This guide will take you through the process of making a serious head injury claim. We start by covering eligibility criteria that establish whether you can seek personal injury compensation for physical and mental harm you suffered due to an accident.
In most spaces outside the home, a third party is responsible for keeping you and others safe. We look closer at the legislation shaping this duty on the road, at work or in public places.
To give you an idea of what a personal injury claim looks like, we also provide a case study. This highlights how one person received a significant payout after a car accident caused major head trauma.
You can look at guideline brackets for head injury compensation payouts next, and then learn what forms of evidence can bolster a case. Finally, we outline why people with valid claims seek expert guidance from our panel of No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors.
Our advisors can answer any questions you have about serious injury claims and explain if you have grounds to seek compensation – all for free. You can reach an advisor today by:
- Giving us a call at 0113 460 1216.
- Discussing making a claim online.
- Joining us on live chat below.
Browse Our Guide
- What Are The Eligibility Criteria For A Serious Head Injury Claim?
- Case Study: £1.5 Million Compensation For A Head Injury
- Potential Head Injury Claim Amount – What Compensation Could You Receive?
- Evidence That Could Be Used In Head Injury Claims
- Receive Head Injury Compensation By Making A No Win No Fee Claim
- Learn More About Making A Serious Head Injury Claim
What Are The Eligibility Criteria For A Serious Head Injury Claim?
Personal injury claims must establish eligibility first and foremost. You can only seek compensation in a serious head injury claim if third-party negligence can be linked to the accident you suffered harm through. Negligence is defined in tort law as the product of these criteria:
- A third party owed you a duty of care.
- They breached their duty.
- The breach contributed to physical and/or mental harm sustained in an accident.
It’s also important that you bring your claim within the statutory time limit. This is 3 years from the date of the accident. A failure to take action in this time frame could see your case time-barred, meaning you can’t pursue a claim.
An advisor can talk to you about your experience and determine if negligence was involved in an accident you were harmed in. Please call the number above or visit us online to discuss your case.
Can I Claim Compensation On Behalf Of Someone Else?
If someone you love or care for has suffered a serious head injury and has been left incapacitated, it’s possible to take legal action on their behalf.
You could be appointed what’s known as a litigation friend. Under this, the court gives you permission to make legal decisions on behalf of the injured person. This means that you can get compensation and crucial financial support for your loved one.
The next section will look at how a serious injury at work, on the road or in public could occur.
Accidents In A Public Place
Public spaces must be maintained by the person or organisation in control of the land. This could be the owner or the occupier depending on the contractual relationship they have. , This duty of care is contained in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 which sets out the directive to keep visitors reasonably safe on the premises. An accident in a public place could result from a breach of duty by the person controlling the space.
Example: An accident in a supermarket causes brain damage and paralysis after a customer lands on their head by slipping on a spill that the supermarket was aware of but did not clean up or signpost.
Workplace Accidents
Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 sets out the requirement for employers to take reasonably practicable steps that uphold employee safety. If they do not take these steps, an employer may put employees at risk of harm.
Example: A building site foreman does not provide PPE for working on upper floors. An employee is thrown from unstable scaffolding and has a fall from height, suffering a fractured skull.
Road Traffic Accidents
Road users must navigate roads safely, ensuring they and others are protected against road traffic accidents. It is necessary to follow all relevant rules of the road in the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988 to meet this duty of care. A car accident claim is one example of litigation that could emerge from a road user breaching their duty.
Example: A pedestrian is crossing the road on a pelican crossing when a van driver comes around the corner without checking or slowing down. The van knocks the pedestrian down, inflicting a significant head injury.
Case Study: £1.5 Million Compensation For A Head Injury
In this case study, we look at a serious head injury claim made by Jennifer. She was driving on the motorway when another driver lost control while trying to undertake and hit her from the side, causing her car to swerve into a ditch and flip over.
Jennifer suffered a catastrophic head injury alongside brain damage because of the impact, leaving her paralysed from the waist down and suffering regular epileptic seizures.
Her solicitor presented evidence that the other driver was speeding and caused the accident, and the other driver’s insurance provider agreed to settle the case.
Along with compensation for the pain caused, she received a significant figure to cover losses including the cost of a wheelchair and accessibility aids for her home. She was also compensated for a loss of earnings as she was unable to go back to her office job, with the total settlement reaching £1.5 million.
Potential Head Injury Claim Amount – What Compensation Could You Get?
As in Jennifer’s case, two heads of claim can form compensation payouts. A claim settled in your favour would lead to you receiving a payment accounting for physical pain and mental suffering caused by your injuries, which is the general damages head of claim.
Legal professionals will come to this figure by calculating the value of injuries. They may use medical evidence and the Judicial College Guidelines, a document we have used to assemble the table of figures you can see below.
The table features compensation brackets based on figures awarded in past court cases but does not guarantee what you would receive in a future serious head injury claim.
Compensation table
Below, you can find some example compensation awards. Please remember these are just guideline amounts and not guaranteed payouts.
INJURY COMPENSATION INFO
Multiple Serious Injuries And Special Damages Up to £1.5 million and above Compensation for physical and/or mental harm emerging from serious injuries is combined with special damages factoring in the financial impact.
Injuries Involving Paralysis (a) £324,600 to £403,990 Cases of tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia.
Injuries Involving Paralysis (b) £219,070 to £284,260 The injured person is diagnosed with paraplegia.
Very Severe Head Injury £282,010 to £403,990 A higher award would be provided to someone with only some ability to follow basic stimuli.
Moderately Severe Head Injury £219,070 to £282,010 Serious disability is certain, but the degree of disability is among the factors deciding the level of award.
Moderate Head Injury (i) £150,110 to £219,070 A significant drop in intellect is noted and there is no chance of employment.
Moderate Head Injury (ii) £90,720 to £150,110 There is a change in cognitive ability and epilepsy is a risk, but the impact is considered modest at most.
Epilepsy £54,830 to £131,370 The affected person experiences petit mal seizures.
Loss Of Earnings As much as £100,000 and more A claim for funds the injured person did not receive as they missed work while injured or recovering.
Financial Losses In Serious Injury Claims
You could also seek out special damages if you are awarded general damages compensation. This head of claim attends to financial loss resulting from injuries. You have to keep documents like payslips and receipts showing your losses so they can be included in your claim. As long as you have proof, you could claim for the likes of:
- A loss of earnings if you are unable to work while injured.
- Home or vehicle adaptations.
- Travel costs.
- Prescription charges.
- Personal care fees.
Speak to our advisors to learn more about general and special damages and what you can do to present a claim for each.
Evidence That Could Be Used In Head Injury Claims
Proof of third-party negligence and injuries caused by an accident is pivotal to a serious head injury claim. Among the numerous forms of evidence you could present during your case are:
- Records such as your workplace’s accident book.
- Medical records.
- A diary charting your treatment and symptoms.
- Video footage of the accident from, for example, CCTV or a dashcam.
- Photographs of the scene.
A solicitor from our panel could help you in collecting this evidence as well as following up with witnesses whose contact details you gather. This support could be yours with a valid claim – talk to our advisors to discuss this further.
Receive Head Injury Compensation By Making A No Win No Fee Claim
Our panel of solicitors is experienced in helping people win personal injury claims. If you suffered a head injury in an accident and have a valid claim, you could seek our support to make sure your case proceeds smoothly while recovering.
You could be offered a Conditional Fee Agreement, a type of No Win No Fee contract where:
- You do not pay for your solicitor’s services upfront.
- There are also no payments during the case.
- You pay no fee for the solicitor’s efforts in a losing case.
- If you win, the solicitor takes a percentage of your compensation as their success fee.
The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 applies a legal cap to the percentage a solicitor can collect.
You can discuss this and more in a fully transparent, informative consultation with an advisor. Furthermore, find out whether you have legitimate grounds to make a personal injury claim. If you do, a solicitor from our panel could be able to take on your case.
For this free insight, all you need to do is:
- Call 0113 460 1216.
- Ask online about making a claim.
- Open the live chat pop-up and send a message.
Read More About Making A Serious Head Injury Claim
We have a wide range of guides to help you understand personal injury claims fully, including:
- This guide on claiming for a serious injury at work.
- A detailed look at public liability claims.
- Information about paralysis injury claims.
Also, check out these external resources:
- NHS – Head injury information.
- GOV.UK – Request Statutory Sick Pay.
- National Highways – Request traffic camera footage.
Please reach out to us if you have any questions and thank you for reading our guide to making a serious head injury claim.
