Have you ever considered how much compensation could be available if an accident that caused your injury was not your responsibility? In Scotland, when someone becomes injured, they may be entitled to seek financial aid in the form of compensation. This article explains how this amount is determined in Personal Injury Claims Glasgow; this could vary depending on things like how your life changes due to injury as well as medical costs and other impacts such as job and future healthcare needs; each situation varies, meaning how much compensation may be awarded can differ widely depending on its details.
How is Compensation Calculated in a Personal Injury Claim Glasgow?
When someone gets hurt and makes a personal injury claim in Glasgow, their primary focus should not be the amount of money they might get; instead, they should focus on what matters the most: getting better and receiving appropriate treatment or assistance. A lawyer from our panel who is familiar with such cases could ensure their injured client receives optimal care and rehabilitation.
Once the initial steps of legal proceedings and rehabilitation are taken care of, it’s time to calculate compensation and the value of the claim. When doing this in Scotland, there are three main aspects to take into consideration when calculating how much someone might get:
General Damages:
When someone gets hurt due to someone else’s mistake, they can seek compensation in Scotland for their injuries and help ease any discomfort related to it. Compensation is money paid to make up for injury or loss, so it provides assistance as well as coverage of expenses related to their accident.
General Damages refer to any financial compensation paid out due to pain and distress caused by an injury as well as for ways it reduces enjoyment in life.
Working out how much General Damage an individual should get can be difficult, depending on how severe their injury was and its effect. Scotland uses “solatium,” an informal personal injury payout guide that assists courts with this decision by offering ranges of money that might be appropriate.
Say someone suffers a minor injury that heals in three months. The guide might say they should get around £1,750. But if someone has a more serious injury, like whiplash, they might get more money. One case gave a delivery driver £3,000 because his injury affected his sports activities for five to six months.
The guide also discusses new rules for certain injuries, like chronic pain, and advises on smaller personal injury awards. Plus, there are special rules for how much money someone might get if they die quickly after getting injured.
Every year, the guide gets updated to make sure it’s fair.
The exact amount of money someone gets for General Damages can vary a lot. It’s best to talk to a lawyer from our panel as they know about personal injury cases and understand what might be possible.
Special Damages:
When someone is hurt in an accident that is not their responsibility, they may receive money to aid with their recovery. We previously covered General damages, which cover pain and suffering related to injuries sustained; now let’s focus on Special damages, which include extra payments that go beyond General damages alone.
Past Special Damages:
Past Special Damages are damages related to money you have lost because of an injury from the time it happened until your case is settled or goes to court, such as lost income, medical costs, and rehabilitation services. They can include numerous things, for instance:
Lost Wages: If an injury prevented you from working, compensation can be claimed for lost wages.
Medical Costs: All money spent on doctors, treatments, or therapies to aid recovery could also count as medical expenses.
Help from Friends and Family: If friends or family were there for you during an accident, money might be awarded as compensation to show appreciation for their time and efforts.
Broken or Lost Items: When items were damaged in an accident, any compensation received can help to replace or repair them.
To secure this money, you must present proof, such as receipts, medical records, or witness statements. Your lawyer can assist with gathering this data and calculating what amount should be granted to you.
Future Special Damages:
Future Special Damages refer to money that you will need in the future due to your injury. Estimating what this might entail can be tricky; here are some items that might come under this:
Ongoing Care: If additional treatments or therapies will be necessary in the future, money can be requested to cover those costs.
Future Earnings: If an injury prevents you from working as much or at all in future years, money may be awarded as compensation for lost wages.
Long-Term Assistance: Should long-term assistance become necessary due to chronic condition management needs, compensation may also be available as payment for this help.
Ascertaining how much money you will require in the future requires consulting experts such as doctors or care specialists. They will help identify what needs will arise and their projected costs; your lawyer can then use this information to request the appropriate amount from insurers and demand payment from them accordingly.
Past and Future Special Damages are essential to your compensation package, ensuring you do not face financial strain due to an injury while giving you the support to get on with life after receiving medical care.
Different Kinds of Personal Injury Compensation:
1. Solatium/General Damages:
General Damages, known in Scotland as Solatium, refer to an individual’s physical pain and emotional anguish caused by injury and disease. Surprisingly, legal systems offer compensation through price lists, which help calculate personal injury claim value; such figures typically fall within certain ranges – for more precise advice regarding what your compensation could actually be worth, contact us for assistance with this claim.
Head injuries pose the highest risk for brain damage, and compensation may range anywhere between £2,000 to £13,000 for minor injuries and up to £430,000 for more severe or permanent ones. Mental or psychological injuries can also vary widely, with temporary harm typically resulting in claims between £1,500 and £6,000 and more severe or permanent injuries potentially reaching up to £115,000.
Upper body injuries, including those to the neck and shoulders, could bring compensation of between £4,000 to £8,000 in cases involving minor wounds; for more severe injuries that risk spinal damage or are extremely painful, such as back injuries, could reach upwards of £160,000.
Arm, hand and wrist injuries can be difficult to assess, given their potential loss of function. Less severe injuries might earn between £3,000 and £5,000 compensation, while permanent disabilities could receive between £39,000 to £130,000 compensation.
Lower body injuries to ankles, knees, hips and legs will depend upon their seriousness when it comes to compensation claims. Less serious cases with an increased chance of recovery typically get compensation ranging between £3,000 to £12,000, while more serious incidents causing permanent disability or constant pain could reach £135,000 or beyond.
2. Claims for Loss of Earnings:
If someone cannot work due to being incapacitated due to illness or accident, they have the legal right to seek compensation by making what’s known as a claim for loss of earnings. Lawyers assisting these claimants consult medical doctors as to when the injured individual might return to work before starting the court proceedings and seeking an equitable award of money to cover their past and future loss of earnings.
3. Out-of-pocket expenses (OPExp):
Out-of-pocket expenses refer to any costs you are personally responsible for in relation to an injury. These might include travel costs, if necessary, to attend medical appointments and treatments; extra living expenses that result from injuries should also be counted. Any costs related to recovery efforts can also be included as out-of-pocket expenses and can later be reimbursed through settlement awards.
4. Services Compensation Plans (SCPs):
Services compensation provides money for people in need of extra care following injury. This care can come in the form of professional services or, sometimes, family caretakers; for example, if you require help with everyday tasks such as cooking or personal care assistance, you could seek services compensation as reimbursement; it helps provide the necessary support needed to manage and recover from injuries more successfully.
5. Loss of Society:
These types of compensation payments are intended for small groups, like those who have lost a spouse, child or parent due to an accident. When such deaths happen unexpectedly, their family might be eligible to request money as compensation from those responsible – in most cases, this amount will be calculated using formulas developed by No Win No Fee Solicitors Glasgow.
6. Loss of Support:
After the death of someone providing financial support, their relatives can seek financial compensation in order to offset this loss of assistance. For example, if an only earner of a family passes away and leaves behind a widow and children, that could seek such damages.
If you’ve been hurt and want to know how much compensation you could get, reach out to our expert advisors today at 0141 2809789 for free initial consultation.