brain damage can also result in tinnitus. Some brain injuries can affect the nerves in a way that causes them to misfire and result in hearing sounds associated with tinnitus.
- A head injury without brain damage. Head trauma can result in a perforated eardrum or other damage to the inner and middle ear, which can result in developing tinnitus.
- Additionally, a sudden loud noise, such as from an airbag deployment, can also cause tinnitus. This can occur without suffering another injury.
Get in touch with an advisor to discuss whether or not you meet the criteria to claim tinnitus after a car accident compensation.
Proving Who Is Liable In Tinnitus After A Car Accident Compensation Cases
There are multiple ways to establish who breached their duty of care in a car accident, such as:
- CCTV footage – If you have CCTV footage, this can provide videos and images of the car accident. This will show exactly who’s at fault and what happened.
- Witness statements- Witnesses of the car crash can write witness statements explaining what they saw happen.
- Photos of any injuries – If you had visible injuries as well as tinnitus, make sure to take photos of these.
- Pictures of damage to your car – If your car was damaged due to the crash, you should take photos of the damage to include in your tinnitus after a car accident compensation claim.
- Medical notes – You should provide medical records to show your tinnitus diagnosis and treatment plan.
If you need more advice about proving who is liable for your tinnitus after a car accident compensation claim, our team of advisers would be happy to help. They’re available 24 hours a day to offer legal advice for free and have a chat about your situation.
Once they’ve checked your claim is valid, they can connect you to an expert personal injury solicitor. They can then assess how much compensation you may be entitled to and discuss No Win No Fee agreements with you.
Compensation Payouts For Tinnitus After A Car Accident
Some guides may include a personal injury claims calculator to calculate how much tinnitus after a car accident compensation you may be entitled to. Instead, we’ve included a compensation table to assess how much compensation some injuries may be valued.
These latest Judicial College Guidelines JCG figures may vary and are used in this table for example purposes only. The JCG document lists a catalogue of injuries and illness with bracket figures calculated by using past settlements awards that have been settled in court.
| Injury: | Notes: | Compensation: |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries and Expenses | Claimants could be compensated for more than injury of a very severe nature plus any financial losses caused by the injury, such as hearing aids and lost wages. | Up to £250,000+ |
| Deafness/Tinnitus | Total Deafness and Loss of Speech. Deafness occurs early on in life and affects speech development. | £109,650 to £140,660 |
| Deafness/Tinnitus | Total Deafness. | £90,750 to £109,650 |
| Deafness/Tinnitus | Total Loss of Hearing in One Ear. The higher end of the bracket is awarded when associated problems such as dizziness, tinnitus, or headaches arise. | £31,310 to £45,540 |
| Deafness/Tinnitus | Partial Hearing Loss or/and Tinnitus. This is usually caused by long-term exposure to loud noise in the workplace. (i) Severe tinnitus and Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). | £29,710 to £45,540 |
| Deafness/Tinnitus | (ii) NIHL and moderate tinnitus or NIHL or moderate-severe tinnitus on its own. | £14,900 to £29,710 |
| Deafness/Tinnitus | (iii) Some NIHL and mild tinnitus. | £12,590 to £14,900 |
| Whiplash Tariff | A whiplash injury along with psychological damage with symptoms lasting between 18-24 months. | £4,345 |
| Whiplash Tariff | A whiplash injury without psychological damage with symptoms lasting 18-24 months. | £4,215 |
Tinnitus after a car accident compensation is typically split into general and special damages. The above table shows general damages from the JCG 16th edition. However, the top row provides guidance on how compensation could be awarded for multiple severe injuries and special damages. The table is for guidance only. The awarded bracket depends on how severe the injury is and how long it takes to heal.
General damages compensate for the injury itself and how it’s affected you physically and mentally. For example, you may have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder due to your injury.
Special damages compensate for the financial impact the injury’s had on you. However, you must provide evidence of the financial loss or it’ll be difficult to claim special damages.
How Much Compensation For Whiplash And Tinnitus?
Your claim for ringing in your ears after a car accident may be impacted by the Whiplash Reform Programme. These changed how certain claims are made for road traffic accidents in England and Wales. They apply to those aged 18 or older who suffered injuries valued at £5,000 or less as a vehicle’s driver or passenger. Applicable injuries include whiplash and other soft tissue injuries as well as ear ringing after the accident.
Your whiplash injury will be valued in accordance with the tariff set out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. Other injuries that are not covered by this tariff, such as tinnitus, will be valued in the traditional manner. We look at this in the next section.
If you would like to know how much compensation for whiplash and tinnitus you could receive, get in touch with an advisor from our team for a free claim valuation.
What Else Can A Tinnitus Compensation Claim Include?
Here are some examples of what special damages can compensate for:
- Loss of earnings – If you took time off work to heal from your injuries, you may have suffered a loss of earnings. An example of evidence you could provide to prove this is payslips from before and after your injury. The amount you were paid could then be compared to assess how much you lost.
- Care costs – When hiring a carer, you may have paid out of pocket for this. A carer may have helped you deal with general household chores, such as cooking and cleaning, or they may have physically cared for your injury. To prove this, you could provide bank statements showing how much you paid for the carer.
- Travel costs – If you had to travel to and from medical appointments, you may have paid out of your own money for this. An example of evidence to prove this could be bus or train tickets.
- Prescription medication – Did you pay for medication to treat your injuries? If so, you could provide prescriptions to prove how much it cost.
If your injury impacted you financially, you may be entitled to special damages. You can contact our team of advisers today to assess how much tinnitus after a car accident compensation you may be entitled to.
Can I Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor If My Ears Are Ringing After A Car Accident?
It is advisable when making a personal injury claim for compensation for tinnitus after a car accident to seek legal advice. Here at Legal Expert, our advisors can provide you with free advice in a no-obligation consultation where you can have your case evaluated for free, provided with an estimate of what you could be awarded should your tinnitus after a car accident compensation claim be successful and also be connected with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
Cases that are taken on by our car accident solicitors are usually worked on, on a No Win No Fee basis. A popular type of arrangement like this is called a Conditional Fee Agreement CFA which is a contract entered into by you and the solicitor. This generally means your solicitor will start work on your case without needing an upfront fee, nor will any ongoing fees be needed for the service the solicitor provides.
Successful personal injury claims after a car accident will see the solicitor take a capped percentage of the compensation awarded as their success fee. All of this is explained in the regulations set out in the Conditional fee Agreements Order 2013.
To find out if you could claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor for ringing in your ears after a car accident, call our advisors now for free advice.
Start Your Claim
Our team of advisers are available around the clock to offer 24/7 free legal advice and have a chat about your situation. They can assess how much tinnitus after a car accident compensation you may be able to claim.
After speaking to an adviser, you’re under no obligation to continue with our services. However, if you want to, an adviser can connect you to an expert personal injury solicitor if your claim is legitimate.
A personal injury solicitor can then explore No Win No Fee agreements with you and begin working on your tinnitus after a car accident compensation claim.
You can get in touch with our friendly team of advisers by:
- Calling them on 0800 073 8804 to receive free legal advice.
- Chat with an adviser via our live chat pop-up box for an instant reply.
- Fill in our online claims form to receive a response at your earliest convenience.
Read More On Claiming Compensation For Tinnitus And Whiplash
- How Much Compensation Can Be Claimed For a Fatal Accident or Wrongful Death? – If a loved one has passed due to someone’s negligence, our article looks at how you may be able to make a wrongful death claim.
- What Are The Time Limits For Suing The NHS? – If you’ve suffered clinical negligence, our guide discusses the time limits for making a medical negligence claim against the NHS.
- Personal Injury Compensation – Have you suffered an injury due to someone else’s negligence? Our article explores how you may be able to make a personal injury claim.
- British Tinnitus Foundation – This is a registered tinnitus charity.
- Ear Infections – If you think you may be suffering from an ear infection, this NHS guide holds useful information.
- Earache – Are you experiencing earache? This NHS guide offers advice on how to deal with it.
We also have some other guides on car accident claims that you may find useful:
- A guide to car accident claims
- Check out our frequently asked questions (FAQ) page on car accidents
- A guide to serious injury car accident claims
Thank you for reading our guide about tinnitus after a car accident compensation.
