Head injuries can be extremely serious. Even a minor head injury can pose a health risk if it is not treated promptly. Have you or a loved one suffered a head or brain injury in an accident which was someone else’s fault? In our guide to head injury claims we explain when and how to sue for compensation.
In our guide you can find information on when you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim and how long you may have to do so. Next, we look at how you could be compensated for your head injury and financial losses. Finally, our guide looks at the claims process and at how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you.
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Browse Our Guide
- Could I Make A Head Injury Claim?
- Are There Time Limits To Make A Claim?
- How Much Compensation You Can Claim
- How To Start A Head Injury Compensation Claim
- How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help
- More Information
Could I Make A Head Injury Claim?
Head injuries could be caused by a variety of different types of accidents. They could happen at work, whilst on the road or when in a public place. Any personal injury claim must be able to show that:
- The person harmed was owed a duty of care by another party.
- That this party failed in upholding their duty of care.
- This failure led to a head injury.
Below we look at instances in which someone may be owed a duty of care and how they could have suffered a head injury.
Road Traffic Accidents
Road users in the UK have a duty of care to ensure the safety of others. They must navigate the road in a safe manner, avoiding causing damage or injury. Per this duty, they must adhere to the Highway Code and The Road Traffic Act 1988.
For instance, a cyclist may be riding within a designated cycling lane. A car could drift across into the cycling lane without checking their mirrors for cyclists. They could strike the cyclist, knocking them off their bike and hitting their head hard on the pavement.
Accidents At Work
Employers have a duty of care to ensure the safety, wellbeing and health of their employees. They must take reasonable steps, such as carrying out risk assessment and implementing safety measures. This duty comes from Health and Safety at Work etc Act. 1974.
For instance, a factory accident could lead to someone suffering a head injury. Poorly maintained lifting equipment could fail whilst lifting heavy materials. The load could fall, impacting a worker on the head. Whilst wearing a hard hat, they could still suffer a concussion and facial scarring.
Accidents In Public Places
The controller or “occupier” of a public place has a duty of care towards visitors. The occupier may be an organisation, a local authority or an individual. They must comply with legislation such as the Occupiers Liability Act 1957. This states they must take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of visitors.
An example of this may be a customer in a shopping centre tripping on a loose floor tile. The occupier was aware of the damage and had neither placed a warning sign nor repaired it. The customer could fall over, striking their head. This could cause a brain injury.
Am I Eligible To Claim If I Was Partially To Blame?
You may still be able to sue someone for a personal injury if you were partly to blame. Where the person harmed was partially at fault, it is known as splitliability.
In such instances the person harmed may be able to make a split liability accident claim. Under this type of circumstance, any compensation awarded would be reduced by the amount that the claimant is deemed to be at fault.
If you contribute to your injuries, you could also have your damages reduced. This is called contributory negligence, and whilst you might not have contributed to the cause of the accident, you have contributed to the extent of your injuries.
For example, it may be determined that a car occupant failing to wear a seatbelt was contributory. In this case, the failure to do so may have contributed to their having suffered a head injury. Any head injury compensation awarded would thus be reduced by a percentage.
If you or a loved one suffered a head or brain injury as a result of someone else’s negligence, you could make a claim. Please contact our team for advice and information.
Are There Time Limits To Make A Claim?
Head injury claims must be initiated within the time limit set out in the Limitation Act 1980. This time limit may begin on one of two dates. There are either:
- The date on which the accident causing the head injury took place.
- The date on which the person harmed discovered they had suffered a head injury.
If you are making a head injury compensation claim on your own behalf, it must be started within three years of the applicable date above, although some exceptions do apply.
Can I Claim Compensation On The Behalf Of Someone Else?
Brain injury claims may be made on behalf of another person in certain circumstances. These include where:
- The person harmed had reduced mental capacity. If the person has a reduced mental capacity the time limit will not be applied. If the person regains their capacity the standard three year period would be applicable from that point.
- The person harmed was under 18 at the time of the incident. The time limit would not be applied until they turn eighteen.
In either of these cases, whilst the time limit is not in effect, a suitable person may act as a litigation friend.
Contact us to learn more about time limits in which to make head injury compensation claims.
How Much Compensation You Can Claim
Having learned when you could make a head injury compensation claim for yourself or someone else, you may also wish to know how much could be claimed. Personal injury claim settlements may be made up of two parts. These may be called general and special damages.
- General damages are awarded for pain and suffering.
- Special damages compensate for financial losses.
Next, we look at how these may be calculated by a personal injury solicitor or other party.
How Compensation Is Calculated
Various factors may be taken into account when calculating compensation payouts for general damages, such as:
- The injury sustained and its severity. For example, did the claimant suffer an acquired brain injury or a traumatic brain injury?
- The impact on your enjoyment of life and whether your hobbies and family life have been impacted.
- The treatment needed and how long your recovery took.
Claimants may be asked to undergo an independent medical assessment in which their injuries will be fully assessed. This report may be taken in conjunction with your other medical records and the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to estimate how much could be awarded in general damages.
The JCG is a document listing guidelines on compensation for different types of injury. The following table lists entries from the JCG relevant to head and brain injuries apart from row one. Here, we illustrate an award for general and special damages for the person who suffered severe or multiple injuries.
| Type Of Injury | Severity | Damages |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple, serious forms of injury | Multiple and severe. | Up to £10,000,000+ with special damages. |
| Brain damage | A - Very severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Brain damage | B - Moderately severe | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Brain damage | C - Moderate (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Brain damage | C - Moderate (ii) | £110,720 to £183,190 |
| Brain damage | C - Moderate (iii) | £52,550 to £110,720 |
| Brain damage | D - Less severe | £18,700 to £52,550 |
| Brain damage | E - Minor injury | £2,690 to £15,580 |
| Psychiatric damage | A - Severe | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Psychiatric damage | B - Moderately severe | £23,270 to £66,920 |
Claiming Special Damages After A Head Injury
As noted, special damages compensate for different types of financial losses caused by the accident. In the case of serious head injuries, a person may be left unable to return to work or even carry out basic and everyday tasks.
Special damages may be awarded for the following in brain injury claims:
- Medical expenses such as the cost of surgery, long-term hospital care or other types of medical treatment and rehabilitation.
- Cost of care. Those who have suffered head and brain injuries may require ongoing care in the home or in specialist nursing facilities.
- Loss of earnings and income. A traumatic brain injury may leave someone unable to work or only able to work in a reduced capacity. Lesser brain injury survivors may still require extended time off work to recover.
In addition, compensation may be awarded to adapt the claimant’s home if they have been left disabled and for the cost of attending medical appointments (travel expenses).
Special damages are not automatically awarded in head injury claims. Claimants, or those acting on their behalf, must provide evidence of these losses.
An expert solicitor from our panel could help advise you about financial losses that may apply to your claim or a claim on behalf of a loved one.
How To Start A Head Injury Compensation Claim
There are steps which head injury claims should follow. In this section, we look at what claimants may do and how one of the brain injury solicitors from our panel could help.
Collecting Evidence To Support Your Claim
Being able to provide evidence which proves that a third party was responsible for the claimant’s injuries is a crucial step in the claims process. Evidence such as the following may be submitted.
- Video or photographs of the accident scene. These may show how the accident occurred.
- Photographs of any visible symptoms or injuries.
- A copy of your medical records. This may show your injury, prognosis and recovery time.
- The details of any persons who may provide witness statements.
One of our panel of personal injury solicitors could assist you in gathering evidence to support your claim.
Choosing The Right Solicitor
When choosing between brain injury solicitors for your claim, you do not need to limit your search to your local area. Today, even brain and head injury claims may be conducted without solicitors and claimants needing to meet in person. Instead, communication can be carried out over the phone and via electronic communication.
More important than where a solicitor is based is their track record in handling head injury compensation claims. For example, have they helped someone to claim head injury compensation before? If so, was this claim successful?
We work with a panel of solicitors who have expertise in different types of claims. When you contact us, one of our advisors could connect you to a member of our panel with experience in handling cases similar to yours (or the person you are claiming for).
How No Win No Fee Claims Work
The solicitors who make up our panel may be able to offer to handle claims on a No Win No Fee basis by using a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). By working on this basis, claimants are not charged solicitors fees before or whilst the claim is underway. Claimants will also not be charged in the event they are not awarded compensation.
If awarded compensation, the solicitor will deduct a success fee. This fee is set as a percentage of the compensation awarded. It is agreed upon before the solicitor begins work, and the percentage is legally capped.
How Long It Can Take To Receive Your Payout
Whilst there is a set time at which a claim must be started, there is no specific time frame at which it must be concluded. The more complex head injury claims are, the longer they may take for someone to receive compensation.
Factors which could impact how long it takes may include:
- The severity of the head or brain injury.
- How long it takes to fully assess the injury, provide treatment and provide a prognosis.
- If the party the claim is made against accepts they are liable.
- Whether parties can agree upon a settlement.
Due to the potentially complex nature of head injury claims and the fact that claimants may face immediate costs, interim payments may be considered in some cases. These are advance payments made from a final settlement in which parties agree upon liability and the amount to be awarded. Interim payments can allow for rehabilitation to take place to try and help the injured person return to as normal a life as possible.
How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help
When you contact us our advisors will assess whether you could make a claim for yourself or a loved one. If they believe that there is a valid claim, they could pass the case to one of our panel of solicitors.
Each and every member of our panel is experienced in helping people to seek compensation for injuries, such as head or brain injury. They could help by:
- Explaining legal and medical terminology.
- Helping collect evidence.
- Guiding claimants through the claim process.
- Handling claims on a No Win No Fee basis.
Our panel can handle cases on a No Win No Fee basis by offering eligible clients a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under such an agreement:
- You do not pay upfront for any solicitors costs
- Whilst the claim is ongoing, you do not pay your solicitors fees
- You do not pay any solicitor’s fees if the claim is unsuccessful
- A legally restricted percentage of some of the compensation is deducted to pay your solicitor’s success fee if you win.
- You keep the majority of the compensation.
If you would like to see if you are eligible to claim, get in touch with our team of advisors today.
- Phone 0800 408 7827.
- Connect to an advisor over our live chat.
- Use our online form to contact us.
More Information
In this final part of our guide, you can find further information on how to claim for an accident. We also include references with further information related to head injuries.
- A cycling accident could cause head and brain injuries. Learn more about how to sue in this guide.
- In this guide, we look at what a litigation friend is and when they could help someone to claim compensation.
- Here, we look at how to sue your local council for an accident or injury.
Further information.
- In this NHS guide to traumatic brain injury, you can learn more about these injuries.
- This government guide looks at taking sick leave from work.
- Find out what support the brain injury charity Headway could provide to those living with brain and head injuries.
We hope that our guide to head injury claims has helped you. Please contact us for further information and advice.