By Daniel Janeway. Last Updated 15th March 2023. If you have suffered a head injury from a car crash caused by a fault third party, you could be entitled to make a compensation claim. This article explains how you could be eligible for brain damage payouts following a non-fault road traffic accident.
This article explains the process of a compensation claim against another motorist or negligent party on the roads. We provide links to statistics and relevant websites to help you in your decision to start a claim. If at any point whilst reading this you’d like to discuss what happened to you, please call our friendly team on 0800 408 7825.
Brain Damage Payouts
We use a typical example case study to explain the process of a personal injury claim. We aim to answer any questions you may have. For more information, you can also email us at Public Interest Lawyers. Our advisors are free to answer any question you have any time of the day. You can receive free advice with regards to your potential case and the claiming process.
Select a Section
- A Guide To Calculate Compensation For A Car Accident Head Injury
- What Is A Head Injury?
- Financial Issues From Head Injuries
- Car Accident Cases
- Care Claims Can Happen
- Lawyers Will Value Compensation Settlements For Brain Damage Payouts
- Case Study: £17,000 Compensation For A Car Accident Head Injury
- Head Injury Compensation Calculation Estimates
- No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers Specialising In Brain Damage Payouts
- Find Quality Personal Injury Solicitors Specialising In Brain Damage Payouts
- Call today to find out more
- Extra Clicks
A Guide To Calculate Compensation For A Car Accident Head Injury
We hope to take some of the apprehension and confusion out of launching a compensation claim against another driver. Also how a No Win No Fee personal injury lawyer could be a wise choice to help you pursue your claim.
We‘ll look at the duty of care and concentrate on liability in road traffic accidents (RTA’s). These principles also apply to accidents in the workplace and public liability claims. We will discuss the laws that seek to protect you, the evidence you will need to support a claim and the two types of damages you could seek.
We will conclude by advising you what to look for in a personal injury solicitor and how Public
Interest Lawyers could help with that.
What Is A Head Injury?
Anything that causes impact above the neck is considered a head injury, and given the vastly complex and delicate nature of the human brain, any damage can be very difficult to define or predict. The NHS gives advice about head injuries and how they can be diagnosed and treated, but if you have suffered impact during a car collision and it affected your head, it’s essential to seek immediate medical advice and closely monitor symptoms.
Concussion, nausea, memory loss, disorientation and loss of consciousness can all be signs of a head injury. Severe cases can involve speech impediments, personality alterations, seizures and death. Any of these injuries can occur all too easily in a serious road accident.
In order to have a successful claim, you must first prove that you were owed a duty of care. Secondly, you must establish that this duty was subsequently breached. And finally, your suffering must be a consequence of such a breach. We demonstrate this below.
- The Health and Safety At Work etc Act 1974 instructs employers to create and maintain the safest possible standards in the workplace with correct training, good information and attention to onsite maintenance.
- The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 seeks to ensure that any area accessible to the public is as hazard-free as possible. This includes any areas run by the local authority, so streets, parks, beaches and municipal areas are included here.
- The Highway Code set rules for all road users to show a duty of care to each other, regardless of the age or experience of the driver. These rules urge motorists to drive with the assumption that some other road users will not show the requisite standard of care when driving.
Financial Issues From Head Injuries
Head injuries are very complex. A small bump could trigger a more serious consequence than a larger wound. The nature of the human brain is still not fully understood and depending on the severity of your injuries, the differing impact on your life could be huge.
There are hidden and obvious costs to a sudden accident that affects your brain. Your ability to work, function, look after children and attend to daily tasks can all become compromised. There could suddenly be many expenses you are responsible for, directly costing you money that you may not have.
A No Win No Fee personal injury lawyer can help here. You should track and record all of these expenses and keep them as proof to use in your compensation case. You could win back all these costs from the defendant and prevent additional damage to your finances as you recover.
Car Accident Cases
Sadly, road traffic accidents that involve serious injury or death are common. We do not know from statistics which accidents could have been avoided and which not. If you suffered harm to your head because of the negligent or reckless driving of others, you could have a legal right to start a claim and seek brain damage payouts.
Whether you were involved in a collision as a driver or pedestrian, you can refer to this link to government advice to get more information. You can also call our friendly team for a no-obligation, free advice conversation about your grounds for a negligence case. If you have evidence that someone acted in a way that harmed you, you could be entitled to compensation. To find out more about brain injury payouts get in touch with our team.
Care Claims Can Happen
If you need support after your accident, it may need to come from either family or paid carers. Our example case study below focuses on someone who recovered well but still needed help during her recovery which resulted-in expensive costs.
The courts recognise invoices from family members that demonstrate hourly-rate services performed on your behalf. You can also self-fund your own care if necessary. However, it can add up to a prohibitive sum that will soon eat into savings or create debt for you.
A No Win No Fee personal injury lawyer will show you how to properly track these expenses and retain proof in the form of receipts or bills that can be presented as part of your evidence against the defendant. It is vital you have proof of expenses or losses you want to claim back. Without them, they may be difficult to prove.
Lawyers Will Value Compensation Settlements For Brain Damage Payouts
How exactly are brain damage payouts calculated? The first essential part of any compensation claim is a medical assessment. If the courts can see that your injuries were the direct result of the accident and not a prior or long-standing medical condition, it can really support your claim.
General and Special Damages in Brain Damage Payouts
Following the results of the medical assessment, your solicitor, if you choose to use one, could then go on to seek two types of damages on your behalf, general and special. General damages seek to apply a monetary value to the pain and suffering your injuries have caused you.
Brain damages rank amongst the highest awards that can be awarded in compensation claims The Judicial College Guidelines awards start at around £2,070 for a minor brain injury with full recovery up to £379,100 for life-altering brain injuries of the most severe nature. These figures only reflect general damages. The award could be much more substantial once special damages have also been added.
Special damages aim to gather together all the out-of-pocket expenses you incurred because of the accident and subsequent injuries it caused. Anything that you can prove was a lost financial amount as a result of being a victim to injuries that were not your fault can be included, such as:
- Lost earnings if you had to take time off work
- Cancelled holidays or bookings
- Travel expenses
- Missed work opportunities
- Damage to personal property during the accident
- Physiotherapy, counselling or rehabilitation
- Childcare costs
- Personal care costs
- Impact on pension schemes
There may be other special damages you could claim and if you have an accident that wasn’t your fault, speak to our team for guidance.
Case Study: £17,000 Compensation For A Car Accident Head Injury
It was supposed to be a special occasion and Miss. Daniels decided to take a taxi to the event. The moment she set foot in the taxi she was unsure about the driver who seemed to be rather impatient and irate. Time was against her, so she gave him directions and fastened her seat belt.
During the course of the journey, the private hire taxi driver was taking some worrying risks with speeding and aggression towards other road users. This finally culminated in a collision when he mounted the pavement and scuffed a lamp post on the side Miss Daniels was sitting. She suffered injuries when her head banged against the window.
The police were called and an ambulance took her to the hospital where she was given a brain scan for any internal bleeding. She was diagnosed with having a concussion. After a stay overnight she was allowed to go home but needed care from her family. As she recovered slowly, Miss Daniels grew more and more outraged that she had been subjected to this unnecessary injury. She decided to seek advice about making a personal injury negligence claim against the driver.
Brain Damage Payouts
She had never used a solicitor before and lacked the immediate finances to hire one. However, when a friend told her about how No Win No Fee personal injury lawyers could argue her case without needing upfront fees, she reached out to a firm. The driver admitted liability. When the case was settled Miss Daniels was awarded an amount that reflected her pain and suffering. She was also able to recover all the money she had spent trying to cope with the repercussions of the injuries. Miss Daniels was awarded £17,000 in general and special damages.
Please note that this case study is just an example. It is based on our past experiences of road traffic accident compensation claims. Speak to our team today to see how we could help you.
Car Crash Compensation Payouts – Claim Time Limits
Because Miss Daniels was over 18 at the time of the accident, this meant she had 3 years to begin her claim. This time limit can be found in the Limitation Act 1980. However, if a head injury from a car accident had resulted in Miss Daniels being incapable of making her own claim, then a litigation friend would need to be appointed to claim on her behalf.
Additionally, whilst the claimant is deemed incapable of claiming, the litigation friend has no time restrictions to worry about. However, if the injured party were to make an adequate recovery, then they could make their own claim, and the 3-year time limit would begin from the date of their recovery.
If you have any questions about time limits for claiming car crash compensation payouts, get in touch with our advisors today.
Head Injury Compensation Calculation Estimates
The medical assessment will determine as best it can, the full prognosis and extent of your particular head injuries. Compensation amounts are never guaranteed and can vary considerably from not just the accident itself, but any subsequent and on-going brain issues.
Our example case study focuses on a relatively minor head injury with a full recovery. We have given a break down of Miss Daniels special damages so you could get an idea of what can be included in a personal injury claim.
| General damages | Special damages |
|---|---|
| Miss. Daniels was awarded an amount of £9, 980 in general damages. |
Loss of earnings – £3000 |
| Care costs – £1,500 | |
| Travel costs to hospital – £520 | |
| Cleaner and food preparation £500 | |
| Replacement mobile phone £800 | |
| Cancelled weekend away £700 |
No Win No Fee Specialising in Brain Damage Payouts
There are many advantages to using our panel of No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors. Also called CFA’s (Conditional Fee Agreements) they offer the chance for every claimant to have legal representation if they want it, regardless of financial standing. Other benefits include:
- No fees to pay the solicitor while the case is ongoing, however long it takes.
- If your case does not win, there are no fees to pay your solicitors at all.
- Most No Win No Fee solicitors only accept cases they are sure to have a very good chance of success, and if yours wins, there is only a small fee to pay that is usually agreed in advance
- This fee is capped by law to keep it low, leaving the bulk of the compensation for you
- You do not have to pay this fee until your solicitor has received your compensation award.
Find Quality Personal Injury Solicitors Specialising in Brain Damage Pay Outs
Many people might do an internet search for ‘No Win No Fee’ which would generate a huge volume of results and not necessarily help in your search for the right lawyer for you.
Reviews can help to give an insight into how companies work, how quickly they settle claims and what the communication with the client is like.
Our team will discuss your case and eligibility. We can offer you a free consultation where you are able to discuss your claim with one of our advisors. If our advisors can see that you have a valid case for compensation they can refer you to an expert panel of No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors.
Call Us Today To Find Out
Getting in touch with us is easy. You can:
- Call direct on 0800 408 7825
- Email us at Public Interest Lawyers
- Speak to our friendly team at the ‘live support’ portal, bottom right
This guide set out to offer guidance when it comes to claiming for a brain damage payouts from a non-fault road traffic accident. If you need more advice please do not hesitate to call our advisors. We look forward to helping you.
Extra Clicks
If you’d like further reading on accidents on public transport, please click here
For more details about launching a claim against the council, please click here
For further reading on different types of accident claims, please click here
Support for the victims of brain damage please read here
To learn more about accidents on British roads, please read here.
Article by EA
Publishers LA and NI.