How much compensation you could claim for a car crash depends on five key factors:
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How your accident happened;
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The extent of your injuries;
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Your recovery period from your injuries;
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Your prognosis for the future;
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How big an impact your accident has had on you financially.
Let’s take a look at these factors in greater detail:
- How your accident happened
The lesser your liability is for an accident the more compensation you can claim. If you were partly to blame for an accident, then you may have to settle on a 75/25 basis. If you were in no way responsible for your accident, then a high settlement demand can be put forward.
- The extent of your injuries
The worse your injuries are the more compensation you can claim for. For instance, you could get £1,000-£3,000 for minor/moderate whiplash but you would be in line for £10,000-£12,500 for the loss of an index finger and nerve damage on your main hand. The extent of your injuries will be ascertained through a medical examination set up by your lawyer, and it is here that your recovery period and your prognosis for the future will be ascertained too.
- Your recovery period from your injuries
The longer your estimated recovery period is the more compensation you can claim for, because built into your settlement demand will be estimates for loss of earnings. So for example, if you suffered from a badly broken leg in a car crash in the UK, then your recovery period may be six months minimum and you would claim six months wages on top of damages for your injuries. In this instance, you could be owed around £6,000-£8,000.
- Your prognosis for the future
Your prognosis for the future is a forecast of the outcome of your injuries. Using our above example of a broken leg, your prognosis for the future would likely be partial mobility within a few months and a full recovery within a year. The worse your prognosis for the future is, then the more financial compensation you can make a claim for.
- Financial damages
Financial losses related to your accident play a huge role in the amount of compensation you can claim for. The higher your financial losses are, the more you can claim. You can put in a claim for loss of earnings, overtime and all out-of-pocket expenses. In the legal industry a claim for financial losses is known as ‘special damages’. This is separate to ‘general damages’ which is the compensation awarded for your injuries. Combined, special damages and general damages could total thousands or even tens of thousands of pounds.
