Have you sustained brain damage because of the negligent actions of another person? If so, you may be able to issue a brain injury claim. If your claim is successful, you may be entitled to a sum of compensation for your injuries and other losses. This guide will explain how to sue and claim compensation for the damage caused by your accident.
If you have suffered from a head injury, this may have caused damage to your brain. The extent of brain injuries can vary from minimal damage to catastrophic life changing damage. They may also place a financial burden on you depending on how your injuries need to be treated and the time it takes you to recover, if this is possible. Therefore, if a person who owed you a duty of care acted negligently, causing your injury, you may be eligible to issue a personal injury claim. If you meet the specific criteria discussed in this guide, our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors may be able to support you with your claim.
Key Points On Brain Damage Claims
By the end of this guide, we hope you will know how to sue for a brain injury. The key points you will take away from this guide include:
- How to sue for a brain injury
- The difference between an acquired brain injury or one sustained during birth
- Whether you can claim on someone else’s behalf (including children)
- How compensation may be awarded in a successful brain injury claim
- Information on care and rehabilitation for a head injury and interim payments
- How you can claim on a No Win No Fee basis with the help of our panel of personal injury solicitors
To issue a brain injury claim, speak with one of our helpful advisors today:
- Access our contact page
- Give our advisors a call: 0800 408 7827
- Ask our advisors any questions you have on our live chat
Jump To A Section
- How To Sue For A Brain Injury Claim
- What Is The Difference Between An Acquired Brain Injury And A Birth Injury?
- Can I Claim For A Brain Injury On Someone Else’s Behalf?
- Brain Damage Compensation Amounts
- Care And Rehabilitation For A Head Injury
- Could A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help Me Make A Brain Injury Claim?
- Learn More About How To Sue For A Personal Injury
How To Sue For A Brain Injury Claim
Many different incidents can lead to a brain injury. However, there is a specific set of criteria that must be met in order to have good grounds to issue a personal injury claim:
- A liable party must owe a duty of care.
- The person who owed a duty of care must have breached this duty.
- This breach of their duty must have resulted in the brain injury.
You may find yourself in a number of situations in which you are owed a duty of care such as:
- Whilst you are at work your employer owes you a duty of care to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure your safety while carrying out work tasks.This is a requirement of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
- Whilst you are using roads, all other road users owe you (and you owe them) a duty of care to navigate in a safe manner that avoids injuries and damage. To comply with this duty, road users need to adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the rules and regulations in the Highway Code.
- Whilst you are in a public place, such as a shopping centre, everyone in public spaces is owed a duty of care under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957. This means that the party responsible for the space (occupier) must ensure the reasonable safety of visitors.
If you believe you are eligible to launch a brain injury claim, chat with our team today.
What Is The Difference Between An Acquired Brain Injury And A Birth Injury?
The way brain injuries occur is split into two categories: acquired brain injuries and brain injuries sustained at birth.
Acquired brain injuries are generally an umbrella term for all brain injuries post-birth. When sustained, they change the neuronal activity of the brain and impact speech, physical movement, intellectual ability and mood regulation. There are two forms of acquired brain injury, namely traumatic and non-traumatic:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are usually the result of an extreme blow to the head. They are caused by events such as road traffic accidents, falling objects, falls and blows to the head.
- Non-traumatic brain injuries (NTBI) are usually the result of traumas that are internal to the body. Some examples include strokes, aneurysms, and a lack of oxygen.
However, brain injuries at birth may also result in brain damage. They can occur before, during or after the birthing procedure and have a detrimental impact on the baby’s life. There are many ways they can occur such as:
- Trauma to the brain during birth.
- Injuries during birth.
- A mother may have an infection whilst pregnant resulting in the brain injury.
- Premature births.
- Damage to the umbilical cord.
There is a possibility for babies to recover from the damage caused to their brain. However, in severe cases, it may lead to cerebral palsy, which would require both future and ongoing treatment.
To claim compensation for a brain injury, speak to our team today.
Can I Claim For A Brain Injury On Someone Else’s Behalf?
In personal injury claims, you are required to go through the claims process yourself. However, we understand that this is not always possible. Every accident may lead to a different type of brain injury. One person may have mild concussion whilst another may remain on life-support.
Therefore, if you know someone who cannot issue a brain injury claim themselves, you may act on their behalf. Ultimately, you would be acting as a litigation friend throughout the claims process. This is possible under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. However, if the injured person regains the mental capacity to claim, they must continue with the claims process themselves.
It is relevant to note that you have three years from the date of the accident to issue your own personal injury claim. This is in accordance with the Limitation Act 1980. However, if you are acting as a litigation friend and the injured party regains the mental capacity, the three year time limit will reset. If acting as their litigation friend, you can launch the claim at any point during the time limit’s suspension.
Could I Make A Claim For My Child?
If your child has suffered from a brain injury, you can act as their litigation friend during the claims process. However, if the claim is successful any compensation will not be awarded until the child reaches the age of eighteen.
Alternatively, a child may issue their own claim once they reach the age of eighteen as the time limit will begin then. For example, if a child sustains a brain injury at the age of seven, the three year time limit will begin once they reach eighteen years of age.
To find out if you can act as a litigation friend in a brain injury claim, speak with our advisors today.
Brain Damage Compensation Amounts
If you have issued a personal injury claim for a brain injury, you can potentially gain compensation if your case is successful. Compensation is split into two categories namely, general damages and special damages.
If successful, you are awarded general damages, this means you are compensated for any physical injuries or psychological damage resulting from your accident. The sum of general damages differ in each case. This is particularly true with brain injuries claims as they can be minor or catastrophic.
The team responsible for calculating your general damages will often refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is used by the courts to ensure that your award fairly compensates you for the injuries you sustained in your accident. It would be impossible to give you an accurate figure of what you may be awarded as each case differs. However, here is an example from the JCG of what your general damages may look like. Please note that the figure in the top row was not taken from the JCG.
| Injuries | Compensation Guideline |
|---|---|
| Very Serious Injuries and Other Significant losses | Up to £1 Million+ |
| Very Severe Brain Damage | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderately Severe Brain Damage | £267,340 to 344,150 |
| Moderate Brain Damage (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Moderate Brain Damage (ii) | £110,720 to £183,190 |
| Moderate Brain Damage (iii) | £52,550 to £110,720 |
| Less Severe Brain Damage | £18,700 to £52,550 |
| Minor Brain Injury | £2,690 to £15,580 |
You may also be awarded special damages as part of your settlement. This is for any financial losses you may have incurred resulting from your injury. Special damages allow you to be compensated for money you would not have lost if you didn’t sustain injuries in the accident.
Some examples of special damages are:
- Loss of income/wages
- Additional work benefits e.g. holidays, bonuses, pension contributions etc.
- Medical costs
- Travel costs
- Home adjustments e.g. ramps, stairlifts etc.
- Carers
To be awarded special damages, you must show evidence of your financial losses. Here is a list of evidence that you may show:
-
- Pay slips
- Bank statements
- Medical bills
- Receipts
To issue a brain injury claim, discuss your accident with our team today.
Care and Rehabilitation For A Head Injury
All brain injuries may have some kind of impact on your life. However, the more serious injuries may require you to attend rehabilitation or have care and support. In some cases, it is often too early to determine the extent of the injuries. Therefore, the time length of time or intensity of rehabilitation is often not known until months after the accident.
The purpose of rehabilitation after sustaining a brain injury is to retrain the brain to function in an alternative way. Therefore, depending on the extent of your injuries, you may have long periods of rehabilitation and care.
Could I Get An Interim Payment?
It may be essential to partake in rehabilitation following your brain injury. Although rehabilitation is important for your recovery, you may have to pay for it yourself and it can be extremely costly. However, you may be able to receive an interim payment to support you with this.
An interim payment is a sum of money you can request from the defendant in your case. More specifically, it is a sum of the compensation that you may receive whilst the claim process is ongoing. Therefore, they are generally only given if there is a great likelihood of success.
Interim payments are designed to support those who have sustained serious injuries and need urgent financial support. Therefore, if you obtained this payment, it would likely go towards rehabilitation costs and medical costs.
To receive an interim payment, you must satisfy one of the following criteria:
- The defendant must accept liability for causing your accident and injuries.
- You must have a high likelihood of your claim succeeding.
- The court must be satisfied that you would receive a substantial sum of compensation.
Chat with our advisors today to find out more about interim payments.
Could A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help Me Make A Brain Injury Claim?
Have the negligent actions of another caused you to sustain a brain injury? If so, you may be eligible to claim compensation, and a solicitor from our panel wants to support you with this.
Our panel are specialists in personal injury claims, and can use their legal skills to help you gain compensation for your brain injury. Additionally, they can support you through the claim process explaining any important documents and information as well as helping you to gather evidence.
Our panel work on a No Win No Fee basis. Therefore, you may be able to issue a claim through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a contractual agreement you make before the claim begins that determines how you pay a solicitor from our panel for their work. Here are some benefits to CFA:
- You do not have to pay upfront, ongoing our out of pocket expenses towards your solicitor’s services.
- If your case is successful, a small percentage of your compensation will pay for your solicitor’s work. This is a legally capped percentage so you will not pay more than what is agreed with our panel.
- If your case is unsuccessful, you do not need to pay for our panels work on your case.
Contact Us To Get Started
To issue a brain injury claim, speak with one of our helpful advisors today:
- Access our contact page
- Give our advisors a call: 0800 408 7827
- Ask our advisors any questions you have on our live chat
Learn More About How To Sue For A Personal Injury
Helpful Links
Here, you may access further information on personal injury claims:
- Find out how to sue someone for an injury in the UK.
- Find out more about compensation pay outs
- Find out more about the role of litigation friends
References:
- Information on head injuries and concussion, issued by the NHS.
- Find your nearest urgent treatment centre, issued by the NHS.
- Access information on statutory sick pay, issued by the GOV.
We appreciate you taking the time to read this guide on how to sue for a brain injury claim, we hope it was helpful. If you have any further questions, or if you would like to start a claim, please message or call an advisor.