If you have suffered limb loss as a result of negligence, the compensation you are entitled to is intended to put you back on track as far as possible. The hope is that it will support your recovery from your injuries and enhance your rehabilitation and quality of life.
Whether it’s the result of a road collision, workplace accident or substandard medical care, it can be daunting to consider whether you wish to explore a claim. This article explores the benefits of bringing a claim for damages and answers the commonly asked questions about the process.
Funding a claim
People often wrongly assume that they can’t afford to bring a claim. In fact, a claim can usually be brought at no upfront cost to you, either through existing insurance or through a conditional fee agreement (known as a ‘no win, no fee’).
The specific funding options available for you will depend on your personal circumstances and the details of what happened to you. Please be assured that your lawyer is obliged to ensure you are given the best options for you, and they will explain everything to you in advance.
We offer all our potential clients free information about their potential claim to help them make a decision, with no obligation.
The claims process
There are two main steps involved in every successful claim.
Exploring liability
To succeed with your claim, you must prove that the defendant provided substandard care and so breached their duty of care. For example, this may be the duty owed to you as a road user, an employee, or a duty of care owed to you by a medical professional. You also have to show that this breach of duty led to a worse outcome or caused you additional harm or injury.
To do this, your solicitor will help you gather evidence to investigate the circumstances of your injuries. Typically, this involves obtaining copies of your medical records and instructing an independent medical expert to comment on the standard of care you received.
Calculating Damages
Once it is confirmed that liability is established against the Defendant, the next step is to calculate what the claim is worth in terms of compensation. This involves establishing exactly what injuries resulted from the negligence and how they affect you. As well as looking at how the negligence has affected you so far, your solicitor will also investigate what further impact it may have in the future.
This involves assessments by specialist independent experts who can comment on the extent of your injuries from the negligence and, crucially, recommend what treatment, therapies or equipment will maximise your recovery and restore your quality of life and independence as far as possible.
Claims typically include compensation for your injuries and the additional pain and suffering, as well as the financial losses which have resulted from the negligence, such as loss of earnings, pension loss, treatment, therapies and rehabilitation costs, caring costs, property adaptations, and prosthetics. Please see our article on compensation to find out more. No two claims for limb loss compensation are the same. However, our specialist team of solicitors can help you secure significant compensation and help you find the answers you need.
Claim timescales
There is no hard and fast rule for how long a claim takes to conclude, as it depends on a number of variables which will be specific to you and your claim. Claims can potentially take several years to complete, particularly if your injuries are significant and require experts from different specialisms to be involved. This timescale may sound daunting at first but it is important to bear in mind that settlement is usually agreed on a ‘full and final basis’ so it is vital that the time is taken to properly explore the full extent of your injuries and to ensure that the compensation agreed reflects the injuries and their impact throughout your lifetime. Rushing to settle a claim early can mean missing out on significant sums of compensation, which in turn could affect your treatment or financial security in the longer term.
Please also remember that once liability is established, we are usually able to request an interim payment of compensation so that you can manage your finances whilst we await the final resolution of the claim.
Key deadlines
Limitation dates in injury or accident claims are deadlines by which a person must file a legal claim for compensation. Missing the deadline can result in losing the right to pursue the case at all, so it’s important these dates are carefully diarised and that steps are taken in advance of limitation expiring.
Most injury claimants have 3 years from the date of the negligence or from when the injury was discovered, but there are exceptions to this and, to err on the side of caution, we always recommend you speak to a lawyer as soon as possible if you are considering a claim so they can advise you further on this.
To find out more information about the claims process, please visit our dedicated limb loss claim page.
Ali Batchelor, Partner
RWK Goodma
