Serious Accidents

The above only envisages a minor car accident with only material damage. If serious personal injuries are suffered whether in a car accident or an accident at work or in an accidental fall, you should seek legal advice with regard to taking a Personal Injury Claim. The procedure involved is entirely dependent on the seriousness of the injuries.

In advising a claimant, a Solicitor assesses damages under two broad classifications:-

(i) Special Damages (Out of Pocket Expenses) - which are in turn divided into two categories - past damages and future damages.

(a) Past Special Damages

Losses that have actually been incurred at the time the case goes to trial - loss of income up to the date of the trial, hospital expenses, doctor's bills, medication, car damage, etc.

(b) Future Special Damages

Generally these only arise in serious accident as it is envisaged that the Plaintiff will incur future out of pocket expenses. Typically these are the cost of future operations. Loss of future income can also arise. If the Plaintiff has not returned to work at all, then obviously loss of income will continue until he does return to work. Alternatively, the Plaintiff may not have been able to return to his pre accident work. He may be on a lesser salary and therefore there will be a differential.

(ii) General Damages The legal system tries to put the Plaintiff back in the position he or she was in prior to the accident. As they can not do so if someone has suffered personal injuries, they try to compensate them for the injury suffered by putting some value on the pain and suffering. This is also divided into past and future damages.

(a) Past Damages

The Court assesses the injury suffered by the Plaintiff and if he has recovered in full, puts a fixed value on the injury.

(b) Future General Damages

If the Plaintiff is not, at the date of the hearing of the case, recovered in full, the Court assesses whether or not the injury is permanent. If these is a likelihood of recovery how long it will take to recover in full and attributes a value to this.