5 Significant Factors Determining the Size of Your Personal Injury Compensation Claim

Peter had just been involved in a road accident, which left him with a broken hand. The accident was the fault of the driver who hit Peter’s car and Peter thought about filing a compensation claim to get compensation for his injury and trauma. But he had no way of knowing how much he would get for his claim as this was his first personal injury claim case.

Compensation claim money is not paid out randomly, despite how it appears to laypeople. Insurance companies calculate the compensation claim using complicated formula. These formulas involve many variables and interpretation, which is just one of the reasons you need an experienced lawyer to help you win the compensation you deserve. Here are some of the factors that determine the size of a compensation claim.

Factor 1: Medical expenses
This is the easiest factor to calculate. Simply take all the total medical bills and add them up. And that means all of them: emergency room fees, doctors' visits, hospitalisation charges, X-rays and other tests, medicines, cost of transport to doctors. When in doubt about a bill, include it, and let your attorney decide for you.

Factor 2: Lost income
Peter's broken hand meant he could not work for a full month, which meant loss of salary for a month. This can and should be part of the claim. However, lost income is not easy to calculate if you have your own business. Usually, in this case you have to base your calculations on a combination of previous earnings and future expectations. Discuss this with your attorney.

Factor 3: Permanent disfigurement or disability
If your accident leaves you disfigured, you definitely deserve compensation. The best example of this is if you are an actor, or work in any industry where your appearance matters (hospitality, sales, training, etc.). In such professions, disfigurement can result in reduction or complete loss of income. Compensation helps to make up for the income lost. In the case of disability, it’s easy to calculate your claim amount by figuring out your future income and the reduction of that income because of the accident.

Factor 4: Property damage
Repairing or replacing any property damaged in an accident also makes up part of your compensation claim. For example, in a road accident, the person causing the accident has to pay part or all of your car repair bill, or replace your car if it is totalled.

Factor 5: Degree of fault
In all claims filed, the actual amount you receive depends on your degree of fault i.e. your role in causing the accident. This can range from 0% (no fault) to 100% (completely at fault). The calculated claim amount is multiplied by the degree of fault to arrive at the final figure paid to you. For example, if the claim amount is 1 million pounds, and your fault is 50%, then you will receive half a million.

Diana Joseph has an in-depth knowledge in dealing with in injury claims. She has written numerous articles on injury claims and accident compensation uk issues, particularly those involving car accident and other topics of claims.