Compensation Claims Estimates re new Personal Injuries Guidelines
Where a person is injured as a result of the negligence of someone else, that person may be entitled to claim compensation from that party or their insurers.
The amount of compensation is dependent on a number of factors while it is important to remember that the severity of the injury is only one of these factors.
Where the injured party is partially responsible for the accident, then a deduction will be made in respect of any compensation that will be made in respect of any compensation that may be awarded and accordingly, it is very important to remember that the information set out below is in respect of compensation where the issue of liability is not in question i.e. no issue whatsoever arises in relation to the issue of liability and accordingly the only issue is one of quantum or amount.
How much compensation is applicable to a given injury type?
This is a very popular question which is often asked by clients. However, it is a complex and difficult question to answer but a very useful tool in arriving at an estimate of the amount of compensation any injury will attract is now guided by Personal Injury Guidelines (embeded below) which has replaced the Book of Quantum.
The Book of Quantum is a publication by the Injuries Board which is the Statutory Body set up in 2004 to deal with personal injury claims*. The now deprecated Book of Quantum contained various guidelines as to what is appropriate compensation in respect of all types of injuries, the book was compiled to a detailed survey of approximately 50,000 personal injuries actions from recent years and based on actual court figures.
A court is now obliged to have regard to the new Personal Injuries Guidlines rather than the previous Book of Quantum in arriving at its award.
SETTLEMENT OF CASES
Before settling a case a Plaintiff and his Solicitor/Counsel should consider all aspects of a case to include the following;
- Pain and suffering to date and into the future;
- Loss of earnings to date and into the future, if applicable;
- All items of out of pocket expenses such as medical expenses, physiotherapy etc;
- Medical costs into the future.
SEVERITY OF THE INJURY
The Book of Quantum categorises injuries into four main categories:
- Minor
The injured person is usually fully/substantially recovered from the injury complained of.
- Moderate
Moderate injures are categorised where a person has substantially recovered from an injury but may have ongoing symptoms which may impact upon their day to day lives. However, it is generally anticipated that the injured party will reach full recovery from these types of injury in due course.
- Moderately Severe
This type of injury is categorised where the injured party had sustained a long term/permanent incapacity of physical limitation that impact the part of the body that was injured in the accident.
- Permanent and Severe Conditions
This type of injury is categorised by an injured party who has sustained a severe and permanent injury resulting in major disruption in the persons quality of life and ability to carry out daily functions which result in long term chronic pain and/or may require continuous medical assistance.
MULTIPLE INJURIES
It is important to note that it is not appropriate to simply add the different values of different injuries together as this will not give you an accurate assessment of compensation. The Personal Injuries Guidelines state that the correct method of assessing multiple injuries is by looking firstly at the most severe injury and thereafter making an adjustment value to take into account any less serious injuries to eventually arrive at a level of compensation that maybe appropriate in all the circumstances.
GET LEGAL ADVICE RATHER THAN USING ONLINE COMPENSATION ESTIMATORS
It is important to remember that the amount of compensation set out in respect of the various injuries below are estimates only and will vary greatly from case to case.
They are intended to provide you with an approximate guide to the amounts of compensation that may be payable in the event that you are wholly successful in your claim for compensation*. The amounts set out below are general guidelines only and there is a great deal of variation in the figures applicable to each category and accordingly it is important and in your interest to seek the advices of an experienced solicitor in Quinn Solicitors to deal with all aspects of your case so that you will be assured that no important matter has been overlooked.
In order to arrive at an estimate of the compensation* that may be payable in respect of a particular injury, an assessment of the severity of your injury, the length of time for your recovery and the outcome of your recovery requires to be taken into consideration. When that is assessed, it is important to do the following:
- Identify the category that related to your injury;
- Assess the severity of your injury;
- Assess the value range of your injury;
- Consider multiple injuries