When a Claimant has suffered an injury which is the result of the negligence of a third party, the Claimant is entitled to recover what are known as damages. This is generally known as compensation.
Damages consist of two strands, the first is known as General Damages. General Damages are for the pain and suffering experienced by the Claimant as a result of the accident. The amount of General Damages can only be assessed once the Claimant has been examined for an independent report by a medical expert. The expert needs to be suitably qualified in the type of injury the Claimant has sustained. Often the Claimant has sustained several types of injuries which would necessitate the instruction of several different types of medical experts. For instance, if the Claimant has sustained a bone injury, then a Consultant orthopaedic surgeon would be instructed and the Claimant has sustained a neurological injury then a Consultant neurologist or Consultant neurosurgeon would be suitable to be instructed.
Once all of the medical evidence has been obtained then an assessment of the value can be considered. The first step would be to consider the general type of amount of awards and these are set out in the Judicial College Guidelines. These guidelines give broad amounts for all types of injuries to the body. The next step would be to consider similar reported cases which were decided by a Court.
The second strand of damages are known as Special Damages. Special Damages are all of the losses and expenses that the Claimant has suffered as a result of the injury and will be likely to suffer in the future. Special Damages often make up the largest element of the damages claimed due to the fact that the damages can be claimed for the future losses and not just past losses, therefore if someone who is working suffers an accident when he or she is relatively young and is unable to work in the future then that person’s future loss of earnings will be claimable. Other elements to be included in the Claimant’s losses are for the cost of care provided by the Claimant’s husband/wife/partner/family/friends. This again can be a considerable amount if future care is considered.