Serious injuries

Personal injury compensation claims

Amongst the thousands of personal injury compensation claims that are brought each year, sadly, some will involve very serious injuries, and occasionally the injuries may have been, or will subsequently prove to be fatal.

Clear Answers' lawyers, Thompsons, helped Mark Cook to rebuild his life following a devastating road accident. You can view Mark's DVD of his serious injury and recovery, which can be found on our spinal injury page.

For more information on how Clear Answers may be able to help you receive the compensation you deserve, please click on one of the links below:

• Seeking expert serious injury compensation claim advice
• Types of serious injuries
• Experienced in dealing with serious injury compensation claims
• Coming to terms with serious injuries
• Serious injury victims and their families
• What you need to consider before making a claim for serious injury compensation
• Compensation awards for serious injuries
• Clear Answers’ approach to serious injury compensation
• Serious injury cases that we have dealt with
• Serious injury news stories
• Serious injury useful website links
• Serious injury compensation claim

Seeking expert serious injury compensation claim advice

Clear Answers’ accident advice solicitors specialise in all types of personal injury claims, but have particular experience in dealing with very serious injury compensation claims. Our personal injury solicitors understand that these types of accidents can have a devastating and life changing impact on the lives of the injured person and their immediate family. That is why we strive to obtain the accident compensation that you are entitled to after suffering a serious injury, so that you and your family can lead as normal a life as possible.

If you or a member of your family has been affected by a serious injury, our accident advice solicitors will be happy to provide personal injury compensation advice. They will be happy to answer all your questions regarding a possible accident claim, and talk you through the claims process in plain English. If you would like to talk to a representative, please call 0800 783 9019. Alternatively, fill out one of our online compensation claim forms and a representative will contact you as quickly as possible.

Strict time limits apply for making a personal injury compensation claim, so please seek expert legal advice as soon as you think you may have a valid claim for compensation.

If you decide to instruct Clear Answers accident compensation solicitors to deal with the matter for you, they will recover their legal fees from the person responsible for your injury, ensuring that the entire procedure is cost-free for you. You will receive 100% of any compensation awarded.

Please visit our section on information and advice for more details on making a personal injury compensation claim, or our gathering information and evidence section for details on what to do if you are involved in an accident.

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Types of serious injuries

The causes of serious injuries are many and varied, and may include road traffic accidents, accidents at work, accidents in a manufacturing environment, a road accident related to your work, assaults in the workplace, slip, trip or fall accidents, and many other varied circumstances. The injuries themselves are also many and varied and Clear Answers’ solicitors specialise in serious injury claims involving:

• Amputations
• Brain and head injuries
• Crushing injuries
• Multiple fractures
• Severe burns injuries
• Spinal injuries

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Experienced in dealing with serious injury compensation claims

Clear Answers' serious injury solicitors understand what a traumatic impact these types of injuries have on everyone involved and we provide all our clients with the first rate service that they deserve. We will act in a compassionate manner throughout whilst striving to obtain the maximum amount of personal injury compensation in the shortest possible time.

We recognize the importance of securing appropriate accident compensation in serious injury compensation cases, as you may need 24-hour care for the rest of your life. It might be the case that specialist equipment is required in order for you to get by on a day-to-day basis. We take all of this into consideration in calculating your compensation, as well as the loss of your future earnings.

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Coming to terms with serious injuries

In many circumstances, the extent of your injuries may mean that you are not able to deal with the investigation of your claim yourself. You may be dealing with the painful recovery and treatment for your injuries, which may include spinal injury or head and brain injury. You will be facing the prospect of rebuilding your life coping with a disability. Moreover, you will also be trying to come to terms with the devastating effects that the injury will have upon you and all your family.

Clear Answers’ specialist lawyers have real experience in dealing with families in these situations. We understand the importance of securing compensation as quickly as possible, and where necessary, obtaining interim payments in order that you can begin the road to recovery and as independent a life as you can achieve.

Interim payments may also help with dealing with the immediate financial hardship you may face in meeting bills and commitments if there is a loss of income as a result of your injury. Interim payments are also a tangible recognition by the party who caused your injury that responsibility is accepted, and this can be of huge psychological benefit and relief to you and your family.

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Serious injury victims and their families

Once the initial shock of the accident has passed, and the extent of your injuries becomes clearer, there will be many emotions affecting not just yourself, but the whole of your family. As you work through these various stages, hopefully the eventual outcome will be acceptance of the changes that will affect the lifestyle that you all enjoyed before your accident.

Clear Answers’ specialist personal injury solicitors understand the emotional strain this will place on you and your family and have extensive experience in dealing with many cases involving such serious injuries. We have the experience to deal sensitively with all those involved. In many ways, your family will be the real victims of the accident. They will have to deal on a day-to-day basis with the practical and emotional problems that you will face as you come to terms with your injury.

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What you need to consider before making a claim for serious injury compensation

In order to succeed in a claim for accident compensation you have to prove on the balance of probabilities, exactly what happened, that it happened as a result of negligence or breach of a statutory duty, and that your injuries and losses have occurred as a result.

To assist you with your case our accident solicitors need as much information about the circumstances surrounding the accident as possible. If possible, keep a record of any witnesses that were present at the accident and wherever possible take names and addresses in case we need to contact them throughout the course of your claim.

Before pursuing a serious injury compensation claim it is important to remember that legal action needs to be commenced within three years of the date of the accident or within three years of the date that you first knew you had been injured as a result of your accident.

This does not apply to people who are under the age of 18 at the time of their accident or for those who are incapable of handling their own affairs.

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Compensation awards for serious injuries

Whatever the nature of your injury, if it follows an accident through the negligence of others, the compensation will normally consist of the following elements

Actual losses

This element of the compensation should provide for any actual costs which have been incurred in caring for the injured person, this may include where appropriate:

• loss of earnings
• loss of pension
• other salary based perks such as company cars or telephone usage
• incurred expenses such as travelling costs to visit you whilst you were being treated for your condition
• nursing and care
• domestic services such as DIY, internal and exterior decoration and maintenance, gardening, window cleaning
• housing alterations
• vehicle alterations or other transport costs
• medical aids and adaptations
• prosthetics such as artificial limbs
• private health care and the cost of further treatments or surgery

Some or all of the above will be incurred before your claim can be dealt with and your compensation awarded. An interim payment will help you and your family deal with all these necessary expenses whilst your claim is being dealt with.

There may also be compensation for the loss of services previously provided by you such as the cost of paying someone else instead of you to carry out household tasks such as window cleaning, gardening, interior and exterior decoration. It may also cover household repairs, or DIY. In some circumstances of course, it may be necessary to provide a replacement carer if you were responsible for the care of another family member.

Losses for dependency

There may also be additional salary benefits that are lost such as the use of a company car, healthcare benefits and mobile phone usage or other bonuses and allowances. If you have dependents who relied on your income, e.g. a spouse, children, etc., this element of the award will take into account all your dependants and may often form the largest part of the damages award depending on your actual income. The calculation may also take into account any future loss of pension.

Compensation for pain and suffering

A large part of the claim will often be compensation for your pain and suffering either as you recover from your injuries, or any ongoing effects of your injuries into the future.

Benefit entitlement

Disability support groups and services are provided by local government authorities and we can assist you or your family in obtaining information on benefit entitlement that may be of some assistance.

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Clear Answers’ approach to serious injury compensation claims

To ensure your claim for serious injury compensation is dealt with speedily and efficiently, our specialist personal injury lawyers operate a team structure, under the guidance of a senior partner. The Partner will oversee your case and make any critical decisions, whilst other members of the team will be directly involved to ensure someone is always available to deal with any issues or questions you or your family may have during the claim process.

The team’s priority will be to deal with your accident compensation claim in a way that will put your interests and well-being at the centre of all their activities.

Home or hospital visits can and will be made as and when required to ensure you have direct access to our legal services. So that interim payments can be requested as quickly as possible, calculations will be made against the possible compensation award and based upon your long-term outcome. This is done so that your needs can be addressed quickly to make you as comfortable as possible.

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Serious injury cases that we have dealt with

Clear Answers' accident advice solicitors have decades of experience in serious injury cases. Our solicitors are used to liaising with the family and treat all of our clients with the respect and compassion that they deserve. Our solicitors understand the importance of establishing the evidence as quickly as possible to prove the personal injury claim.

We have in place a network of experts who can assist with the preparation of evidence, not just in relation to the injuries and actual losses, but also in respect of all the future requirements. This may include rehabilitation, nursing care, housing requirements, aids and equipment, transport and so on.

Client seriously injured in a road traffic accident receives a substantial sum in successful compensation claim

As he loaded items into the back of the van, Mr Jones was hit from behind by a car, crushing his legs, and leaving him with such extensive injuries that both legs had to be amputated. Surgeons fought hard to save one of his legs but this proved to be impossible. He was also advised that he had actually been lucky in that the injuries he did sustain in this horrific road traffic accident could so easily have resulted in permanent paralysis.

To read the full story of this compensation claim, in which Clear Answers were able to secure substantial damages for Mr Jones, please visit our section on Road Traffic Accidents That We Have Dealt With.

£2.4 million serious head and spinal injury compensation award

Clear Answers' lawyers Thompsons Solicitors were successful in obtaining compensation when they represented one of our clients who suffered head and spinal injuries after being crushed by a forklift truck. The claim was settled for £2.4 million.

Trapped between two vehicles - £600,000 compensation

Other clients represented by us included a man who sustained injuries after his leg became trapped between two vehicles. The accident meant that the client was not able to work and his employment was terminated as a result. The client was immobile after his accident being unable to either stand or sit on his own. The case was settled for £600,000.

Brain injury victim receives £1.6 million in road traffic accident compensation

We also represented a client who suffered a serious brain injury after he was involved in a road traffic accident. He needed to be cared for after his accident so the accident compensation was awarded with this in mind. The case was settled for £1.6 million.

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Serious injury news stories

Because Clear Answers' lawyers deal with so many successful cases of public liability injury cases, we have a team of experts with a wealth of experience, who are waiting to help you if you have been seriously injured. Please visit our regularly updated News Section to view some examples of our successful personal injury stories.

Below are just a few examples of these and the full story for these can be seen by clicking on the links.

Accident at work compensation for worker injured by moving vehicle

Our specialist accident at work lawyer was able to secure over £200,000 in accident at work compensation for this seriously injured client. He was working in a site compound when a van, driven by another employee, struck him from behind and drove over his leg.
More about Compensation for worker injured by moving vehicle

Serious head and brain injury caused by falling equipment

Poor health and safety techniques on the part of our client’s employer had caused this serious accident at work. The accident would have been avoided had the necessary precautions been taken.

The failure to implement those precautions meant that the employer was negligent and had breached several regulations, including The provisions of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (Lifting Regulations), and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (Equipment Regulations), amongst others.

It was necessary to issue court proceedings to bring the other sides’ insurers to the negotiating table, and although they admitted liability, several initial offers were rejected.

More about Serious head and brain injury caused by falling equipment

Serious injury at work leaves client disabled

Our specialist injury at work lawyers were able to secure substantial damages for our client who was left severely disadvantaged in the open labour market after an accident at work.

Although the defendant admitted liability for our client’s injuries at work, their insurers refused to negotiate an acceptable settlement value and we were forced to issue court proceedings.

Before the trial date, we were able to recommend our client accept a six-figure sum in accident at work compensation for his serious injuries and future loss of income.
More about Serious injury at work leaves client disabled

Cyclist seriously injured in road traffic accident

Our specialist road accident lawyers were able to negotiate a settlement in excess of £350,000 in personal injury compensation for our client’s injuries.

At the time of this cycling accident , our client had been on his way to work and the road conditions were dry and good. The defendant was talking hands-free on his mobile phone and was distracted. The defendant was subsequently found guilty of dangerous driving.
More about Cyclist seriously injured in road traffic accident

Construction worker seeks personal injury advice after amputation

A construction worker asked for our specialist personal injury advice after he needed his leg amputated below the knee following a completely avoidable construction site accident at work.

Although the construction site management initially denied liability, we were able to secure £335,000 in accident at work compensation for our client.
More about worker seeks personal injury advice after amputation

Breach of regulations governing road signage leads to serious head injuries

Our client received a serious head injury when he lost control of his motorbike on a stretch of road which had been recently repaired, but which, at the time of his motorcycle accident, had no visible warning sign to alert him to the danger ahead.

Our specialist road traffic accident lawyers, who have extensive experience in both serious injury compensation claims, and motorcycle compensation claims, were asked for their personal injury claims advice on pursuing an accident claim for compensation on his behalf.
More about Breach of regulations leads to serious head injuries

Serious fork lift truck injury at work results in substantial compensation

Our Client, a Bristol man, suffered significant injuries at work when he was struck by a reversing forklift truck in a totally avoidable factory accident at work.

Despite wearing personal protective equipment, he suffered several fractures in his foot and his steel toe-capped boots were pulled off his foot and ankle by the force of the forklift truck.
More about Serious fork lift truck injury

Compensation awarded to HGV driver for personal injuries when high winds turned over his lorry

Our client asked our specialist personal injury lawyers for compensation claim advice following a road traffic accident during the course of his work. He was an HGV qualified driver and had many years experience in driving large vehicles and heavy loads.
More about HGV driver - winds turned over his lorry

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme to change following a review by the MOD

Following the paltry compensation recently awarded to a soldier seriously injured in Afghanistan, the MOD has announced it has reviewed its scheme for compensating injured service personnel. Under the old Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, only the first 3 serious injuries were taken into account. This has now been revised to include all injuries, which will mean the most seriously injured personnel will receive up to the maximum of £285,000.
More about Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Compensation awarded to dog owner for serious injuries inflicted by cows on a public footpath

When our client decided to walk across a field that contained cows with calves, he was charged and trampled by a number of them, and received serious injuries.
More about Compensation for man attacked by cows

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Serious Injury Useful Website Links

Serious injury compensation claims

If you decide to instruct Clear Answers accident compensation solicitors to deal with the matter for you, they will recover their legal fees from the person responsible for your injury, ensuring that the entire procedure is cost-free for you. You will receive 100% of any compensation awarded.

If you or a member of your family have been seriously injured as a result of a serious accident then you could be entitled to compensation. Contact Clear Answers' personal injury solicitors now on 0800 783 9019 and speak to one of our client advisors or alternatively fill out an online compensation claim form and one of our representatives will contact you as soon as possible.

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