PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM - ACCIDENT DAMAGES

The amount of accident damages appropriate to a claim may be either settled by agreement of both sides or may, on rare occasions, be assessed by a court of law. The value, or in legal terms the ‘Quantum’, of compensation claims are calculated under two broad categories:

• ‘General damages’ is the legal term used to describe compensation items that can be cannot be calculated accurately and must be assessed. The value of the constituents of this part of the claim are worked out using a combination of the experience of sums awarded in previously decided cases and by using written guide lines published by ‘The Judicial Studies Review Board’. If a claim goes to a court hearing then the Judge may also use his own personal experience in regards to awards for similar injuries made in his court previously. Accident damages under this heading include pain and suffering, loss of amenity that is loss of a previously enjoyed life style and loss of advantage on the open job market in the future due to a long term injury. There are a number of other less common items that are assessed rather than calculated and they are included in this part of the claim.

• ‘Special damages’ represents compensation for losses that can be accurately calculated as financial losses and expenses caused by the accident. This category includes wages losses, damage to property, expenses associated with the claim and a whole host of other items that are usually proved in court by the production of invoices or estimates for the specific item concerned. Any one involved in an accident will be expected to fully document this part of the claim by the production of all relevant paperwork.

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The general limitation period during which claims must be either settled or issued in a court of law is three years although there are exceptions to this and the court has a wide discretion to extend the time. Most claims should be resolved and settled within an eighteen month period however this will largely depend on the nature of the injury involved and the length of time it takes to reach either full recovery of a stable position whereby an accurate prognosis for the future effects can be assessed by a medical consultant thereby allowing an accurate assessment of the appropriate accident damages to be calculated.

SOLICITORS HELPLINE 0870 174 0140

Our lawyers operate throughout the United Kingdom and they are all members of Solicitors Regulation Authority panel of personal injury experts. If you have met with an accident within the last three years, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Our solicitors operate throughout the United Kingdom and compensation is paid in full with no deductions. You will not be expected to fund or finance your claim as it proceeds to settlement. We guarantee without reservation that our claims are completely risk free. Just call us on the helpine or complete the online form to find out whether you are entitled to claim. Finding out if you entitled to compensation couldn't be easier.