Last updated 20th December 2024. Being seriously injured can have a profound and devastating impact on a person’s life. Many fears and questions can preoccupy the mind. Will their symptoms get better? How will they provide for or contribute to their family? Is it possible to receive rehabilitation and support? This guide about serious injury claims will aim to answer all of your questions.
To be able to claim damages for a serious injury, you need to prove that negligence occurred. We will look at some common causes of negligence whether on the road, at work or in a public place.
We will also look at how compensation is calculated in these types of cases. Importantly, this can include meeting your rehabilitation needs, so these will be discussed in detail. In addition, we also look at how long a catastrophic injury case could take to complete and the time limit in which a claim can be brought.
Finally, we demonstrate how our expert solicitors can help you with their years of dedicated experience dealing with large value claims. They can also offer you a type of No Win No Fee agreement, and in explaining this, hopefully, it will put your mind at rest about how to fund your case.
You can navigate through this guide with the menu below. If you would like to speak to an advisor right away, you can:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804.
- Using the live support below.
- Click to complete our form and start your claim online.
Select A Section
- What Is A Serious Injury?
- What Are Serious Injury Claims?
- What Is The Time Limit For Making A Serious Injury Claim?
- How Much Serious Injury Compensation Could I Receive?
- Can I Claim Compensation For Rehabilitation And Care Costs?
- How Long Can Serious Injury Claims Take?
- Can Serious Injury Claims Be Brought On A No Win No Fee Basis
- More Useful Resources About Claiming Personal Injury Compensation
What Is A Serious Injury?
There is no specific legal definition of what a serious injury is, but sometimes, it is referred to as a catastrophic injury. In general, a serious injury may be one where the injured person is left with profound and long-term effects. The injury could have a severe impact both on the injured person and their family.
Compensation awarded for a serious injury may take into account both the injuries and this wider impact.
Examples of serious injuries may include (but are not limited to);
- A head or brain injury.
- Limb loss and amputations.
- A spinal cord injury.
- Severe burns.
- Loss of vision.
- Crush injuries.
- Severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Damage to or loss of internal organs.
If you or a loved one have suffered any of these (or other serious injuries), please contact us and find out if you could make a serious injury claim.
What Are Serious Injury Claims?
In order to make a serious injury claim, you need to meet the eligibility criteria. This is because to claim compensation, you must show that a third party has been negligent.
The three eligibility criteria that are needed to prove negligence are:
- A responsible party owed you a duty of care. For example, you could have been owed a duty of care by another road user.
- They breached their duty of care. In this case, the road user may have failed to stop at a giveway junction and collided with a cyclist.
- You suffered harm (such as a serious injury) as a result of this breach.
It is not enough that the other party breached their duty of care. To claim compensation, this breach must have harmed you.
In the following sections, we look at examples of when and how third-party could cause serious injuries for which you could claim compensation.
Road Traffic Accidents
Road traffic accidents could be caused by negligence on the part of the driver of a vehicle. All road users have a duty of care to each other. They must adhere to both the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988. This includes ensuring that they use the road in a way that prevents them or others from being injured.
Examples of negligence by a road user could include;
- The driver of a vehicle exceeding the speed limit. They could then be going too fast to stop at a pedestrian crossing, striking someone crossing the road and causing a serious spine injury.
- The driver of a large vehicle changes lanes suddenly and without either signalling or checking their mirrors. They could strike a passing motorcyclist, crushing them under a wheel and causing serious internal injuries.
Accidents At Work
You could suffer a serious injury after an accident at work if your employer has failed to meet their duty to you. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, your employer must take reasonable and practical steps to keep you safe whilst carrying out your job.
If an employer breaches their duty of care and you suffer serious injuries, you could make a claim. Examples could include;
- Your employer failed to train you on how to use machinery at work but asked you to use it. You could suffer serious hand injuries, including a loss of function. This could negatively impact your ability to earn a living.
- Your employer failed to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) in a potentially dangerous workplace. A falling object could strike you on the head and cause serious brain injuries.
Accidents In Public Places
A public space could be a shopping centre, a restaurant or a public park. The party in control of a public space has a duty of care to take reasonable steps to ensure the reasonable safety of a lawful visitor. This duty of care is set out in the Occupier’s Liability Act 1957.
You could claim for an accident in a public place where;
- Whilst at a theme park, you suffer significant injuries when a ride collapses. Safety records indicate that the ride was due for maintenance but that this was not performed.
- A shopping centre was aware that a staircase was broken and should not be used by members of the public, but allowed them to. You could fall and suffer a serious leg injury, such as multiple bone fractures.
The examples above are just some of the ways in which you could suffer a serious injury. If these or other circumstances have impacted you, you could make a serious injury compensation claim.
What Is The Time Limit For Making A Serious Injury Claim?
As stated in the Limitation Act 1980, the serious injury claims time limit is 3 years, commencing from the incident date.
However, this time limit won’t commence for claimants who:
- Are under 18.
- Don’t have full mental capacity (for example, if they have brain damage).
During this time, a litigation friend can make a claim on behalf of the claimant. However, if a litigation friend has not made a claim by the time the claimant either:
- Turns 18.
- Regains full mental capacity.
Then the time limit will commence as usual (from either the date of their 18th birthday or the date of recovery).
Continue reading our serious injury guide to find out how compensation is calculated. Alternatively, you can contact us to find out more about making a serious injury claim on a loved one’s behalf.
How Much Serious Injury Compensation Could I Receive?
If your serious injury claim is successful, you could be awarded compensation. This may be made up of two parts.
The first of these is general damages. These compensate for pain and suffering, such as those caused by life changing injuries. The second of these is special damages. We will look at these in the subsequent section.
To calculate general damages, legal professionals may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) in addition to medical evidence.
In rows 2-10 of the table below, we have taken figures from the JCG. The figures should only be seen as a guide as to what could be awarded. Each compensation claim is unique, and your settlement may differ.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries and special damages | Severe injuries. | Up to £1,000,000+ with special damages, e.g. loss of earnings. |
| Brain damage | A - Very severe. | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Brain damage | B - Moderately severe. | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Leg Injury | Loss of both legs | £293,850 to £344,150 |
| Injuries affecting sight | A - Total blindness and deafness. | Around £493,000 |
| Kidney injury | A - Permanent and serious injury or the loss of both kidneys. | £206,730 to £256,780 |
| Bowel injury | A - Double incontinence, loss of natural function. | Up to £224,790 |
| Bladder injury | A - Loss of natural function, double incontinence. | Up to £224,790 |
| Chest injuries | A - Total removal of a lung and/or serious damage to the heart. | £122,850 to £183,190 |
| Psychiatric damage | A - Severe. | £66,920 to £141,240 |
Please note that these figures should only be seen as what could be awarded for general damages. The figure in the first row is not taken from the JCG. It shows what could be awarded with special damages.
Our solicitors are experts in serious injury claims and could help to estimate what your case may be worth. Contact us today.
Can I Claim Compensation For Rehabilitation And Care Costs?
As outlined above, your claim may be made up of two parts. The second of these is special damages. Special damages are awarded to take into account the financial burden and financial impact that the injury has caused. This can include rehabilitation and care costs.
Rehabilitation can be of paramount importance in cases involving serious injury. With proper rehabilitation, the injured person may be able to improve their ability to undertake day to day tasks and generally improve their symptoms. Sometimes, external help is required and this can be in the form of carers who assist the injured person with the tasks they cannot do.
If your case is successful, you could claim,
- Rehabilitation and treatment fees
- The cost of medical aids and prosthetics.
- Care costs. Care may be provided either in the home or in a care facility.
- Loss of earnings, both from the past and also the future.
- The cost of making adaptations to your vehicle or home to cope with an injury or disability.
- Travel costs, such as getting to and from medical appointments.
In order for your serious injury claim to include special damages, you will need to provide evidence of these losses. Evidence that you could supply may include receipts, invoices and payslips.
In serious personal injury cases, you may also be able to claim an interim payment. Interim payments may be awarded to meet immediate expenses, such as those for medical treatment. Any interim payments made will be deducted from your final compensation settlement.
One of our serious injury lawyers could help estimate what you may be eligible to claim and can potentially help you with your rehabilitation needs. Please contact our team today for a free initial consultation.
How Long Can Serious Injury Claims Take?
Serious injury claims may involve circumstances or injuries (e.g. spinal cord injuries) which are more complex than standard personal injury claims. As such, they may take longer to settle.
When you contact our team, an advisor will listen to you and carefully take down the details of your case. If they think you are eligible to claim compensation, they will pass your details to one of our serious injury solicitors.
In order to help you claim, they will take time to fully assess what impact the injury has had on you. They will also need to assess your potential recovery. They will consult your medical records and will likely request you undergo an independent medical exam.
Further factors which could impact how long your serious injury claim may take include;
- Whether the defendant (the party you are claiming against) accepts or denies liability.
- The evidence is needed to support your claim.
- The complexity of your injuries and the prognosis for the future.
If you or a family member have suffered serious injuries, our team could help you make a personal injury claim. Contact us for a free initial consultation.
Can Serious Injury Claims Be Brought On A No Win No Fee Basis
If you have suffered a serious injury and are ready to make a compensation claim, you may be worried about legal fees. If we think that you have a valid claim, our serious injury lawyers could offer to handle your case on a No Win No Fee basis. This could be by offering you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which is a type of No Win No Fee agreement.
The benefits of making a claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor include;
- Not having to pay any legal costs for your solicitor’s work either before starting the claim or whilst it is in progress.
- Not having to pay legal expenses for your solicitor’s work if you are not awarded compensation.
If your claim is successful, your No Win No Fee solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation. This fee is a percentage (capped by law) of your final award and the claimant will keep the bulk of any settlement or award.
For more information on serious injury compensation claims, please contact Legal Expert.
- You can call one of our advisors on 0800 073 8804.
- You can talk to us using the live support on this page.
- Or, begin your claim online.
More Useful Resources About Claiming Personal Injury Compensation
In addition to the information and resources above, here in this final section we have included further references.
- In our guide to how much compensation could be awarded for an injury, we look at how compensation payouts are calculated.
- Find out more about how to claim for serious burns in our burn injury claims guide.
- In some instances, injury claims go to court. Learn more about court proceedings in our guide.
External references.
- View your entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay at this government resource.
- This NHS amputation guide has further information on the loss of a limb.
- You can view UK road safety information in this resource from the charity Brake!
Thank you for reading our guide to serious injury claims. If you have any questions about how our serious injury lawyers could help you, please contact an advisor today.
