If you have suffered a head injury and it was someone else’s fault, you could be entitled to compensation. A head injury can range from a concussion to significant brain damage. This guide about head injury claims will aim to provide information about who is eligible to claim and how compensation is calculated.
Head Injury Claims Key Takeaways
- If someone else caused your head injury, you could be entitled to compensation
- This could be in a road traffic accident, accident at work, or an accident in a public place
- You can be compensated for both injuries and financial losses
- There is a general three year time limit to start a personal injury claim, but there are exceptions
- An expert personal injury solicitor from our panel could help you claim compensation on a No Win No Fee basis
We have a compensation calculator that can estimate potential damages, but we would encourage you to read this guide in full. You can get in touch with an advisor at any time by:
- Ringing the team on 0800 408 7826.
- Reaching out to us through this Contact option.
- Asking the chat bubble below anything for an immediate response.
Jump To A Section Of Our Head Injury Compensation Guide
- Average Head Injury Compensation Payouts In The UK
- Am I Eligible To Claim For A Head Injury?
- Types Of Head Injuries You Can Claim For
- Common Types Of Accidents That Lead To Claims
- Can I Claim On Behalf Of Someone Else?
- How To Make A Head Injury Claim
- How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Support Your Claim
- More Information
Average Head Injury Compensation Payouts In The UK
The term ‘average compensation’ tends to suggest that awards are made in a general way. This isn’t strictly true as every personal injury claim has different elements to it. No two brain injuries are the same, and so the only certain way to obtain an accurate assessment of what could be owed is to consult with an expert solicitor like the ones on our panel.
How We Can Estimate Compensation Amounts
Our panel of solicitors know that two categories of loss, called general and special damages, can make up the compensation award. General damages are calculated by looking at medical evidence and consulting with publications like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication provides award bracket amounts to reflect the following:
- The pain and suffering the person experienced.
- Whether they suffered a permanent or long-term disability.
- The impact on the quality of their life.
- The psychological damage they have endured.
To illustrate what the JC Guidelines say, please see our example table below. As stated, no two claims are alike, so these amounts are to be read as strictly guidelines. Also, the first entry is not from the JCG:
Compensation Guidelines
| INJURY | SEVERITY | AWARD GUIDELINES | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Several forms of injury and Special Damages. | Severe | Up to £1 million plus | Cases where the person suffers several types of serious harm and is awarded special damages for damaged employment prospects, care provision and adaptations needed at home. |
| Head/Brain | (a) Very Severe | £344,150 up to £493,000 | Permanent and profound disability requiring round-the-clock professional care with little meaningful reaction to environment. |
| (b) Moderately Severe | £267,640 up to £344,150 | A very serious disability creating substantial dependence on others because of cognitive reduction and limb paralysis. | |
| (c) Moderate (i) | £183,190 up to £267,340 | A moderate to severe deficit to intellect as well as impact on senses, epilepsy risk and no employment prospects. | |
| (c) Moderate (ii) | £110,720 up to £183,190 | Some degree of intellectual deficit, risk of epilepsy and great reduction (if not total loss) of employment prospects. | |
| (c) Moderate (iii) | £52,550 up to £110,720 | Impact on memory and concentration, small risk of epilepsy and employment capacity is reduced. | |
| (d) Less Severe | £18,700 up to £52,550 | Similar issues to award bracket immediately above but generally a good recovery is made with only minor persisting issues with memory, mood and concentration. | |
| (e) Minor | £2,690 up to £15,580 | Minor brain damage issues that typically resolve within 2 - 3 years or sooner. | |
| Epilepsy | (a) Established Grand Mal | £124,470 up to £183,190 | Instances where Grand Mal epilepsy is now established in the person. |
| (b) Established Petit Mal | £66,920 up to £160,360 | Award can depend on whether medication helps stabilize the condition. |
Special Damages – How They Affect Your Claim
The second head of loss that our panel of solicitors focus on is financial losses. A serious head injury can generate enormous expense for the person and their family. If they suffer permanent injury, they may need to rely upon professional care for the rest of their life which can be extremely expensive. Under special damages, an amount can be calculated to cover these costs as long as you have evidence such as:
- Proof of short and long-term care costs.
- Rehabilitation expenses.
- Evidence of lost income because of the injury.
- Proof of travel expenses to medical appointments.
- Receipts, invoices and statements for the cost of essential adaptations in the home.
Using the evidence presented, a solicitor can calculate the predicted costs to come and ensure they are included in the head injury compensation claim. If you’d like to discuss how they might help you build a more comprehensive request for damages, get in touch.
Using Our Head Injury Compensation Calculator
We highlighted in the introduction to this guide that you can use our head injury compensation calculator to estimate the potential value of your injuries.
It’s important to emphasize that the best way to obtain an accurate idea of compensation is to speak to our team. Our advisors can assess the potential of your head injury compensation claim on the spot, and if strong, connect you with a solicitor from our panel. They can use their decades of expertise to calculate a far more precise estimate of possible compensation than that promised by so many online compensation calculators.
Am I Eligible To Claim For A Head Injury?
Having an eligible personal injury claim for head and brain damage caused by others relies upon meeting the following:
- Firstly, did the third party owe you a duty of care at the time of injury? (We discuss duty of care below).
- Secondly, did they breach that duty of care in some way?
- Thirdly, did this result in you suffering harm (like a head injury)?
Duty of care is a legal obligation on those in charge of certain areas to prevent you from suffering harm as much as reasonably possible. Three main duty of care laws are as follows:
- Accidents at work – The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA) applies a duty of care on employers to take practicable and reasonable actions to ensure that employees are prevented from experiencing harm as they perform their duties.
- Accidents in public places – The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 states that those in charge of areas accessible to the public must implement whatever steps are reasonable to ensure the public is unharmed while lawfully using their facilities to avoid public liability claims.
- Road Traffic Accidents – All road users owe each other a duty of care to avoid causing harm or damage in a car accident as much as possible. To adhere fully, each user must comply with the terms of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the obligations detailed in the Highway Code.
Wherever you experienced a head injury, if you feel others created the circumstances in which you were hurt, call our team to check your eligibility to launch a head injury compensation claim.
Types Of Head Injuries You Can Claim For
Head injuries can vary greatly from person to person, but the following is a list of some commonly encountered injury types:
- Headaches and dizziness.
- Nausea and drowsiness.
- Visual disturbances and flashing spots before the eyes.
- Cuts and bruises.
- Mild to severe concussion.
- Fractured skull.
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) such as Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), which is bleeding from damaged blood vessels in the arachnoid membrane.
- Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) where there is bleeding into the brain tissue.
- Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) where bleeding occurs throughout the brain tissue.
- Contrecoup injury is injury or bleeding on the opposing side of the brain from the injury.
- Closed TBI injuries are injuries to the brain that do not penetrate the skull.
- Open TBIs are injuries caused by an object (either blunt force or sharp) that penetrates the skull.
You might have a combination of these injuries which you could claim for. To be sure, start by consulting with our advisors on the contact points above.
Common Types Of Accidents That Lead To Claims
With these injuries in mind, we now look at some scenarios where a breach of care duty might cause injury:
- An employer failed to ensure that ladders and construction equipment were safe for employees to use despite a fault being reported to them. This caused an employee to fall and suffer severe head injuries.
- Employers on a construction site provided sub-standard personal protective equipment (PPE). A worker was struck on the head by falling debris and suffered life-altering injuries.
- An intoxicated motorist collided with a pedestrian, and as a result, the person suffered brain damage as part of multiple injuries.
- A driver failed to pay attention to the road ahead and collided with a cyclist at a junction. The cyclist went on to suffer a serious concussion.
- Staff in a restaurant failed to attend to spillage on the floor, despite being aware of the issue. Because of this, a customer suffered a blow to the head after slipping on the wet floor.
There could be many other ways in which a head injury occurs because those responsible failed to meet their health and safety obligations. If you’d like to discuss your case in detail, please reach out to our team on the contact options above. Or why not ask the chat box on this screen a question for an instant reply?
Can I Claim On Behalf Of Someone Else?
Sometimes, someone is so badly injured that they do not have the mental capacity to claim for themselves. In this circumstance, a person can make a claim on behalf of someone else. To do so, they must be appointed a litigation friend.
This is a suitable adult (usually a family member) who makes decisions on behalf of the injured person and is approved by the court. A litigation friend can also be used to claim on behalf of a child, as those under 18 cannot start a claim by themselves.
In general, if someone is over 18 and has the capacity to do so, they must conduct their own claim.
How To Make A Head Injury Claim
We now look at some actions you can take to start building your head injury compensation claim, such as gathering evidence and seeking the help of a personal injury solicitor:
Gather Your Evidence
Evidence is an essential part of the head injury compensation claim process. You should gather together proof that shows the third party concerned was in breach of the care duty and that this caused your injury. The following can be useful:
- Any CCTV film of the accident, or dashcam and helmet cam footage.
- The contact details of others who saw what happened. If you appoint legal representation, part of their services can be to collect supporting statements from eyewitnesses to strengthen your claim.
- Photos of the visible injuries and the cause of the accident.
- A copy from any workplace accident book.
- Copies of medical records showing the treatment you received for the head injury, such as X-rays, scans or A&E admission notes.
A skilled personal injury solicitor could help you collect this essential evidence. Call today to see if you are eligible to claim.
Consider Claim Time Limits
There is a three-year time limit for starting personal injury claims under the Limitation Act 1980. Typically, the time limit starts from the date of the accident and injury. Under certain circumstances, this can vary. For example:
- Those under 18 cannot start a personal injury claim themselves. They must wait until they turn 18 to do so, from which date they have three years. However, we stated above that a claim could be started sooner by a litigation friend.
- Those lacking sufficient mental capacity are not subject to a time limit. They have three years to claim from any date that sufficient capacity returns. If capacity is never recovered, there is no time limit.
Also, compensation can sometimes be accessed prior to a claim’s conclusion. If fault has been accepted, interim payments can be applied for to deal with pressing financial costs. Call to learn more.
How Long It Can Take To Get Head Injury Compensation
There is a deadline by which to start a personal injury claim, but once it has begun, there is no set time for it to conclude. It isn’t unreasonable to expect that a settlement is reached within a matter of months if both parties agree. However, certain factors might delay receiving compensation:
- The complexity of the brain injuries.
- The duration of recovery and treatment.
- Whether the liable party disputes the claim.
- The workload of the courts.
A skilled solicitor from our panel could help you navigate these issues and reach a settlement more quickly. Take a moment to see if they could assist you with your head injury compensation claim.
How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Support Your Claim
In addition to helping settle claims quickly, our panel of solicitors offer a swathe of other professional services to their clients. Chiefly, they can offer their services through a type of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Terms like this have numerous advantages to the person seeking compensation with legal help:
- No immediate legal fees need to be paid to your solicitor.
- No solicitors fees apply for work conducted as the claim develops.
- Nothing needs to be paid to solicitors for finished work if the claim fails.
- A minimal amount needs to be deducted from the compensation awarded if the claim wins.
- This amount is a percentage of the total personal injury compensation award but is locked into a legal limit, meaning the person claiming receives most of the compensation.
Why not see if solicitors from our panel could fight to get you the maximum damages today?
- Ring the team on 0800 408 7826 to discuss a claim for a head injury.
- Reach out to us online through this Contact Us option.
- Ask the chat bubble below anything about how to claim head injury compensation.
More Information
As well as the information about head injury compensation in this guide, these other resources might prove useful:
- Here is a brain injury compensation claim guide.
- Also, hearing loss claims, which can be a feature of a traumatic brain injury.
- Furthermore, read about suing the council as an injured person.
External information to help
- Advice after severe head injury from the NHS.
- Also, help from Headway, the brain injury association.
- Lastly, helpful services from Brainkind, another UK charity.
In conclusion, we value your interest in our guide about head injury claims. Our advisors are standing by to assist with any questions about how our personal injury solicitors could assist you after you suffered a head injury.