When Could You Receive Compensation For Pain And Suffering?

Are you wondering if you can make a personal injury claim to seek compensation for pain and suffering? If so, this guide could help. It will explore the eligibility criteria that need to be met in order to have valid grounds to seek compensation for an injury of a physical nature or emotional harm.

compensation for pain and suffering

When Could You Receive Compensation For Pain And Suffering?

Additionally, it will discuss how compensation for your injuries is calculated, and how the purpose of personal injury settlements is to address the different ways you have been affected by the harm you sustained.

Furthermore, we have included information on the evidence you’ll need to support your personal injury claim and the ways a solicitor could help you build and present your case.

Get in touch with our advisors if you need any further guidance. They are available to answer your questions 24/7 and can discuss your potential claim. To reach them, you can:

Select A Section

  1. When Could You Receive Compensation For Pain And Suffering?
  2. Types Of Pain And Suffering
  3. What Evidence Do You Need To Claim Compensation?
  4. What Could I Receive In Compensation For Pain And Suffering?
  5. Can You Claim Compensation For Pain And Suffering With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
  6. More Guidance On Making A Personal Injury Claim

When Could You Receive Compensation For Pain And Suffering?

There are three criteria that need to be met in order for you to have valid grounds to make a claim for personal injury compensation:

  • Firstly, you need to prove that you were owed a duty of care in the setting where you were injured. Several third parties owe a duty of care, including employers, occupiers and road users.
  • Secondly, you need to prove that this duty was breached.
  • Finally, you need to show that you experienced a physical injury, psychological harm, or both, as a result of the breach.

Together, these three points define negligence, for which you could begin a personal injury claim.

In the following sections, we have explored the duty of care that certain third parties owe you in more detail.

When Could You Receive Damages For A Public Accident?

The party in control of a public space owes a duty of care to those visiting the space as per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. To uphold their duty, they must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of members of the public.

A failure to do so could lead to you sustaining harm in an accident in a public place. For example, you may have slipped on a wet floor in a supermarket that was not signposted or cleaned up in a reasonable timeframe.

When Could You Receive Damages For A Vehicle Accident?

Road users owe one another a duty of care to navigate the roads in a way that prevents harm to themselves and others. This is outlined in the Road Traffic Act 1988. Additionally, guidance on the responsibilities different road users have can be found in The Highway Code, along with rules. The rules are backed by laws.

A failure on the part of another road user to uphold their duty of care could lead to you becoming injured in a road traffic accident. For example, a driver may fail to obey the speed limit, resulting in them crashing into your vehicle and causing you to sustain a severe head injury and traumatic amputation of one arm.

When Could You Receive Damages For An Accident At Work?

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 outlines the duty of care employers owe. It states they need to take steps that are reasonable as well as practicable in order to prevent employees from sustaining an injury in the workplace.

A failure to do so could result in you experiencing harm in an accident at work. For instance, your employer may have failed to provide necessary personal protective equipment, such as safety goggles, when you were working on a construction site. As a result, you may have sustained an eye injury when cutting up materials and getting sawdust in your eye.

To discuss whether you could be eligible to seek compensation for the pain and suffering you experienced due to injuries you sustained because of a breach of duty, call our team.

Types Of Pain And Suffering

There are several different types of injuries, both physical and emotional, that could result in you experiencing pain and suffering. For example:

  • Broken bones.
  • Cuts and lacerations.
  • Psychological harm, such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and stress.
  • Amputations, such as a partial finger amputation or the complete loss of one arm.
  • Scarring.

If you are eligible, you could receive compensation for your pain and suffering by making a personal injury claim. Find out if you meet the criteria to do so by calling our team.

What Evidence Do You Need To Claim Compensation?

There are several pieces of evidence you could gather to support your claim. For example:

  • Medical evidence – For example, you could request a copy of your medical records. They can provide details pertaining to your injury and any treatment you received as a result.
  • CCTV footage – You have the right to request footage that you appear in.
  • Photographs – Take pictures of any physical injuries and the hazards that caused them.
  • Witness contact details – If anyone witnessed your accident, you could ask them for their contact details so a statement can be collected from them at a later date.

A personal injury solicitor from our panel could help you gather evidence and build your case as part of the services they offer.

To learn more, please call the number above. If your case is legitimate, an advisor could put you in touch with a solicitor on our panel to assist you in seeking compensation for pain and suffering.

What Could I Receive In Compensation For Pain And Suffering?

Your settlement may consist of up to two heads of claim: general damages and special damages. General damages award compensation to address the physical pain and mental suffering caused by your injuries.

To calculate this head of claim, legal professionals can turn to resources such as medical evidence to help them. Additionally, they could use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG has guideline figures corresponding to different types of injuries, both physical and psychological.

We’ve included some figures from the JCG in the table below. However, it’s important to bear in mind that your own claim is unique. Therefore, it’ll need to be individually assessed before an accurate calculation can be made. As such, you should only use these figures as a guide.

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Injury Severity Description Amount
Paralysis Quadriplegia Factors that have a bearing on the award given can include age and the degree of the person’s independence. £324,600 to £403,990
Brain damage Very Severe The person needs full-time care. £282,010 to £403,990
Arm Amputation Loss of Both Arms Due to the injury, the person will be reduced to a state of considerable helplessness. £240,790 to £300,000
Injuries affecting sight Loss of Sight Complete blindness in both eyes. In the region of £268,720
Neck Injuries Severe (i) The injury will be associated with incomplete paraplegia. In the region of £148,330
Post-traumatic stress disorder Severe The injured person will be prevented from working or functioning at the same level as they did prior to the trauma. £59,860 to £100,670
Other Arm Injuries Less Severe Significant disabilities but with a substantial degree of recovery that has already happened or will happen. £19,200 to £39,170
Elbow Injuries Less Severe Impairment of function but no major surgery or significant disability. £15,650 to £32,010
Ankle Injuries Modest Fractures, sprains and injuries to the ligaments that are less serious. Up to £13,740
Shoulder Injuries Clavicle Fracture The award given will depend on certain factors, such as the extent of the fracture and level of disability it causes. £5,150 to £12,240

What Else Could Be Included In My Payout?

Special damages award compensation to reimburse you for the financial impact of your injuries. For example, you could receive compensation for:

You’ll need evidence, such as payslips and receipts, to support a claim for special damages.

If you would like to find out more about personal injury settlements, please get in touch with an advisor from our team.

Can You Claim Compensation For Pain And Suffering With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

The solicitors on our panel work on a No Win No Fee basis. They can offer you a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which allows you to access their services without paying an upfront or ongoing fee.

If your claim is successful, your lawyer takes a legally capped percentage from your compensation as their payment. This is called a success fee. However, if your claim is not successful, you are not required to pay them this fee.

Speak To An Expert

If you have any other questions regarding your potential personal injury claim, please get in touch with an advisor. They can carry out a free assessment of your case and determine whether you’re eligible to have a solicitor from our panel represent your case under a No Win No Fee agreement.

For more information, you can:

More Guidance On Making A Personal Injury Claim

More guides from us:

Helpful information from other sources:

Thank you for reading this guide on whether you’re eligible to seek compensation for the pain and suffering caused by the injuries you sustained due a third party breaching their duty of care. If you have any other questions, contact an advisor via the details provided above.

Writer IB

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