If you suffer a brain injury because someone else is negligent in some way then you could be able to claim compensation. Brain injury claims can apply to traumatic or acquired brain injuries and could involve circumstances such as a road traffic accident, an accident in the workplace or a case of medical negligence.

A brain injury could be life-changing, leaving you with permanent disabilities and on-going care and medical requirements. Any brain injury claim you make could cover the financial impact of the injury, such as lost earnings and medical costs, at the same time as compensating for the pain and distress you’ve been through.

The team at Beacon Law have experience of fighting complex brain injury claims and working to win the compensation our clients need to start putting their life back together. If you’ve been injured in this way then contact us today to talk about the possibility of making a brain injury claim for compensation.

When am I eligible to make a brain injury claim?

You could be eligible to make a brain injury claim if your case meets the following criteria:

• You were in a position of being owed a duty of care by a party such as a medical professional, the driver of a vehicle, the owner of a public space or your employer
• The other party failed in their duty of care to you in a way which means their actions failed to meet the standards you could reasonably expect
• As a direct result of the other party’s failure to meet their duty of care you suffered a brain injury

You can make a brain injury claim if you suffer a brain injury yourself, if you are the parent or guardian of a child suffering a brain injury, or if you are a carer or other family member acting on behalf of someone unable to make a claim of their own.

What are the common causes of brain injuries?

Any injury to the head could cause a brain injury, even if the impact initially seems to be mild. Some of the more common causes of brain injuries which we deal with at Beacon Law include the following:

• Accidents in the workplace which happen because an employer fails to provide a safe working environment
• Road traffic accidents featuring an impact to the head and involving drivers, pedestrians, passengers, cyclists or motorcyclists
• Accidents which happen in public places including slips, trips and falls on dangerous surfaces and being hit by objects falling from height

Common brain injuries caused by the kind of accidents outlined above include the following:

• Fractured skull
• Concussion
• Scars and lacerations
• Bruising

The symptoms of a brain injury could include headaches, blurred vision, hearing loss, tinnitus, epilepsy and permanent or temporary loss of sight. If we make a brain injury claim on your behalf we’ll establish the full nature and extent of your brain injury and work to win 100% of the compensation we think you are entitled to.

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

The amount of compensation you might receive from a successful brain injury claim could range from around £2,000 for a minor injury involving a full recovery, up to more than a million pounds for a brain injury which calls for on-going care and medical treatment. In all cases, the compensation will be made up of general damages and special damages.

General Damages

General damages are an amount of money paid on the basis of the actual brain injury and will depend upon factors such as:

The nature and severity of the injury, ranging from concussion or bruising up to life-changing disability
The degree to which the brain injury has impacted things such as your memory, personality, concentration and ability to work, both to date and over the longer term
The prognosis for any recovery and the likelihood that you will require care, support, treatment and rehabilitation in the future

The final amount will be decided with reference to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a specialist legal publication setting out recommended compensation ranges for specific injuries.

Examples from the latest edition of the JCG which are relevant to brain injury claims include the following:

• A moderately severe brain injury leading to substantial care requirements through disability – £267,340 to £344,150
• A less severe brain injury followed by a full recovery – £18,700 to £52,550
• A very severe brain injury leading to physical and mental disabilities which are extremely serious – £344,150 to £493,000

Special Damages

The rest of any compensation you could receive will be made up of special damages. This is an amount intended to deal with the financial impact of a brain injury by returning you to the financial position you would have been in if the injury had never happened.

The calculation will include an amount to cover any earnings or pension provision you lose because the brain injury stops you from working as you used to or would otherwise have done in the future. It will also be made up of compensation for expenses which arise as a direct result of the brain injury, including the following:

• The cost of any medical treatment to date and in the future
• The cost of any care provision required to date and in the future
• The cost of any adaptations you have to make to your home or vehicle in order to live with the effects of your brain injury. In the most extreme cases this could include the cost of having to move to another home entirely.
• The cost of any specialist equipment you need as a result of your brain injury, such as mobility aids
• The cost of travelling to and from medical appointments needed to deal with your brain injury
• The cost of any therapy or counselling needed to deal with the psychological impact of your brain injury
• An amount to compensate for any time your family or friends have to spend caring for you

Can I claim interim payments for my brain injury?

Yes, if your brain injury claim takes a longer period to settle – something which is likely if repeated medical evaluations of complex and life-changing injuries are needed – then we will apply for interim payments. These can cover expenses such as medical bills and care costs until a final compensation amount is agreed.

What is compensation in a brain injury claim made up of?

If your brain injury claim is successful then any compensation you receive would include the following:

• Compensation for the physical pain and distress caused by your brain injury
• Compensation for the psychological impact of your brain injury, which might include anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Compensation for the way in which your brain injury has stopped you from doing things such as enjoying hobbies, interests and family life
• Compensation for the financial impact of your brain injury, including care and medical costs and any earnings lost because your injury stops you working for a living as you used to or could have in the future

Can I make a no win no fee brain injury claim?

Yes, if the team at Beacon Law make a brain injury claim on your behalf we will do so on a no win no fee basis, meaning that you pay nothing up-front or as we gather evidence to support your claim and negotiate with the other party on your behalf. If you are awarded compensation we’ll take a success fee, but it will never be more than 25% of the money you receive.

If your brain injury claim fails then costs such as the legal fees of the other party will be covered by After the Event (ATE) insurance we take out on your behalf. Our no win no fee approach means that there is no risk of you being left out of pocket at any stage.

What is the process of making a brain injury claim?

We understand that making a compensation claim could be the last thing you want to think about following a brain injury. The complex nature of brain injury claims, combined with the need to concentrate on making a recovery and coming to terms with your injury, is likely to make the thought seem even more daunting.

We’re experts at dealing with even the most complex claims, however, and will take the stress from the process and leave you with the space to concentrate on recovering. We’ll start by breaking the process as whole down into a series of small, manageable steps:

During an initial, no obligation consultation provided free of charge we’ll listen to the details of your story and decide whether you have the grounds to make a brain injury claim. If you do then, with your agreement, we’ll set to work building that claim.

We’ll take a detailed statement from you in which you set out how your brain injury happened, the impact it has had on your life, the treatment you have needed since it happened and how any recovery you are making is progressing.

We’ll arrange a medical examination with an independent expert in injuries of this kind. They will produce a detailed report setting out:

• The nature and severity of your injury
• The likely cause of the injury
• The prognosis for any recovery
• Whether you are likely to need care and further treatment in the future
• We’ll bring together your medical records, with particular reference to those dealing with the injury and any treatment you have had
• If your brain injury happened as a result of a road traffic accident we’ll get a copy of the official police report. The same could apply to an accident in a public place.
• If your brain injury was the result of an accident at work then we will get a copy of your workplace accident book
• If anyone witnessed the accident which caused your brain injury we will take witness statements
• We will gather photographic evidence of the scene of any accident which caused your brain injury, including any photographs you were able to take at the time
• The same will apply to any photographs you might have been able to take of your injuries after they happened
• If the location of an accident which caused your brain injury is covered by CCTV cameras we will ask for a copy of any relevant footage

With your help we will collect documentation to show the financial impact of your brain injury. This could include wage slips, bank statements, bills for care and medical treatment and receipts for any direct expenses.

We will contact the other party on your behalf, informing them that you intend to seek compensation. In most cases liability is admitted at this stage, and only a very small percentage of the brain injury claims we handle are settled in court.

Once we have established the liability of the other party we will negotiate a fair compensation settlement on your behalf. Although we work to settle claims quickly and let you get on with the rest of your life we never settle for less than the full amount of compensation we think you are entitled to.

If the other party denies liability or refuses to make a fair compensation offer we will settle your claim in court. If this happens we will be by your side throughout the process, offering support and advice and fighting for the compensation we think you deserve.

How long will a brain injury compensation claim take?

A brain injury claim relating to a relatively minor injury from which a quick and full recovery is expected could take 6-12 months to settle. More complex claims dealing with severe injuries and on-going medical and care issues can take two years or more to settle.

Once we have a detailed picture of the nature and extent of your brain injury we’ll use our experience to estimate how long your individual claim could take to settle.

Is there a time limit on making a brain injury claim?

Yes, there is a strict legal time limit on making a brain injury claim. In the majority of cases you have 3 years from the date of the brain injury happening or the date on which you become aware of having acquired a brain injury as a result of negligence. After the 3 years is up you will no longer be able to start a brain injury claim.

Exceptions to this 3 year limit include the following:

If you don’t have the mental capacity to start a brain injury claim during the 3 year period, perhaps as a result of the injury itself, then the 3 years will be dated from when you regain the capacity to do so.

If you are under 18 years of age at the time of the brain injury then the 3 year limit will be dated from your 18th birthday to your 21st

You can make a claim on behalf of someone that dies as the result of a brain injury, on behalf of the estate of the deceased or as someone who was a dependant of the deceased. In both cases the 3 year time limit will run from the date of death.

Despite the 3 year limit being in place we always recommend starting a brain injury claim as soon as possible after the injury takes place. The sooner a claim starts, the sooner you’ll get any compensation you are entitled to, while the process of gathering evidence to show negligence will be simpler for a more recent injury.

Why should I come to Beacon Law for my brain injury claim?

First and foremost you should come to Beacon Law for your brain injury claim because we have a hugely impressive track record of making successful claims of this kind. We bring more than 200 years’ worth of combined experience to bear on each claim, so we know how to prove negligence in even the most complex brain injury cases.

As well as dealing with the legal and medical complexities of brain injury claims, we take the time and trouble to treat each client as an individual going through a stressful time in their life, and not just another case number. We know how traumatic it can be to suffer a brain injury because someone else has been negligent, and how difficult the recovery process can be.

The support we provide is empathic and tailored, offering one to one advice and access to further support services if needed. Throughout the process we’ll communicate in clear, jargon-free English, offering expert advice and keeping you fully updated on the progress of your claim.

We’ll take the time to establish the full nature and extent of your brain injury and the impact it has had and will have in the longer term. Once we have an idea of the level of compensation you could be entitled to we work to win 100% of the money we think you deserve, and won’t settle for anything less.

We do all of this on a no win no fee basis, so you can make a brain injury claim on the basis of fairness without having to worry about costs or the risk of being out of pocket at some stage. If you’ve suffered a brain injury because someone else acted negligently then get in touch with Beacon Law today to discuss claiming the compensation that could help you start to put your life back together.