An injury of this kind could happen in a road traffic accident, in the workplace, or as a result of medical negligence. No matter how your head injury happened, the head injury solicitors at Beacon Law can support and guide you through the complex process of claiming compensation, working on a no win no fee basis to build a case showing that your injury happened because another party was negligent.

We know that no amount of compensation could fully make-up for an injury of this kind, but it could make a huge difference to the rehabilitation and recovery process, as well as making sure that your injury doesn’t leave you financially worse off.

If you’ve suffered a head injury in an accident that wasn’t your fault then contact the personal injury solicitors at Beacon Law today. If we think you may be entitled to compensation we’ll do everything we can to work with you to claim the money that could help put your life back on track.

How much compensation could I receive for a head injury claim?

The compensation you can claim for a head injury could range from tens of thousands of pounds if the injury is one from which you are expected to make a full recovery to more than a million for an injury which leaves you needing life-long care. When you make a claim our head injury solicitors will use their experience and expertise to estimate how much you could claim on the basis of your injury and the impact it has had and will continue to have.

In all cases, compensation for a head injury will be made up of general damages and special damages, which are calculated in the following way:

General Damages

General damages are paid as a reflection of the type and severity of your injuries, the pain and distress they have caused in physical and psychological terms and the impact they have on your ability to live your life as you used to. A publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) sets out recommended payment ranges for specific injuries, and examples in the latest edition include:

• A head injury causing some minor brain damage – £15,320 to £43,060
• Moderate brain damage with long-term symptoms – £43,060 to £219,070
• A head injury causing severe brain damage – £219,070 to £282,010
• Very severe brain damage caused by a head injury – £282,010 to £403,990
• A head injury leading to moderate tinnitus and hearing loss – £12,750 to £25,350

Special Damages

Special damages are calculated on the basis of the financial impact of a head injury. They are meant to ensure that you are not financially worse off than you would have been if the head injury had never happened.

The calculation will include an amount intended to cover any earnings or pension provision lost because your head injury limits your ability to work as you previously did. It will also include amounts to cover any expenses directly linked to your head injury.

Direct expenses likely to be compensated by special damages include the following:

• Money that has to be spent on medical treatment or prescription charges, now and in the future
• Money that has to be spent on accessing care needed because of the impact of your head injury, now and in the future
• Money which has to be spent on specialist equipment required due to the impact of your head injury, such as hearing or mobility aids
• An amount of money to compensate for any time which friends and family have to spend caring for you as a result of your head injury
• Money which has to be spent on adapting your home and/or vehicle in order to maintain accessibility following your head injury
• Money which you have to spend travelling to and from medical appointments which you need to attend because of your head injury
• Money which you have to spend on therapy or counselling needed to cope with the impact of your head injury

Throughout the process of making a compensation claim our head injury solicitors will advise and support you when it comes to keeping accurate records of any expenses and proof of what you’ve had to spend. We always work to ensure that our clients get a full and fair compensation payment and aren’t left out of pocket because someone else was negligent.

How long do I have to make a head injury claim?

There is a statutory time limit of 3 years from the date of an accident during which you are able to make a claim for compensation. With rare exceptions you will no longer be able to make a compensation claim once this time limit has passed.

The exceptions to this rule include the following:

• You were under 18 at the time of the accident. In this case the 3 year limit runs from the date of your 18th birthday to the date of your 21st.
• You were ‘mentally incapacitated’ at the time of the accident and this prevented you from making a claim. In this case the 3 year limit will run from the date on which you regain the capacity to be able to make a claim.

In some cases, the 3 year limit will run from the date on which a link is made between an accident and an injury. If you’re not sure how the 3 year limit would apply in your case then please contact our head injury lawyers and we’ll explain whether we think an exception is likely to be made. In all cases, we would recommend starting a compensation claim as soon as possible following any accident, while the details are still fresh in your mind.

How to make a head injury compensation claim

In the immediate aftermath of suffering a head injury you probably won’t feel very much like starting on the process of making a compensation claim. We understand how traumatic an injury of this kind can be for you and your loved ones, and our head injury solicitors will make the process of claiming compensation as stress-free and simple as possible.

Our aim is to build the strongest case possible at the same time as supporting you to concentrate on your recovery and rehabilitation. We do this by breaking the claims process down into individual smaller steps, and guiding you through each step in a supportive and empathetic manner.

The steps to making a head injury compensation claim are as follows:

In the immediate aftermath of being injured you should seek out medical attention. Prompt treatment will stop your head injury getting any worse than it needs to be and increase the chances of making some kind of a recovery.

In addition to this, seeking out medical help as soon as you are injured will create an official record of how and where you were injured, and of the extent and severity of the injury to your head.

You should also report the accident which caused your head injury to the relevant authorities as soon as you are able to do so. Depending on the circumstances of your accident, the report may need to be made to your employer, a local authority if you were injured in a public place, the owners of a business in which you were injured or the police, if your injury happened during a road traffic accident.

In some cases the report may need to be made to an NHS trust, if the head injury happened as the result of medical negligence. No matter who it is you need to inform, your official report will form part of the evidence if you later opt to make a compensation claim.

If you think that your head injury happened because another party was negligent then you should contact the head injury solicitors at Beacon Law as soon as you are able to do so. We offer a free, no obligation consultation during which we’ll listen to your account of what happened, explain how the laws around personal injury claims of this kind work and decide whether it sounds like you have good grounds to make a claim.

If we think you may be eligible for compensation then we’ll get to work on your behalf straight away. We know how stressful it can be to suffer an injury of this kind and our supportive approach will reassure you that you aren’t alone in seeking a just and fair compensation award.

We’ll gather the evidence needed to show that your injury was caused by negligence and to highlight the impact it has had on your life in personal, professional and financial terms. For a more detailed breakdown of the evidence needed for a head injury compensation claim see the section below.

Once we’ve put together a compelling claim of negligence we’ll contact the other party involved in your case, informing them that you are claiming compensation. In the majority of cases the evidence we present, allied to our track record of making successful claims, is enough for the other party to admit liability, accepting that their negligence led to your head injury.

Once the other party admits liability for your head injury we’ll negotiate a fair compensation settlement. Although we always work to settle claims as quickly as possible, so that you can get on with the rest of your life, we never accept anything less than a full and fair settlement.

We know exactly how much you’re entitled to on the basis of your injury, and also how much of a financial impact it has had on you, and we’ll negotiate on the basis of the evidence we’ve presented.

In some cases liability is admitted but the settlement takes longer to negotiate because of the complex nature of the medical evidence relating to head injuries.

If this happens then we’ll apply for interim payments to put toward expenses such as your care and medical requirements until the final compensation amount has been agreed. Any interim payments made in this way will then be deducted from the final compensation payment.

We use our skills in negotiation and dispute resolution to settle the majority of claims we handle without having to go to court. Occasionally this isn’t possible, however, and if your claim has to be settled in court our head injury solicitors will support and represent you every step of the way.

What evidence do I need for a head injury claim?

The evidence needed for a successful head injury serves two purposes – it shows that the accident which caused your injury was the result of negligence and it details the physical, psychological and financial impact those injuries have had on your life. As stated, we can take on the task of gathering as much compelling evidence as possible, including the following:

Your own detailed statement setting out how you were injured and exactly what impact your head injury has had on multiple aspects of your life

The results of an in-depth medical evaluation carried out by an expert of our choice. This will enable us to paint the fullest possible picture of the nature and severity of your head injury and the impact it is likely to have in the future.

In the most complex and serious cases you may need to undergo more than one medical evaluation in order to obtain a full understanding of things like your future care requirements.

We’ll access your existing medical records, with particular reference to any treatments you’ve received since the accident which caused your head injury

We’ll take accounts from any pertinent witnesses, such as anyone who saw a car accident or an accident in a public place. If your head injury was caused by an accident in the workplace then we may want to speak to fellow employees.

If you were able to take photographs of the immediate aftermath of the accident which caused your head injury then these could be included in the evidence we gather. If you weren’t able to do so then we may still gather photographic evidence of the location if we feel it helps to show how and why your accident happened.

If the scene of an accident was covered by CCTV cameras then we will try to get hold of the relevant footage. The same applies to any footage of an accident captured by a dashcam or helmet cam.

If the accident which caused your head injury happened in a workplace or public place we will look for any evidence that the party responsible for safety in that place should have been aware of the risk of an accident, or that they knew of the risk but failed to take reasonable steps to maintain a safe environment

Any paperwork relating to the financial impact of your head injury. This could include bank statements, payslips from before and after the injury, sickness payments, receipts for direct expenses and bills for things like medical treatment and care provision.

Your own personal account of your experiences of living with and hopefully recovering from your head injury – We’ll encourage you to keep a diary of some sort over the post-injury period, since noting details down as and when they happen will help you to build a full and vivid picture of the impact of your injuries.

Can I claim compensation on behalf of a loved one?

Yes, you can claim compensation on behalf of a loved one if they have diminished mental capacity. It doesn’t matter whether the accident for which you’re claiming was the cause of their diminished mental capacity, under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, you have the right to act on their behalf and make a claim for compensation on the basis of negligence.

You can also claim on behalf of a child, and in both cases you will do so in the role of ‘litigation friend’. If you think you might be able to claim on behalf of a family member who is unable to claim on their own behalf then contact the head injury solicitor at Beacon Law for a full explanation of how the process works.

What is considered a serious head injury?

While there is no strict legal definition of a serious injury, it is generally agreed that a serious head injury meets one or more of the following criteria:

• The person involved was made unconscious for more than 6 hours
• The person involved suffered amnesia for more than 24 hours
• The person involved needed to be hospitalised
• The person involved experienced permanent and life-changing disabilities

Understanding head Injuries

To understand head injuries you need to look at the common causes of such injuries and the different types of injury it is possible to suffer. Our head injury solicitors are used to dealing with all types of head injury, from minor injuries caused by a slip, trip or fall all the way up to major injuries as the result of a road traffic accident.

Some of the causes of head injuries which we’re used to dealing with include the following:

• Road traffic accidents leading to head injuries to drivers, passengers, cyclists, motorcyclists or pedestrians
• Workplace accidents, which can cover anything from being hit on the head by a falling object on a construction site to being assaulted by a customer in a retail setting or falling from height in a warehouse
• Accidents in a public place, such as being hit on the head by items falling from a shelf in a shop, hitting your head following a slip, trip or fall in a bar or restaurant or tripping over a loose or damaged paving stone
• Sporting injuries impacting the head could happen due to collisions in contact sports such as football and rugby
• Criminal injuries to the head could happen during cases of assault or robbery

In all cases, the key to making a successful claim for compensation will lie in being able to prove that the injury happened because another party was negligent in some way. If you contact the head injury solicitors at Beacon Law we’ll be able to explain who we think was responsible for your safety in a particular set of circumstances or location, and how they may have failed in that duty of care.

Accessing rehabilitation and support after a head injury

As a family run firm we pride ourselves on providing a fully supportive environment for all of our clients. If you’ve suffered a head injury in an accident that wasn’t your fault, then as well as helping you to claim any compensation you might be entitled to we’ll work to guide you toward the support systems that are available.

Why choose Beacon Law for your head injury claim?

If you’ve suffered a head injury caused through negligence then the head injury solicitors at Beacon Law represent the very best choice when it comes to claiming compensation. We have an impressive track record of fighting successful compensation claims of this kind, handling the most complex and potentially difficult cases in a manner which removes the stress from the process and aims to win a full and fair amount of compensation.

We’ve got more than 200 years’ worth of combined experience when it comes to fighting cases of this kind, and we combine our legal expertise with a caring and supportive approach to our clients. We understand just how upsetting it can be to suffer an injury like this, and we’ll treat you like a person, not just another case number.

We’ll answer any questions you have in a clear and transparent manner, avoiding legal jargon and breaking the process of claiming into simple individual steps. Whenever you have a question about your claim, or wish to enquire about wider support for the victims of head injuries, you can reach out to us for one to one, tailored support.

We work in this way on a no win no fee basis. This means that you can make your claim without having to pay anything up front or while the claim is being processed.

We’ll gather evidence and negotiate on your behalf and will only take a fee if your claim is successful, only ever taking a maximum of 25% of the compensation awarded. We work in this way because we believe that everyone who’s suffered a head injury that could have been avoided has the right to seek justice without worrying about spiralling costs or hidden charges.

Even if you lose your claim the costs involved will be covered by insurance we take out on your behalf, so the only thing you have to ask yourself is whether you deserve compensation for the injuries you’ve suffered. If you think you’ve been the victim of negligence then contact our head injury solicitors today and tell us exactly what happened to you.