Compensation Guide
A successful personal injury claim will provide a lump sum to compensate for the damages sustained. Damages are usually divided into two areas - General Damages and Special damages. The amounts shown below are guidelines and are not a guarantee of the amount that you may be relieved. They are provided for guidance only.
The list below gives an indication of the current level of General Damages you can expect to get for the injuries specified.
Head injuries
Compensation ranges from £10,000 for a severely fractured jaw to £100,000 for moderately severe brain injuries.
A head injury is any damage to the head.
Examples:
- Cracked, broken, fractured or bruised skull
- Damage to the brain
- Scarring to the face
- Broken, dislocated or fractured jaw
- Broken, loose or missing teeth
- Broken nose
- Deafness
- Eye injury
Deafness
Moderate hearing loss equals compensation of around £10,000, rising to £50,000- plus for total deafness. Up to £70,000 in compensation can be claimed where the victim suffers total loss of speech as well.
Loss of hearing is painful in more ways than one. It is not just the inability to hear properly or maybe not at all, but also the perceived embarrassment of having to ask relatives, friends and others to speak up. When linked with speech difficulties, the consequences can be catastrophic.
Eye injuries
Compensation for minor but permanently impaired vision in one eye is around £7,500. For total blindness compensation is in the region of £140,000.
Blindness has a devastating effect on a victim’s life. Minor injury to the eyes caused by a blow to the head, flying glass, splinters, debris, exposure to fumes or toxic chemicals can be extremely painful and frightening.
Compensation is available to the innocent victim for:
- Pain and distress
- Past, present and future medical expenses to cover eye surgery and other treatments
- Loss of earnings
Shoulder
Compensation ranging from £2,500 for a straightforward broken collarbone, to £10,000 for a seriously dislocated shoulder, is available to the innocent victim.
Shoulder injuries are generally inflicted by a direct blow. However, they can also be caused by the natural reaction of trying to prevent injury to the head and face by using the shoulder to break a fall. The result can easily be a dislocated shoulder; broken collarbone; sprained shoulder; ligament damage; bruising, or cuts and grazes.
Arms
£3,500 to £10,000 is commonplace compensation for simple breaks with little resulting disability or deformity. At the other end of the scale, compensation for the loss of an arm below the shoulder is £72,500 minimum.
Injuries to arms resulting from accidents at work, road accidents, slipping or tripping vary from straightforward fractures to cases, which are so severe that one or perhaps both arms require amputation.
Hands
Compensation for a badly crushed hand is £10,000 or more. Someone who through no fault of his or her own has lost the whole of one hand can expect to receive £50,000. The hand is the most important functional element of the upper limbs. A minor hand injury alone can have a significant impact upon the victim’s quality of life. Cooking, cleaning, driving, washing, dressing - these are a few normal daily activities that can easily become difficult, painful or even impossible as the result of a hand injury.
And what of the devastation to a surgeon, secretary, musician, artist, writer, sportsman, cab driver, labourer or anyone whose hands are vital to carrying out their work?
Hand injuries range from crush fractures, jabbing wounds and dislocated or broken fingers, to complete loss of fingers, thumbs and hands.
Hip
£15,000 compensation for a significant injury to the hip or pelvis without any major permanent disability is the norm. Similar injuries leading to leg instability and future problems which will result in hip replacement exceed £20,000 and can amount to more than £50,000 in very severe cases.
Even a mild hip injury can mean severely restricted mobility, leading to an inability to work. This can result in a loss of earnings on top of the pain and distress of the injury itself.
Hip injuries can occur:
- At work
- As a result of a slip, trip or fall caused by the negligence of others
- If you are knocked off your motorbike
- In public transport accidents
- In road traffic accidents
- By below standard medical treatment
Knee injuries
Dislocations, torn cartilage etc. resulting in minor but permanent knee problems equals compensation of around £10,000. Compensation for very serious knee injuries can amount to £50,000.
Knees are extremely vulnerable to all kinds of injury and can be extremely difficult to treat. Recovery after a knee injury sometimes takes months, bringing with it long periods of pain and misery.
Legs
Compensation for leg injuries starts at around £5,000 for simple breaks or soft tissue injuries going up to £70,000 for the most serious leg injuries. A compensation figure as high as £145,000 for the loss of both legs is attainable.
Leg injuries can be bruising, cuts, grazes, twists or sprains. Further up the scale of severity are broken legs with associated damage to hips and knees, broken toes and ankles. Fractures requiring surgery, to include inserting steel plates and pins for example, are also commonplace. Severest of all are the amputation of one, or both, feet or legs and the provision of prosthetic limbs.
Ankle
Compensation for most moderately severe ankle injuries is £10,000, but a case involving severe disablement equals compensation of £35,000.
Just stumbling over something and twisting an ankle can bring on days of pain. Limping around on a sprained ankle can be even more painful long term than coping with a broken ankle. The amount of compensation payable to the innocent victim after an ankle injury caused by third party negligence is affected by such things as:
- Severity of the disability - particularly the lack of mobility caused
- Degree of pain and suffering
- Cost of medical treatment for the injured ankle
- The need for surgery to the ankle
- Loss of ability to work caused by the injured ankle
- Cost of transport arising as a result of the injury
Foot injuries
Compensation ranges from £3,000 for a broken toe, up to £10,000 for severely crushed toes, through to £50,000 or more for the loss of a foot.
Foot injuries can be broken, sprained or twisted toes and ankles, plus instances where toes or even the whole foot is lost.
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