A Guide To Serious Injury Claims
By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 11th July 2024. Any harm can have an impact on your life, but a serious injury can be devastating and even life-altering. If your injury came about because of an accident that was someone else’s fault, you might be able to seek compensation. Our guide to serious injury claims provides an in-depth look at the process.
Read through this serious injury guide to learn how a case is shown to be eligible and the evidence that supports it. You can also find out how payouts for serious injury compensation claims are calculated and can reflect the significant impact of long-lasting harm.
If you’re recovering from a major accident, you might benefit from the support of a specialist solicitor. Our guide concludes by explaining how our solicitors’ No Win No Fee terms offer legal services with minimal costs.
For even more information about personal injury claims, or to discuss making a serious injury claim of your own, you can speak to an advisor right now. Our free, 24/7 help is available through any of these routes:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Going online to contact us and ask for a call.
- Opening the live chat tab at the foot of your page.
Select A Section
- The Criteria For Making Serious Injury Claims
- What Kind Of Injuries Can You Claim Compensation For?
- How Long Do You Have To Claim For A Serious Injury?
- What Evidence Will I Need To Make A Claim?
- Examples Of Payouts In Serious Injury Claims
- Could A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help Me?
- Further Serious Injury Claim Resources
The Criteria For Making Serious Injury Claims
For serious injury claims to be eligible, the following criteria would need to be met:
- Someone must have owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached by them.
- Due to this breach, you suffered a serious injury.
There are various types of accidents that could potentially lead to a claim for serious injury compensation, such as the following.
Work accidents
An accident at work could potentially lead to a serious injury, and you may have grounds to claim against your employer if they breached their duty of care. Employers owe all their employees a duty of care to take reasonable steps to protect them from harm while they are working. This duty is set out within the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Accidents in a public place
Serious injuries can potentially occur in public areas such as a shopping centre or park. If you are injured in a public space, then the controller of that space may have breached the duty of care you were owed.
Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, parties in control a public space have a duty of care to ensure the reasonable safety of the people who visit it. If you’ve suffered a serious injury because this duty was breached, then you may have grounds to make a public liability claim.
Road traffic accidents
A road traffic accident could also be the cause of serious injuries. If another road user caused the accident, you may be able to claim against them for breaching their duty of care.
The Road Traffic Act 1988 sets out that every road user should take reasonable steps to minimise the risk of causing harm to other road users and themselves. As part of their duty of care, road users should follow the relevant rules set out for them within the Highway Code.
Contact our advisors for free today for more advice on the eligibility criteria for a serious injury claim.
What Kind Of Injuries Can You Claim Compensation For?
There are numerous kinds of injuries which could be considered serious if the effects on the injured party are profound and will last either permanently or in the long-term future.
Whatever kind of serious injury you’ve suffered, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim for it if it occurred because another party breached a duty of care they owed you.
Examples of serious injuries which could potentially lead to a claim include:
- A traumatic and serious brain injury, which could have been caused by a head-on collision with a drunk driver or a work accident such as being hit by a heavy object.
- An amputation of a leg or arm, caused by an accident such as one at work involving malfunctioning heavy machinery.
- A spinal injury such as a serious fracture, which may be the result of a car crash or falling from a height.
- A serious burn injury, which occurred due to extremely hot radiators in a hotel not being covered with safety guards.
- An eye injury which causes loss of vision in one or both eyes due to not being provided sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE).
For more advice on what are serious injury claims and whether you’re eligible to start your own case, contact our advisors for free today.
How Long Do You Have To Claim For A Serious Injury?
As established by the Limitation Act 1980, you generally have 3 years to begin your personal injury claim. This time limit may start from the date you were injured, when you realised you were injured or when you connected your injuries to the negligence of a third party.
Some exceptions apply to this time limit. You can speak with an advisor from our team if you have any queries regarding litigation friends or the claims time limit.
Can I Make A Serious Injury Claim On Behalf Of Someone Else?
In certain circumstances, there are exceptions to this time limit. These include:
- Injured parties under the age of 18. In these cases, there the time limit is temporarily paused until their 18th birthday. From that date, the injured party would have 3 years to seek serious injury compensation if no claim was made for them already.
- Those without the mental capacity to file a claim themselves. For these parties, the limitation period is indefinitely paused. If they regain this capacity, the time limit is no longer suspended, and they would have 3 years from that date to file a serious injury claim if another party did not act on their behalf already.
If the injured party cannot file their own claim, you can seek compensation for a serious injury on their behalf as their litigation friend. As a litigation friend, you must direct the proceedings for them. This can include making decisions in their best interests and talking to their solicitor.
You can be appointed as their litigation friend at any point during the time limit suspension. You usually won’t be a litigation friend once the child turns 18 or the injured adult regains their mental capacity.
If a claim made on behalf of a child is successful, you may have to manage a Court Funds Office account for them. Once they turn 18, the Court Funds Office will write to them to let them know how they can get their settlement. However, should a child require money prior to their 18th birthday, their litigation friend would have to apply for it.
To find out more about the duties of a litigation friend or how to be appointed as one, contact an advisor from our team.
What Evidence Will I Need To Make A Claim?
You could gather to prove that you were injured by the negligence of a third party and strengthen your claim in the following ways:
- Acquiring CCTV footage of the incident
- Taking photographs of the scene and/or your injuries
- Seeking medical attention and keeping hold of the records generates
- Acquiring witnesses’ contact details to allow statements to be taken at a later date
- Fill out the accident book (if applicable)
- Request a police record if the incident was reported to them. For example, a serious car accident in which the other driver was drunk could be reported.
An advisor from our team could provide more information as to the evidence that you can gather to support your claim. Moreover, if you have an eligible claim, they could set you up with a personal injury solicitor from our panel who can help you with this process.
Examples Of Payouts In Serious Injury Claims
The compensation for serious injury claims could be made up of two heads of claim. You will be awarded general damages compensation in a successful claim for any physical or mental injuries that are caused by your injuries.
We have included a table of compensation brackets that have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document that is used by legal professionals when valuing claims.
However, these figures should only be used as a guideline. This is because every personal injury claim is unique and the settlement you may receive could be different.
| Body Part | Severity | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries with Special Damages | Multiple | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Head/Brain Injury | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Arm Injury | Amputation (a) | £293,850 to £366,100 |
| Arm Injury | Amputation (b) (ii) | Not less than £167,380 |
| Back Injury | Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Leg Injury | Amputation (iii) | £127,930 to £167,760 |
| Neck Injury | Severe (ii) | £80,240 to £159,770 |
| Foot Injury | Amputation Of One Foot | £102,470 to £133,810 |
Special Damages In Serious Injury Claims
Special damages could also be included as part of your settlement; it relates to any financial harm that you’ve incurred due to the accident in which you were injured. This could compensate you for:
- Loss of earnings
- Home adaptations
- Care costs
- Medical expenses
- Travel costs
Please get in touch for a personalised estimation of how much compensation you could be owed. They can offer free advice on serious injury claims.
Claiming For Future Losses In Serious Injury Claims
Some serious injury claim payouts may also compensate you for future losses as well as the current and past losses you suffered due to your injury.
Additionally, some claimants might be able to recover pension contributions if they paid into a pension scheme. As with future loss of earnings, this figure can be calculated from payslips.
To discuss what else might be included under future losses in serious injury claims, please call our helpline.
Could A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help Me?
If you are eligible to claim compensation for life changing injuries, you may wish to have legal support. One of our serious injury claims solicitors could help with your case. Our solicitors typically provide a No Win No Fee service under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
No Win No Fee solicitors don’t collect upfront or ongoing payments for their work on your serious injury compensation claim. Furthermore, if your claim for catastrophic injuries doesn’t succeed, your solicitor will not collect a fee for their services.
However, if you make a successful serious injury claim with the support of a solicitor using a No Win No Fee agreement, they will take a success fee from your award. The amount they can take is a legally limited percentage.
Get In Contact With Our Team
An advisor from our team will assess whether you have an eligible claim. If you do, they could set you up with one of the serious injury solicitors from our team. You would then have an expert solicitor on hand to help build and present your case. To get in contact:
- Call us 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online
- Use our live chat feature
Further Serious Injury Claim Resources
Here are some more of our own guides that could be of use to you:
- Petrol station accident claims
- Leg amputation compensation claims
- Explaining the personal injury claims process
In addition, we have included further reading relative to this serious injury guide:
- NHS – When to call 999
- Motors Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) – When to claim
- GOV – Requesting CCTV footage
Thank you for reading this guide on serious injury claims. If you still have any questions, please do not hesitate to speak with our advisors.
