By Cat Way. Last Updated 14th February 2025. Chronic pain affects as much as between a third and a half of the adult population of the UK, an enormous 28 million people. As such, it is a huge problem for millions of people across the country. The HSCIC (Health & Social Care Information Centre) defines chronic pain as long-term discomfort or pain which lasts for more than 12 weeks. Chronic pain is pain which is not relieved when the cause is treated, or when specific pain relief is applied. It does not have to be severe, and many cases of it can involve a milder but almost constant type of pain.
Chronic Pain Compensation Claims Explained
Physical symptoms of chronic pain can include tense muscles and limited mobility, reduced appetite and limited mobility. Chronic pain can also cause psychological symptoms such as depression, anger and anxiety. The combination of these psychical and emotional symptoms can have a profound effect on a person’s day-to-day life and their ability to work or perform other activities.
Select A Section
- What Is Chronic Pain?
- What Are The Causes Of Chronic Pain?
- Can I Claim Compensation For Chronic Pain?
- Pain and Suffering Settlement Examples In The UK
- More Examples Of Chronic Pain Compensation Amounts
- Claiming For Chronic Pain With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Useful Links
What Is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is an umbrella term which can refer to a variety of different medical conditions causing a patient to experience either constant or long-term recurring pain. Chronic pain can be caused by an initial trauma or injury. It can also be caused by an infection. Chronic pain can also occur without any evidence of injury, trauma or evidence of damage to the body. Below are some of the main causes of chronic pain.
- RSD, or Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, is a serious pain disorder caused by the nervous system malfunctioning, leading to chronic pain. It can be caused by broken bones and damage to the nerves, soft tissue, sprains, slips, and even bruising. This type of chronic pain often presents several months after the original accident or injury. It can often be difficult to diagnose correctly.
- Fibromyalgia. This has a number of symptoms which can often present in a different way in different people. Symptoms include widespread pain and/or extreme sensitivity to pain across the whole body. Fibromyalgia can occur spontaneously, or be caused by a trauma.
- Myofascial pain. This affects your soft tissues and can involve a single muscle or be across a whole muscle group. Its symptoms include pain, muscle spasm and tenderness. It is usually caused by a strain injury to a muscle or to the supporting tendons or ligament.
What Are The Causes Of Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain can be caused by a specific injury or trauma which has healed. This could be an injury, surgical wound or even the site of an infection. Pain signals can stay active within your nervous system for several months after an initial injury. At other times, there is no apparent cause of the chronic pain and no damage to the surrounding tissues. Some of the leading causes of chronic pain include lower back pain, arthritis and even headaches. Today doctors acknowledge that chronic pain can often require its own, specialised, treatment regime.
Can I Claim Compensation For Chronic Pain?
Suffering from chronic pain can be a stressful experience for many people and it is commonly associated with other effects such as depression, a lower quality of life, impaired bodily function and even job losses in some cases.
At Legal Expert, we help people suffering from chronic pain to get the compensation they deserve, such as by bringing a fibromyalgia claim. If you have chronic pain caused by a workplace accident or injury, a road traffic accident or a slip, trip or fall, we may be able to bring a claim for chronic pain on your behalf. Due to the different causes of chronic pain, and the resulting effects, chronic pain claims cases can be very complex and require specialist assessment.
Chronic Pain Claim – How Long Do I Have?
If you wish to claim chronic pain compensation amounts, the Limitation Act 1980 states that you have 3 years from the date of the injury to begin the process.
In some instances, chronic pain compensation may still be claimed after 3 years. For example, you could use the date of knowledge as the start of your time limit. This is the date you become aware that your injuries were caused by negligence. You will need to support this date with evidence such as a medical report detailing the date of your diagnosis.
The time limit is suspended completely for claimants under 18. However, it begins once they reach adulthood. Before this date, a litigation friend must be appointed to claim on behalf of the child.
A litigation friend must also be appointed if a claim is to be made on behalf of a claimant with reduced mental capacity. The time limit is suspended in these cases too. It would begin should the injured party recover to a point where they’re deemed capable of making their own claim.
Get in touch if you need any advice, and to find out if we could connect you with one of our chronic pain solicitors.
Pain And Suffering Settlement Examples In The UK
If your chronic pain is the result of a liable party’s negligence, you may be interested in learning more about pain and suffering settlement examples in the UK. As each claim is different, we can’t discuss exact chronic pain compensation amounts. However, we can show you how compensation could be calculated.
To compensate for pain and suffering, general damages is paid out in a successful claim. To help assign a value to this amount, legal professionals use a document titled the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) from Judiciary UK. It contains a listing of injuries, including chronic pain conditions, with compensation brackets for claims made in England and Wales.
In addition to general damages, special damages are awarded in some claims. We examine special damages in more detail shortly.
General Damages
In our table, we’ve provided examples from the latest update of the JCG for chronic pain. As we discussed above, each claim is different. Therefore these figures are not representative of what you will receive.
| Injury Type | Severity | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Serious Chronic Pain Plus Financial Loss | Severe | Up to £250,000+ |
| Severe Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) | Severe | £64,070 to £102,520 |
| CRPS | Moderate | £34,200 to £64,070 |
| Other Pain Disorders | Severe | £51,410 to £76,870 |
| Other Pain Disorders | Moderate | £25,710 to £46,970 |
| Psychiatric Damage | Moderately Severe | £23,270 to £66,920 |
| Psychiatric Damage | Moderate | £7,150 to £23,270 |
To learn more about chronic pain compensation or for help using our compensation calculator, please get in touch with our advisors.
More Examples Of Chronic Pain Compensation Amounts
The chronic pain compensation amounts listed above only refer to general damages. There are also special damages to consider. If you have experienced major financial loss, especially if your chronic pain has left you unable to work or function as you did before, you could be in line to claim a significant sum.
Special damages compensation accounts for such loss. You might seek a payment for the likes of:
- A loss of earnings if you miss work or have to leave your role. This can account for projected future earnings, not just what you miss out on at the time.
- Medical bills or prescription fees.
- The cost of replacing damaged property.
- Home healthcare bills.
Our chronic pain solicitors could help you get the compensation you deserve. Call today to discuss how chronic pain compensation works and have an in-depth discussion about what you can claim for.
Claiming For Chronic Pain With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you are suffering from chronic pain after being injured in an accident that was not your fault, you may be eligible to claim chronic pain compensation. Therefore, you should get in touch with our friendly advisors to discuss the circumstances of your claim.
If our advisors believe you have good grounds to claim compensation, they will pass your information over to our team of experienced personal injury solicitors. They are specialists in such claims and may help you claim compensation by:
- Walking you through the claims process
- Explaining any key legal terminology and documents
- Helping you obtain evidence and using this to build your case
- Discussing potential chronic pain compensation amounts with you
- Contacting third parties and negotiating settlements on your behalf
Our solicitors understand that you may be worried about paying for legal representation. However, they work on a No Win No Fee basis, and you may be able to sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) with them. This means you will not have to pay any out-of-pocket expenses for the work they complete on your case.
If you sign a CFA, you will still be required to pay our solicitors a success fee if your claim is successful. However, this fee will be a small, legally capped percentage of your compensation. If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not be required to pay our solicitors a success fee.
Get in touch with our friendly advisors to start your claim today by:
- Visiting our contact page
- Giving them a call on 0800 073 8804
- Messaging them on our live chat
Useful Links
The NHS guide to chronic pain
Learn more about chronic pain and how to best manage the symptoms.
Workplace accident claims
Making claims for accidents in the workplace with Legal Expert.
