When you begin a claim for personal injury compensation, you may believe that your legal team will secure a set amount of money depending on certain parameters such as the type of injury and how long you will be out of work. This common belief that personal injuries fall into well-defined categories is misleading, as many factors relating to the claim can increase the value of the damages awarded by the court.
Depending on any “knock-on” effects of your physical or psychological injury, the total value of your personal injury compensation claim could be significantly affected. Speak to an accident lawyer for details of such considerations surrounding your case. For now, let’s look at the typical factors that could contribute towards a higher personal injury claim pay out.
Unmeasurable factors
The total value of your claim will be made up of two main contributing factors – namely, your claim will be split into general damages and special damages. The major difference between the two types of damages is that general damages cannot be measured in terms of having a monetary value (in contrast, special damages can be assigned a monetary value – please see below for details of factors that may constitute special damages).
General damages, therefore, include compensation towards any pain or mental anguish caused both at the time of the injury and during your recovery period (including any pain or stress caused during rehabilitative treatments). Establishing a monetary value that reflects the pain or stress experienced as a result of a personal injury is a legal skill that may involve your lawyer looking into medical records and asking questions about any effect on your personal relationships or social life as a direct result of your injury.
Measurable factors
This comes down to expenses that can be proven in a court of law. For example, if you have been involved in a road traffic accident, you may have had to pay for repairs to your vehicle. Not only that, but you may have had to pay for the use of a rental vehicle to cover the period without a car. These are measurable factors that count as special damages and can be billed to the third party. Loss of income is another major proponent of special damages. If you have a steady income, this will be easy to prove. If you have several jobs, such as being a dog walker, a tree surgeon, and a delivery driver, your lawyer will need to look into all of your finances to make a solid case.
