Applying For A Personal Injury Claim Interim Payments

This is a guide on how you might be able to apply for personal injury claim interim payments if you require compensation before the claim has been entirely settled. These payments are usually payable when the defendant has admitted liability or the claim looks to settle in your favour, and you need money to take care of emergency requirements caused by the accident and injury.

Personal Injury Claim Interim Payments

Personal Injury Claim Interim Payments Guide

This article can offer guidance on how to request an interim payment for your personal injury claim. We explain what you could request these early payments for and your eligibility to receive an interim payment. For immediate advice on this subject, you can:

Services And Information

  1. What Are Personal Injury Claim Interim Payments?
  2. When Could The Court Order An Interim Payment To Be Made?
  3. Eligibility Criteria for Requesting Interim Payments
  4. Personal Injury Claims Compensation Calculator
  5. I Suffered A Personal Injury, What Should I Do?
  6. No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claims
  7. Useful Pages

What Are Personal Injury Claim Interim Payments?

Interim payments are part of your compensation money that is paid to you while your claim still progresses. In certain personal injury claim scenarios, the third party may admit liability, or even if the case looks to settle in your favour, you could ask for interim payments while you wait for your personal injury compensation claim to conclude.

You will need to have a valid reason to request these early payments. It’s possible to request interim payments to:

  • Supplement lost earnings or missed money caused by being unable to work due to your injury
  • Pay for rehabilitation
  • Care or nursing costs
  • Cover the cost of travelling to medical appointments
  • Pay for adaptations to your home

Depending on the severity of your injuries and the circumstances they create, you may need a single interim payment or multiple over a period of months as your claim continues. For example, this may be the case in accidents that involve serious brain injury or spinal damage, where claimants require a higher level of care.

However, it is important to note that whatever you receive in interim payments it will be deducted from the final settlement award. To find out more about this, get in touch with our advisors at any time.

Eligibility Criteria for Requesting Interim Payments

Personal injury claim interim payments are usually requested when the claimant is seriously injured and needs funds to be able to cope with immediate expenses and costs.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the court may order an interim payment to be paid to the claimant in the following scenarios:

  • The defendant has admitted liability to pay damages
  • A judgement has been obtained against that defendant for damages to be assessed
  • It’s certain that if the case went to trial, the claimant would win damages.

To find out if you have an eligible personal injury claim and to see if you could seek interim payments to help you with costs while you recover, call our advisors now for free advice. If it is discovered that your case has merit, they could offer to connect you with a personal injury solicitor from our panel who could help you with the interim payment process.

Personal Injury Claims Compensation Calculator

The compensation you will receive in a personal injury claim will include up to two types of damages:

General damages

General damages aim to compensate you for the suffering and pain you have experienced as a result of your injuries. These injuries could be physical, psychological, or both, depending on the case.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a publication that lists injuries and related guideline compensation brackets. Legal professionals can use this document to help value general damages in personal injury claims.

However, they are far from guaranteed payments, and you may receive a different final compensation amount in your case. Every case is different; for example, if you suffer a severe head injury with long-lasting complications, you are likely to receive more than if you sustained a simple toe fracture.

The table below provides a few examples of these guidelines, taken from the latest edition of the JCG, published in 2022:

Edit
Injury Severity Award Guidelines Notes
Paralysis Tetraplegia/Quadriplegia £324,600 to
£403,990
Award for mid-range of bracket: There is no physical pain but the claimant has full awareness of their condition, with a life expectancy of 25 years or more. Sight, speech and hearing function will have been retained.
Paralysis Paraplegia £219,070 to
£284,260
Degree of pain and degree of any independence and life expectancy will be taken into consideration.
Back Severe (i) £91,090 to £160,980 Cases of damage to nerve root and spinal cord resulting severe pain and disability with a combination of incomplete paralysis.
Pelvis/Hip Severe (i) £78,400 to £130,930 The pelvis will be extensively fractured. This may also involve a ruptured bladder, a dislocated lower back joint or a hip injury that results in spondylolisthesis.
Brain Damage Moderate (iii) £43,060 to £90,720 Impairment to concentration and memory, a small risk of epilepsy and a reduced ability to work. However, dependence on others is limited.
Facial Disfigurement Significant Scarring £9,110 to £30,090 Plastic surgery will have reduced the worst effects though some cosmetic disability will remain. If there was a serious psychological reaction at first, this has been reduced to minor proportions.
Ankle Modest Up to £13,740 Minor or undisplaced fractures, sprains, and ligamentous injuries.

To further evaluate your injury, you may be invited to an independent medical assessment so a report can be made about the severity of your injuries and the extent to which they will continue to affect your life. If you hire a solicitor, they can help arrange this for you as locally as possible, to reduce the amount you need to travel.

Special damages

Special damages aim to reimburse you for any financial losses and costs accrued as a result of the injury. As the victim of an unexpected accident, you may find yourself confronted with numerous serious financial demands. You may need to pay for any of the following:

  • Care costs for help as you recover
  • Adaptations to your home
  • Private or specialist treatments
  • Specialist equipment or services
  • Physiotherapy and remedial treatments

You could also claim under special damages if you have lost out on earnings, pension contributions or bonuses as a result of being unable to work. Additionally, if applicable, you could also claim for any future losses you will experience.

It is important to provide relevant proof of any costs and losses relating to your injury. This could include:

  • Receipts
  • Bills
  • Bank statements
  • Invoices

However, this list is not exhaustive. You could provide any other documentation that can substantiate your claim of suffering financially due to your injuries. Get in touch today to find out more about what could be included in your personal injury claim.

I Suffered A Personal Injury, What Should I Do?

If you’ve suffered an injury, we first recommend that you seek medical attention as soon as possible. For serious injuries, you may need to visit the hospital or call 999.

If you have suffered an injury due to a third party’s negligence and are thinking about making a personal injury claim, you could potentially start gathering evidence to support your case. It is important to not only prove the liability but also the severity of your injuries.

Evidence you could gather in support of your personal injury claim could include:

  • CCTV or dashcam footage
  • Pictures of your injuries or the site of the accident
  • Any notes or reports made by medical professionals that have treated you
  • The contact details of any witnesses

However, this list is not exhaustive – other forms of evidence could potentially be helpful for your claim.

To find out more about the claims process, please get in touch with us today.

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claims

Personal injury lawyers could offer to work on your claim on a No Win No Fee basis. A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement. Working with a solicitor under a No Win No Fee agreement has many benefits, including:

  • No fees to pay upfront for the solicitor’s service.
  • Nothing to pay as the case progresses
  • No solicitor fees to pay if your case is unsuccessful.
  • If your case wins, there is a legally capped success fee to pay

The success fee is a percentage of your compensation. This means that you get to keep the majority of your compensation. If you would like to find out more, or potentially be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel, why not get in touch today?

Useful Pages

We hope you found this guide on personal injury claim interim payments helpful. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if we can be of any assistance by:

  • Calling us direct on 020 3870 4868
  • Email or write to us at UK Law
  • Use the ‘live support’ option for instant help

For further helpful guides, please see below:

Also, here are some external sources you may find useful.