By Stephen Taylor. Last Updated 2nd October 2024. The way in which compensation payouts are calculated can seem confusing at first. A number of different factors will contribute to any given compensation calculations. With that in mind, we have provided this data breach, criminal injury and personal injury payout guide to explain how compensation values are determined in different types of claim.
As well as examining all areas of personal injury law, criminal injuries and data breach claims, we have provided multiple tables with compensation guide payouts for your reference. You will see information on how financial loss payments are determined in the different types of claims.
At the end of the guide, you will find a short section on the No Win No Fee agreement our panel of highly experienced solicitors can offer their services under. In particular, we focus on the benefits to you as a claimant of beginning your potential claim under such a contract.
To get in touch with our advisors and find out more about potentially starting a claim, use any of the contact details here:
- Call us at 0800 408 7827.
- You can also contact us online.
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Browse This Guide
- Compensation Payouts For Road Traffic Accident Claims
- Accident At Work Compensation Amounts
- Public Liability Compensation Amounts
- Criminal Injury Compensation Payouts
- Calculating Compensation For A Data Breach Claim
- How Can A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help You?
- More Information About Potential Compensation Payouts
Compensation Payouts For Road Traffic Accident Claims
All road users are required to adhere to the rules set out by the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. This is how they can uphold their duty of care to navigate the roads in a way that prevents one another from experiencing harm or damage in an accident.
By breaching this collective duty, road users could cause a road traffic accident to occur. Claiming compensation for such an accident will require you to demonstrate another road user failed to uphold this duty of care and caused the accident in which you were injured.
There are two heads of loss that can be included in compensation payouts for successful personal injury claims, these are:
- General Damages: The pain and suffering caused by the accident in which you were injured will be compensated under this head.
- Special Damages: Compensation for costs incurred due to your injuries could be reimbursed under this head. Examples can include lost earnings, medical expenses, care costs or modifications to your home. Be sure to keep copies of any documentation that shows you incurred these losses, such as receipts, payslips, and invoices.
Special damages can only be awarded if general damages are included in a payout.
If you instruct one of the personal injury solicitors from our panel, they could assist you with the calculation of a potential compensation figure. Your legal team can refer to a report generated from your independent medical assessment, which you will receive as part of the claims process, alongside the guideline award brackets from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
The JCG publication details guideline compensation brackets for various injuries. We have used the JCG in all the compensation tables in this guide. Please be advised that our compensation tables are intended as guidance only.
Compensation Table
The top entry is not a JCG figure. The bottom two entries were taken from the tariff set out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 which is used to value whiplash injuries.
| Type of Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation Value |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries Plus Financial Losses | Very Serious | Up to £1,000,000 and above |
| Injuries Involving Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Paraplegia (b) | £267,340 to £346,890 | |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 | |
| Epilepsy | Established Grand Mal (a) | £124,470 to £183,190 |
| Chest Injuries | Loss of One Lung and/or Serious Heart Damage (a) | £122,850 to £183,190 |
| Traumatic Injury (b) | £80,240 to £122,850 | |
| Whiplash Injuries | One or more whiplash injuries and one or more minor psychiatric harm | £4,345 |
| One or more whiplash injuries | £4,215 |
Speak to our advisors for further guidance on how the value of compensation payouts are worked out for road traffic accident claims. Our team is available 24 hours a day via the contact information provided.
Accident At Work Compensation Amounts
An accident at work can occur when an employer fails to uphold the duty of care they owe to their employees. This duty is contained within the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, stating that employees must take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their workers. If this duty is breached, causing an injury, you could be eligible to sue your employer for compensation.
As mentioned, compensation payouts awarded in successful personal injury claims can consist of general and special damages. These are the two heads of loss that compensate for the different ways you have been affected by your injuries, including the mental and/or physical pain and suffering you have experienced and the monetary losses incurred.
Compensation Table
The table below contains figures from the JCG, used to value general damages, with the exception of the first entry. Please use the table as a guide only.
| Type of Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Severe Injuries Plus Significant Financial Losses. | Very Severe | Up to £1,000,000 + |
| Arm Amputation | Loss Of Both Arms | £293,850 to £366,100 |
| Loss Of One Arm (i) | Not less than £167,380 | |
| Back | Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Leg Amputation | Above-knee amputation of one leg | £127,930 to £167,760 |
| Other Arm Injury | Severe | £117,360 to £159,770 |
| Hand | Complete or Effective Loss of One Hand | £117,360 to £133,810 |
Public Liability Compensation Amounts
Parties who are in control of public spaces, legally referred to as occupiers, are required to take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of all visitors to their premises. This duty of care is established by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. If there is a failure to uphold this duty, leading to you suffering an injury in a public place accident, you could be eligible to claim personal injury compensation.
Similarly, to personal injury claims for accidents at work and road traffic accidents, compensation payouts in public liability claims can consist of general damages and special damages.
Compensation Table
The table below contains figures from the JCG, a document used to help value general damages. Please note the top entry was not taken from the JCG. This table is intended to act as guidance only.
| Type of Injury | Severity | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Severe Injuries and Financial Losses | Very Severe | Up to £1,000,000 and above |
| Injuries Involving Paralysis | Paraplegia (b) | £267,340 to £346,890 |
| Back Injuries | Severe (a)(i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Neck Injuries | Severe (a)(i) | In the region of £181,020 |
| Severe (a)(ii) | £80,240 to £159,770 | |
| Severe Leg Injuries | Serious | £47,840 to £66,920 |
For further guidance on how personal injury compensation payouts are calculated, please contact an advisor. They can provide a free and personalised estimate of your potential claim to help you understand how much compensation you could be owed.
Criminal Injury Compensation Payouts
The value of criminal injury claims can be influenced by who you make your claim against. For example, you could pursue your claim directly against the perpetrator, if they have been identified and have the means to pay your compensation. Or, you could claim against a vicariously liable third party. However, you would need to prove they breached their duty of care. In these cases, the JCG as well as other resources can be used to help calculate compensation payouts.
Where it isn’t possible to pursue your claim via these routes, you could claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The CICA are an agency sponsored by the Ministry of Justice that was set up to give the victims of violent crimes in Great Britain an avenue to claim compensation. The value of compensation settlements awarded in criminal injury claims made through the CICA are calculated as per the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 fixed tariff, some examples of which are provided here.
Compensation Table
Please note that the 2012 Scheme tariff amounts given here are fixed and that the top entry is not a tariff figure.
| Injury | Tariff Amount |
|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries plus Special Expenses and Loss of Earnings Payments | Up to £500,000 |
| Quadraplegia | £250,000 |
| Hemiplegia | £110,000 |
| Eye - Serious and permanent loss of visual field | £44,000 |
| Burns - Covering more than 25% of total skin and causing significant scarring | £33,000 |
| Ear - Permanent and total deafness in one ear | £16,500 |
| Face - One or more fractures of the jaw bones | £6,200 |
In cases where the victim has sustained more than one injury, the multiple injuries formula will be applied to any compensation payouts. This means you will receive 100% of the tariff value for the highest valued injury and then 30% and 15% for the second and third highest, respectively.
What this means is you can only receive compensation for a maximum of 3 injuries as part of a CICA claim. However, if you have contracted an STI, become pregnant or lost a foetus as a result of a violent crime, you could receive an additional tariff payment.
You could also receive a payment for loss of earnings if you were unable to work due to your criminal injuries, provided you meet the eligibility criteria to qualify for this payment. Also, you could receive a payment for special expenses which refer to certain costs incurred due to the criminal injury. However, other criteria need to be met to qualify for this payment.
Talk to our team today for a free assessment of your eligibility to claim criminal injury compensation.
Calculating Compensation For A Data Breach Claim
The Information Commissioner’s Office is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights. They define a personal data breach as a security incident resulting in the confidentiality, availability, or integrity of your personal data becoming affected.
The organisation that decides how your personal data will be stored, handled, or processed is known as a data controller. They can also process the data themselves. They can outsource this task to an external organisation, known as a data processor.
Data controllers and processors both must adhere to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. A failure to comply with these obligations can result in a data breach that compromises your personal data and causes you to suffer damage. In these instances, a claim for a breach of your personal data could be made.
What Is Awarded In A Data Breach Claim?
If you are successful with your claim, you could be awarded compensation for two types of damage:
- Material Damage: This refers to the financial impacts of a personal data breach. For example, unauthorised persons accessing your bank card details and stealing funds. Or lost earnings incurred due to having to take time off work to recover from the breach. You should provide evidence, such as bank statements and wage slips, to help prove these losses.
- Non-material Damage: This refers to the mental and emotional repercussions caused by having your personal data compromised. For example, you may have suffered anxiety, distress, stress, depression. Or, in more severe cases, post-traumatic stress disorder due to the breach of your personal data. The JCG can be used alongside medical evidence to value this aspect of your claim.
The figures in this table were taken from the Judicial College Guidelines. This time for psychiatric injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The top entry is not from the JCG, however.
Compensation Table
Please be advised that this table is intended for guidance purposes only.
| Type of Non-material Damage | Severity | Guideline Compensation Value |
|---|---|---|
| Very Severe Psychiatric Harm with Substantial Financial Losses | Very Severe | Up to £150,000 + |
| General Psychiatric Harm | Severe (a) | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £23,270 to £66,920 | |
| Moderate (c) | £7,150 to £23,270 | |
| Less Severe (d) | £1,880 to £7,150 | |
| PTSD | Severe (a) | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £28,250 to £73,050 | |
| Moderate (c) | £9,980 to £28,250 | |
| Less Severe (d) | £4,820 to £9,980 |
For further advice on how data breach compensation payouts are calculated, contact our advisors today.
How Can A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help You?
When you have valid grounds to start a compensation claim, you can discuss your potential case with our team of advisors. If our team determines you have a valid claim, they could put you in touch with one of the highly experienced No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel. They can support claims seeking compensation payouts under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When a solicitor agrees to represent you under a CFA, you can usually expect the following terms:
- There will be no fee for you to pay for your solicitor to begin work on your case.
- You will also not have to pay for your solicitor’s services during the claims process itself.
- In the event the claim does not succeed, you will usually not be required to pay your solicitor for their work.
If your claim is successful, then your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation. This means they’ll take a small and legally capped percentage from the compensation, and you will get to keep most of it.
If, after reading this personal injury payout guide, you would like to speak to our advisors about getting support from our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors, you can contact us for free by:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7827.
- Alternatively, you can contact us online.
- Or you can use our 24/7 live chat support.
More Information About Potential Compensation Payouts
You can read more of our claims guides on a variety of topics here:
- Learn more about how to sue your employer with this guide.
- Find out how to sue for a GDPR data breach that caused you to suffer damage.
- Read our guide to making a claim for domestic violence through the CICA.
We have also provided links to some external resources for additional information:
- You may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay following an accident. You can read more on the Government website.
- Access a range of mental health support and services through the NHS here.
- Read the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance on slips and trips in the workplace on their website.
Thank you for reading our guide on how values for compensation payouts are calculated. If you have any other questions, you can speak to advisors 24 hours a day for more information.