Your claim, explained
What makes serious injury claims different?
Long-term care, work, housing and rehabilitation may matter alongside the immediate injury. The assessment should identify current needs and uncertainties in recovery rather than rush to a final figure before reliable evidence exists.
Organise present needs before forecasting a lifetime loss
Details that help an individual assessment
Begin with the practical problems: access to treatment, help at home, income changes and equipment already recommended. Separate urgent needs from long-term proposals that have not been clinically assessed. Keep a record of support already provided so future planning does not obscure the costs incurred during early recovery.
A final settlement may need evidence from several disciplines. Their roles should be explained and coordinated to avoid repeated accounts or incompatible assumptions. Tell your adviser about benefits, insurance payments and existing care arrangements. Compensation planning should not assume that every future need can be predicted from the first medical report.
Before you contact us
Put immediate support and longer-term needs on the same record
Serious injury enquiries should capture how life has changed, not simply the name of a diagnosis. Tell us about treatment, rehabilitation, mobility, work and day-to-day help. Needs may change during recovery, so the first account should be a starting point rather than a fixed prediction.
Useful information to have to hand
- Keep rehabilitation plans, appointment letters and equipment recommendations.
- Record assistance from relatives, paid care and changes to work or accommodation.
- Identify current insurers, representatives and any offer already received.
A point worth checking early
Do not make major care or financial decisions on the assumption that a claim will fund them. Liability, evidence and any proposed funding need to be assessed first.
Request an individual assessment →Serious injury claims are different in kind, not just in value. Where an injury permanently changes how someone lives and works, the claim must address rehabilitation, care, accommodation, equipment and lifelong loss of earnings, not simply the injury itself.
We approach these cases with an early focus on rehabilitation and interim payments so support is not delayed while liability and value are resolved. We will explain the process, the experts involved and the funding options available.
Find your specific claim or injury
Loss of sight and eye injury claims
Assess traumatic eye injury and sight loss through the cause, visual prognosis and practical needs, with treatment negligence considered separately where alleged.
Discuss this claim : Loss of sight and eye injury claimsSpleen injury claims
Assess splenic trauma, treatment and future needs through the event evidence and specialist medical prognosis.
Discuss this claim : Spleen injury claimsChronic pain claims
Assess persistent pain through clinical evidence, function and the relationship to an established accident or other actionable event.
Discuss this claim : Chronic pain claimsPsychological and psychiatric injury claims
Assess diagnosed psychological harm, its legal cause and practical consequences without treating ordinary distress as automatically compensable injury.
Discuss this claim : Psychological and psychiatric injury claimsPTSD compensation claims
Assess a supported post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis through the traumatic event, clinical history, treatment and legal basis of the claim.
Discuss this claim : PTSD compensation claimsWhen can you pursue compensation?
- You suffered a severe or life-changing injury caused by another party's negligence.
- Typical causes include road collisions, workplace accidents and failures in medical care.
- Claims may be brought on behalf of someone who lacks capacity, in which case different time limits apply.
- The severity of the injury does not change the legal test — liability must still be established.
Circumstances to discuss with a solicitor
- Multiple fractures and polytrauma requiring prolonged rehabilitation
- Amputation and limb-threatening injury
- Severe burns and significant scarring
- Complex regional pain syndrome and chronic pain conditions
- Injuries resulting in permanent loss of independence
- Cases requiring long-term case management and support workers
What Compensation Could I Claim?
- Substantial general damages reflecting the permanence of the injury
- Lifetime care and case management costs
- Loss of earnings and pension over the whole of working life
- Accommodation, adaptations, prosthetics, aids and equipment
- Therapies including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological support
Recoverable compensation depends on the injury evidence, supported losses and applicable claim route.
Evidence That Helps
- A multidisciplinary set of medical reports covering each affected discipline
- Care expert and occupational therapy assessments of daily needs
- Employment and forensic accountancy evidence for future loss
- Accommodation and assistive technology reports where needed
- Witness statements from family describing the practical impact
How Long Could the Claim Take?
Serious cases should not be settled until the medical prognosis is reasonably stable, which can take several years. Interim payments and an early rehabilitation package are used to meet needs during that period rather than forcing an early, undervalued settlement.
Costs and funding for serious injury claims
What to clarify before you instruct
Ask about expert, rehabilitation and case-management costs, and what would happen if responsibility or the value of the claim remains disputed.
Compare funding options and potential cost risksSerious Injury Claims FAQs
Can we get funds before the claim finishes?
Where liability is admitted or established, interim payments can often be obtained to fund care, treatment and adaptations.
Why does settlement take so long?
The claim must reflect lifetime needs. Settling before the prognosis is clear risks leaving future care and losses uncompensated.
What is a periodical payment order?
An arrangement where part of the compensation is paid as an index-linked annual sum for life rather than as a single lump sum, providing long-term security.
Who manages damages for someone without capacity?
A deputy appointed by the Court of Protection, or a trust, depending on the circumstances. We will advise on the right structure.
What information identifies urgent practical needs?
List immediate care, access, treatment and income problems with supporting recommendations. Separate an urgent requirement from an unassessed long-term preference.
Should I keep a care diary?
Record tasks, dates and additional assistance. Include unpaid help while distinguishing ordinary family support from needs caused by the injury.
Can future earnings be considered?
Potential future loss needs evidence about work, medical restrictions and realistic prospects. A previous salary alone does not settle the calculation.
What if the long-term prognosis is uncertain?
Explain the outstanding investigations and expected reviews. Uncertainty may affect evidence and settlement timing rather than justify an unsupported prediction.
Are rehabilitation recommendations useful?
Keep the source, date and proposed purpose. Advice can then consider practical arrangements and funding without treating every recommendation as an agreed recoverable cost.
Can I request advice about adapted equipment?
Provide assessments and quotations already obtained. Ask before committing to substantial expenditure if recovery of its cost is uncertain.
What if family carers reduce their working hours?
Record the change and care provided separately. The legal treatment requires assessment rather than assuming all lost family income is recoverable.
Should benefits and insurance payments be disclosed?
Yes. Relevant payments may interact with the wider claim. Give accurate information privately so planning does not rely on incomplete figures.
How can I avoid repeating medical information?
Maintain an organised chronology and document list. Ask how expert instructions will be coordinated rather than independently sending different versions to multiple providers.
Does accepting treatment funding settle the whole case?
That depends on the agreement. Have the terms checked so a limited arrangement is not confused with a final settlement or release.
Can work retraining be discussed?
Describe the prior role, restrictions and realistic alternatives. Recommendations and evidence are needed before assuming a particular retraining cost will be recovered.
What if I need help managing correspondence?
Agree an accessible communication method and any authorised helper. Difficulty reading or organising papers does not itself settle legal capacity.
Should housing concerns be raised early?
Yes. Explain current access problems and professional recommendations. Keep temporary arrangements distinct from proposed permanent adaptations.
Can a provisional offer be negotiated?
Ask what the offer covers and what evidence is missing. Decisions should consider future needs rather than the headline figure alone.
Are future care estimates fixed at the first assessment?
Not necessarily. Needs and evidence can develop. Record changes and review assumptions instead of treating an early estimate as certain.
What is a useful first serious-injury enquiry?
Summarise the event, diagnosis, current support, work impact and urgent deadlines. Arrange a private channel for detailed records after initial contact.
Speak to our team
Explain the injury and any approaching deadline. We will confirm whether we can assess your enquiry.
Other personal injury claims
- Brain Injury Claims
- Spinal Injury Claims
- Fatal Accident Claims
- Amputation Injury Claims
- Burn and Scarring Injury Claims
Back to the personal injury claims hub or view all practice areas.