There’s no definitive answer to the question of how much compensation you could receive, especially during the early stages of a personal injury compensation claim. In the early stage of the claims process, we won’t yet have enough information for it to be helpful for us to quote settlement value estimates, as it would be all too easy to be incorrect. It’s completely natural for people who are considering making a claim for personal injury compensation to ask how much their claim may be worth, but without knowing the full extent of the injuries and losses (special damages) that the claimant has sustained, it isn’t possible to give anything more than a rough estimate of the possible value of their compensation settlement.
Compensation for the injury itself
A reliable estimate of an injury compensation claim settlement valuation can be given later in the no win no fee claims process. This will be done by your specialist injury compensation solicitor once they have viewed the relevant medical records relating to the injuries sustained and read a full report of the injuries, medical treatment given, further treatments required and a long term prognosis for your full recovery or otherwise. This report will come from an expert medical assessor after they have examined you and discussed your accident, injuries and current state of health. Until this step of the claims process nobody can accurately value your claim.
Depending on the above, your solicitor will then refer to guidelines issued by the courts as to what level of compensation you can expect, and let you know.
Average injury claim payouts
The lists below are a guide to how much you might be able to claim for your injury. It does not include amounts for “special damages”, for example, loss of earnings, expenses or medical treatment.
Head and Face Injury Compensation Values
| Part Of Body | Severity | Compensation Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Minor eg: no brain damage | £1,600 to £9,700 |
| Head | Serious eg: lasting changes | £11,600 to £214,300 |
| Head | Severe eg: full-time care | £214,300 to £307,000 |
| Eyes | Minor eg: temporary vision problems | £1,650 to £6,700 |
| Eyes | Serious eg: lost sight in one eye | £6,900 to £50,000 |
| Eyes | Severe eg: near or total blindness | £80,500 to £204,200 |
| Ears | Minor eg: partial hearing loss | £5,300 to £34,650 |
| Ears | Serious eg: hearing loss in one ear | £23,850 to £34,650 |
| Ears | Severe eg: total deafness | £68,950 to £107,500 |
| Face | Minor eg: light scarring | £1,290 to £2,670 |
| Face | Serious eg: facial fracture | £1,770 to £28,950 |
| Face | Severe eg: facial disfigurement | £13,700 to £74,500 |
Upper Body Injury Compensation Values
| Part Of Body | Severity | Compensation Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Neck | Minor eg: whiplash | £1,850 to £6,050 |
| Neck | Serious eg: fractures or dislocation | £29,300 to £42,500 |
| Neck | Severe eg: partial or total paralysis | £34,570 to £112,800 |
| Back | Minor eg: strains or soft tissue damage | £300 to £9,450 |
| Back | Serious eg: permanent pain | £9,450 to £29,500 |
| Back | Severe eg: partial or total paralysis | £29,450 to £122,300 |
| Shoulder | Minor eg: pain for less than two years | £300 to £6,050 |
| Shoulder | Serious eg: pain lasting a few years | £6,050 to £9,750 |
| Shoulder | Severe eg: significant disability | £9,750 to £36,450 |
| Hips and Pelvis | Minor eg: recovery within a few years | £3,000 to £9,580 |
| Hips and Pelvis | Serious eg: hip replacement | £9,550 to £29,850 |
| Hips and Pelvis | Severe eg: long term effects, bowel damage | £29,800 to £99,550 |
Hand and Arm Injury Compensation Values
| Part Of Body | Severity | Compensation Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Minor eg: fracture | Up to £360 |
| Finger | Serious eg: amputation | £3,000 to £14,255 |
| Finger | Severe eg: multiple amputation | £6,570 to £69,050 |
| Thumb | Minor eg: recovery within a few months | Up to £1,680 |
| Thumb | Serious eg: tendon or nerve damage | £3,050 to £9,550 |
| Thumb | Severe eg: loss of grip, amputation | £9,550 to £12,740 |
| Hand | Minor eg: cuts and soft tissue damage | £650 to £22,000 |
| Hand | Serious eg: significant effect on use | £22,000 to £47,000 |
| Hand | Severe eg: amputation or loss of use | £47,000 to £153,150 |
| Wrist | Minor eg: quick recovery after fracture | £2,650 to £3,550 |
| Wrist | Serious eg: continuing discomfort | £5,600 to £18,620 |
| Wrist | Severe eg: partial or total loss of use | £18,600 to £45,450 |
| Elbow | Minor eg: tennis or golfer’s elbow | £2,650 to £9,550 |
| Elbow | Serious eg: significant restricted movement | £11,850 to £24,300 |
| Elbow | Severe eg: surgery or disability | £29,750 to £41,650 |
| Arm | Minor eg: quick recovery after fracture | £5,000 to £29,750 |
| Arm | Serious eg: restricted movement or disability | £29,750 to £99,450 |
| Arm | Severe eg: amputation | £73,050 to £228,050 |
Lower Body Injury Compensation Values
| Part Of Body | Severity | Compensation Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Toe | Minor eg: fracture | £4,200 to £7,300 |
| Toe | Seriouseg: ongoing symptoms | £7,300 to £16,050 |
| Toe | Severe eg: amputation | £23,750 to £42,650 |
| Foot | Minor eg: constant pain but no disability | £5,320 to £10,445 |
| Foot | Serious eg: fractured heel or foot | £19,000 to £53,150 |
| Foot | Severe eg: amputation | £63,820 to £153,250 |
| Achilles | Minor eg: weakened ankle | £5,520 to £16,050 |
| Achilles | Serious eg: partial tendon tear | £18,950 to £22,850 |
| Achilles | Severe eg: severed tendon | Up to £29,250 |
| Ankle | Minor eg: sprain or fracture | £10,400 to £20,150 |
| Ankle | Serious eg: surgery required | £23,850 to £38,000 |
| Ankle | Severe eg: major disability or amputation | £38,000 to £52,995 |
| Knee | Minor eg: twists, dislocation | £4,600 to £19,950 |
| Knee | Serious eg: some disability, long-term pain | £19,850 to £32,990 |
| Knee | Severe eg: constant pain or disability | £39,600 to £73,120 |
| Leg | Minor eg: fracture or soft tissue damage | £1,850 to £19,850 |
| Leg | Serious eg: long-term effects | £21,050 to £103,200 |
| Leg | Severe eg: amputation | £74,450 to £214,300 |
Claiming additional losses (special damages)
A large differential in the valuation of injury claim settlements is the element of losses that you have incurred and not just the injury suffered. Claimants must remember that lost wages, other income and personal expenses make up the remaining portion of a personal injury claim settlement value. This is the non-injury element of your claim for personal injury compensation, known as your special damages claim.
In claims of very high settlement value, it is very likely that the largest portion of the claim arise from the claimants loss of income if they cannot work. When someone is seriously injured, they will most likely be forced from their usual salary on to statutory sickness benefit. This can be a very hard burden to bear and is often a big motivation for claimants to pursue their claim. Luckily, if you succeed with your claim for compensation, you will be able to recover your loss of income in full. If you have received certain state benefits, you may want to know if your benefits affect your injury claim. Direct2Compensation can advise you regarding this and many other issues.
Total settlement amount
Values range widely depending on various issues. More severe injuries, with permanent connotations and the losses that this will cause, will obtain the highest injury settlement value. Most common injuries associated with claims for personal injury compensation relate to relatively minor injuries, with no permanent implications from the injury and where the claimant recovers fully within 6-8 weeks of an accident. In most cases of this severity of injury, there are minimal special damages and the injury compensation settlement is usually valued in the region of £1000-£3000. Clearly, where injuries and losses are more substantial, the value of a claim will reflect the same.
If you are successful with your claim for personal injury compensation, be sure to fully take up your special damages claim and maximise your settlement. Contact us for some friendly advice! We know your rights and can help you succeed with your claim.
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