Compensation
How is compensation awarded?
All compensation claims have two parts. Liability, and quantum
Russell Jones & Walker only act for claimants, never defendants.
Liability means establishing the defendant is to blame for the injury. Road accidents caused by driver error and injuries at work where a work colleague does something wrong or work equipment is defective, are straightforward.
With our huge experience of every type of claim we will fight to ensure you get the right result. We may need accident reconstruction experts, or to obtain police reports. We will interview witnesses and do whatever is necessary to prove your case.
Quantum means how much the claim is worth. For the injuries themselves awards go up to £250,000. Financial losses are usually very much greater. They depend on how long in the future the money is needed – so a younger person will usually get a higher award – and what the annual cost of care and loss of earnings is.
The annual cost is multiplied to arrive at a lump sum, although awards based on monthly payments can be made too. Loss of earnings (in whole or part), care costs, equipment like wheel chairs or adapted vehicles, and property costs are included. The final list will often run to hundreds of thousands or millions of pounds.
We know how often family members provide their services to help the injured person, and we ensure the court award of damages includes the value of these.
A summary of a serious injury claim for a young man or woman might be:
Severe brain injury £185,000
Family provided care £250,000
Adapted property £450,000
Loss of earnings for someone
earning £20,000 a year pre-accident £600,000
Professional care and case management at
present annual cost £150,000 £3,000,000
Physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, speech
and language therapy (£3000 a year) £60,000
Aids and equipment £80,000
Transport (adapted vehicle and wheel chairs) £100,000
Court of Protection costs £150,00
TOTAL £4,885,000
