Guidance On Claiming Compensation Payouts And How They Are Calculated
If you have been injured in an accident which was not your fault, have been the victim of a criminal assault or have been impacted by a data breach, our team could help you to make a compensation claim. This guide provides information on how compensation payouts are calculated for different types of personal injury claims, including road traffic accidents, workplace accidents, and accidents in public places. It also examines how claims for criminal injuries and data breaches are calculated too.
Additionally, we examine throughout this guide when you could be eligible to make a claim in each of the sceanrios and how one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you with claiming compensation.
If you would like to discuss your potential claim and receive a free valuation of the compensation you could be awarded, you can contact one of our advisory team members by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Beginning your claim online.
- Or by using the live chat pop-up on this page.
Jump To A Section
- Road Traffic Accident Compensation Payouts
- Public Liability Accident Compensation Amounts
- Compensation Payouts Related To Accidents At Work
- How Do You Calculate Compensation For A Data Breach?
- Criminal Injury Compensation Payouts
- How Do You Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
- Learn More About Making A Compensation Claim
Road Traffic Accident Compensation Payouts
If you have been injured in a road traffic accident which was caused by another road user, you could be eligible to claim personal injury compensation.
All road users must adhere to their duty of care, which is to use the roads responsibly to avoid causing harm. They must also adhere to the rules, regulations and guidelines as set out in the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988. If they have failed to do so, and you suffer an injury, you could be eligible to make a road traffic accident claim. For example:
- You are involved in a t-bone accident with a drunk driver who ran a red light. This could cause you to suffer multiple injuries, such as a severe neck injury and broken limbs.
What Could You Claim?
Compensation for personal injury claims could consist of two heads of loss: general damages and special damages.
- General damages. These damages are awarded to compensate for pain and suffering caused by an injury. They may be awarded for psychological or physical injuries or both. You will need to prove your injuries with medical evidence, such as your medical records.
- Special damages. These damages compensate you for the financial impact the accident and injuries have had on you. You may be able to claim for loss of earnings, medical expenses and other related costs. As with claiming for general damages, you will need to provide proof of your losses. This can be done with documents such as payslips and bank statements.
In order to value general damages compensation payouts for a road traffic accident or any other type of personal injury claim, those responsible for this may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
The JCG contains guidelines on how much compensation may be awarded for different types of injuries. Through this guide, unless otherwise stated, we have taken figures on compensation payouts from the JCG.
Please note that these figures are only intended as a guideline on what may be awarded.
Road Traffic Accident Compensation Table
The first entry and last two entries of this table have not been taken from the JCG.
| Injuries | Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries and special damages. | Serious to severe | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Head injury | Moderately severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Head injury | Moderate (c) (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Neck injury | Severe (a) (i) | Around £181,020 |
| Back injury | Severe (a) (ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 |
| Leg injury | Severe leg injuries (b) (iii) Serious | £47,810 to £66,920 |
| Arm injury | Less severe (c) | £23,430 to £47,810 |
| Knee injury | Moderate (b) (ii) | Up to £16,770 |
| Whiplash injuries with psychological injuries | Lasting between 18 and 24 months. | £4,345 |
| Whiplash injuries | Lasting between 18 and 24 months. | £4,215 |
How Much Compensation Could I Receive For Whiplash Injuries?
If you were injured in a road traffic accident in England or Wales as a passenger or driver of a vehicle, are over the age of 18, and your injuries are valued at £5,000 or less, your claim may be affected by the Whiplash Reform Programme. In this case, you would now make your claim via a different avenue.
Additionally, your whiplash injuries will be valued in line with the tariff set out within the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. We have included two examples of these in the table above.
To see whether the whiplash reform programme may affect how you make your claim or the compensation you are awarded, you can contact our advisors.
Public Liability Accident Compensation Amounts
When you are in a public space, the occupier of that space owes you a duty of care. They should ensure that the space is safe to use for its intended purpose. This duty of care is set out in the Occupier’s Liability Act 1957. If they have failed to do so, and you suffer an injury, you could be eligible to make a public liability claim. For example:
- You suffer a hip injury when you sit on a bench in a public park, and it collapses due to it being faulty and not being regularly maintained.
Public Accident Claim Compensation Table
In the table below, we have included some compensation guidelines listed within the JCG, aside from the first entry.
| Types Of Injury | Level Of Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple and serious injuries with financial losses | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain injury | Very severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderate (c) (ii) | £110,720 to £183,190 | |
| Back injury | Severe (a) (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Neck injury | Severe (a) (ii) | £80,240 to £159,770 |
| Pelvic/ hip injury | Severe (a) (ii) | £75,550 to £95,680 |
| Elbow injury | Less severe (b) | £19,100 to £39,070 |
| Shoulder injury | Serious (b) | £15,580 to £23,430 |
| Leg injury | Less serious (c) (iii) | Up to £14,450 |
| Wrist injury | Fracture or soft tissue injury (d) | £7,420 to £12,630 |
For more information on how compensation payouts for public liability claims are calculated, you can contact our advisors.
Compensation Payouts Related To Accidents At Work
When you are at work, your employer owes you a duty of care. They must take reasonable steps to keep you from harm whilst in the workplace or whilst carrying out your duties. This duty of care is set out in The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. If you have been injured due to your employer failing to this duty of care, you could be eligible to make an accident at work claim. For example:
- You were provided with inadequate training on how to perform your manual handling duties, causing you to suffer a back injury due to poor lifting and carrying technique.
Accident At Work Compensation Table
In the table below, we have included some compensation guidelines listed within the JCG, aside from the first entry.
| Injury Sustained | Seriousness | Compensation Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple seriou) injuries plus financial losses | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain Damage | Moderate (c) (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Less severe (d) | £18,700 to £52,550 | |
| Back injuries | Severe (a) (ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 |
| Neck injuries | Severe (a) (iii) | £55,500 to £68,330 |
| Shoulder injuries | Severe (a) | £23,430 to £58,610 |
| Pelvis or hip injuries | Moderate (b) (i) | £32,450 to £47,810 |
| Knee injuries | Moderate (b) (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 |
| Achilles tendon injuries | Moderate (c) | £15,370 to £25,710 |
| Toe injuries | Moderate (e) | Up to £11,720 |
For further information on how compensation payouts for accident at work claims are calculated, you can contact our advisors.
How Do You Calculate Compensation For A Data Breach?
Any organisation that handles or processes your personal data must adhere to the rules and regulations set out within the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This is because, together, these form data protection laws.
Personal data is any information that could identify you, such as your name or national insurance number.
If an organisation doesn’t adhere to data protection laws, this could result in a data breach that compromises your data. A personal data breach is classed as a security incident that affects the integrity, confidentiality or availability of personal data.
To be able to make a personal data breach compensation claim, you would need to prove:
- An organisation failed to adhere to data protection laws.
- Due to this, your personal data was breached.
- Because of the personal data breach, you either suffered mental harm, financial losses or both.
What Could You Be Compensated For?
Compensation for personal data breach claims could be awarded for your:
- Material damage. This refers to the financial losses the personal data breach has caused you to experience. For example, you may have needed to pay for therapy due to anxiety caused by the data breach. Financial evidence of these losses will need to be presented.
- Non-material damage. This refers to the mental harm the personal data breach has caused you to experience. For example, this could include depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Medical evidence of your psychological harm will need to be presented.
Data Breach Compensation Table
Those valuing your non-material damage compensation may refer to the JCG for guidance. We have used some of the JCG’s compensation guidelines in the table below, aside from the first entry.
| Type of psychological injury | Severity | Compensation payouts |
|---|---|---|
| Severe psychological injury with financial losses | Severe | Up to £500,000+ |
| Psychiatric damage | Severe (a) | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Psychiatric damage | Moderately severe (b) | £23,270 to £66,920 |
| Psychiatric damage | Moderate (c) | £7,150 to £23,270 |
| Psychiatric damage | Less severe (d) | £1,880 to £7,150 |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Severe (a) | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Moderately severe (b) | £28,250 to £73,050 |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Moderate (c) | £9,980 to £28,250 |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Less severe (d) | £4,820 to £9,980 |
For further information on how compensation payouts for data breach claims are calculated, you can contact our advisors.
Criminal Injury Compensation Payouts
If you have been the victim of a crime of violence, you could be eligible to make a criminal injury compensation claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The CICA are a government-funded agency that administers the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.
To be eligible to claim through the CICA, you need to meet the following criteria:
- You have been injured in a violent crime. The Scheme includes some examples of this, such as sexual abuse and physical assault.
- The incident took place in England, Scotland, Wales or other relevant places E.g. if the incident took place on a boat registered in Great Britain.
- The incident has been reported to the police.
- You are within the claims time limit. (This is generally 2 years).
What Could You Be Awarded?
If you make a successful claim through the CICA, you will be awarded compensation for your criminal injuries. They will also be valued in line with the fixed tariff set out within the Scheme. Since the tariff amounts are fixed, this means you will be awarded the exact amount of compensation listed for your injury.
Under the scheme you can claim for a maximum of three injuries. Following the multiple injuries formula, in these cases, you will be awarded:
- 100% of the tariff value for the most serious injury.
- 30% of the tariff value for the equal or second most serious injury.
- 15% for the equal or third most serious injury.
You could also be awarded compensation for your special expenses, some examples including:
- Care costs pertaining to your bodily functions and food preparation.
- Physical aids that were damaged in the incident.
- Equipment needed to help cope with your injuries.
You could also be awarded compensation for any lost earnings, but certain requirements will need to be met.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Table
In the table below we listed some of the tariff amounts set out with the Scheme. Please note, however, that the first entry does not come from this tariff.
| Type Of Injury | Seriousness | Compensation Award |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries plus special expenses and loss of earnings. | Serious | Up to £500,000 |
| Paraplegia | Substantially complete | £175,000 |
| Brain damage | Moderately severe | £110,000 |
| Leg | Loss of both legs. | £110,000 |
| Arm | Loss of one dominant arm. | £55,000 |
| Hand injury | Loss of hand or equivalent loss of function in one non-dominant hand. | £33,000 |
| Ankle | Fracures or disloactions to both ankles causing a continuing significant disability. | £16,500 |
| Loss of ear | Loss of one ear | £11,000 |
| Elbow injury | Dislocated or fractured elbow with significant disability. | £6,200 |
| Shoulder injury | Both shoulders are dislocated and there is continuing, significant disability | £6,200 |
For further information on how compensation payouts for criminal injury claims are calculated, you can contact our advisors.
How Do You Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
Regardless of the type of compensation claim you are making, one of our specialist solicitors could help you. Our solicitors are experienced experts in handling a variety of different types of compensation claims. They can assess the eligibility of your case, help assist you through the claiming process and negotiate your compensation payout.
Furthermore, one of our solicitors could help you claim on a No Win No Fee basis through a Conditional Fee Agreement. Under this agreement, a solicitor offers their services to you without you haveing to pay for them:
- Prior to the claim starting.
- During the claims process.
- In the event of an unsuccessful claim.
If you are awarded compensation, your solicitor will deduct a percentage of this as a success fee. The percentage which can be deducted as a success fee is legally capped.
For more information on how our No Win No Fee solicitors can help their clients with securing compensation payouts, you can contact our advisors:
- Call a member of our team on 0800 073 8804
- Start your claim online.
- Use our live support chat.
Learn More About Making A Compensation Claim
Additional compensation claims guides by us:
- Here, you can find out who pays your damages for an accident at work.
- If your road traffic accident involved an uninsured driver you can find out how to claim compensation in this guide.
- Guidance on claiming compensation if you fell in the street and injured yourself.
Here, you can find more supporting resources.
- Guidance on claiming statutory sick pay from Gov.UK.
- Guidance on claiming compensation after an accident from Gov.UK.
- Information regarding different mental health conditions from the NHS.
If you have any questions regarding how compensation payouts are calculated for various claims, you can contact our advisors.
