By Megan Cullen. Last Updated 28th November 2023. Have you sustained a car accident injury through no fault of your own? Can you prove that third-party negligence was to blame? If so, you could be entitled to compensation.
In this guide, we’ll explain how you could make a personal injury claim and how our panel of specialist solicitors could help you get the maximum compensation you deserve.
Let’s start by saying that no two cases are the same. Therefore, car accident injury payouts vary depending on the severity of damage suffered by each claimant. However, you may still want to know how much you could receive.
With this in mind, we have produced this guide to explain how car accident injury payouts are valued and how you could give your claim the best chances of success.
Please carry on reading our guide to car accident injury payouts to learn more about how to calculate compensation amounts or alternatively, get in touch with us today for a free consultation. To speak to an advisor about whether you could make a claim please contact our team today:
- Call 0161 696 9685
- Use the live chat on this page
- Fill out a contact form to have us call you back
Calculating Car Accident Injury Payouts
Select A Section
- Car Accident Compensation Examples
- When Could I Claim Car Accident Injury Payouts?
- What Evidence Do I Need To Claim?
- Time Limit For Making A Car Accident Injury Claim
- Car Accident Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Related Road Traffic Accident Claims Guides
Car Accident Compensation Examples
You may be wondering, ‘What is the average payout for a car accident in the UK?’. Since every claim is unique, how much compensation for a car accident that you could receive will depend on the specific factors affecting your case. However, if your claim is successful, you will receive general damages.
This head of your claim compensates you for the pain and suffering your injuries have caused you. The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a document that may be used by those calculating this head of your claim for guidance. This is because the JCG lists compensation guideline brackets for various injuries. We have featured some of these amounts in the table below, except for the first entry. Please only use it for guidance.
| Injury Type | Potential General Damages Awarded taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries Plus Special Damages | Up to £1,000,000+ | Compensation for multiple severe injuries and special damages such as lost earnings and travel costs. |
| Severe Brain Damage (a) | £282,010 to £403,990 | Little evidence of any meaningful response to their environment with little to no language function. |
| Moderate pelvis/hip injury (i) | £26,590 to £39,170 | Claimant suffers significant injuries but there will be no major disability and the risk of future damage is limited. |
| Injuries to the Wrist (b) | £24,500 to £39,170 | The claimant suffers a permanent and significant disability, but some mobility may remain |
| Moderate injury to the neck (i) | £24,990 to £38,490 | Claimants suffer moderate neck damages which includes dislocations and fractures. Spinal fusion surgery could be needed. Injuries includes soft tissue damage which negatively impacts the claimant’s back and neck. |
| Moderate injury to the back (ii) | £12,510 to £27,760 | Claimant suffers pain and discomfort because of damage to ligaments. This results in backache. The amount awarded would depend on the severity of the injury and the claimant’s ability to function normally. |
| Forearm Fractures | £6,610 to £19,200 | Simple fracture to the forearm |
| Moderate injury to a shoulder (c) | £7,890 to £12,770 | Claimants suffer frozen shoulder which can limit their mobility for up to 2 years. A claimant may suffer soft tissue damage that get better over time and as such, their injuries would not be permanent. |
| Fractured Clavicle | £5,150 to £12,240 | The level of compensation awarded would be based on the severity of the fracture and whether a claimant has to deal with ongoing symptoms. |
| Whiplash including psychological injury | £4,345 | Injuries include a mental health aspect and last around 18 to 24 months. |
| Whiplash | £4,215 | Injury lasts between 18 to 24 months. |
Your settlement may also include special damages, which compensates you for the monetary losses your injuries have caused you to experience. These could include:
- Lost wages due to taking time off work to recover.
- Care costs if you required at home care.
- Medical expenses such as paying for prescriptions.
- Travel costs, such as taxis to medical appointments.
To receive more car accident compensation examples for UK based claims, or to receive a free valuation of your case, contact a member of our team.
Car Accident Claims For Whiplash – What Is The Whiplash Reform Programme?
When making a claim for a car accident injury it is important to note that they way you make your claim may have changed. The introduction of the Whiplash Reform Programme changed the process of how certain car accident claims are made in England and Wales.
You will now need to make your claim via a different avenue if you are over the age of 18 and suffered injuries valued at £5,000 or less as a driver or passenger of a vehicle.
Your whiplash injuries will now be valued in line with the tariff set out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. We have included figures from the tariff in the previous section that featured our table with car accident compensation examples.
If you are unsure which avenue you should make your claim, you can contact our advisors. They can also help answer questions such as, ‘What is the average payout for a car accident in the UK?’
When Could I Claim Car Accident Injury Payouts?
While on the roads, every road user owes each other a duty of care to navigate in a way that prevents injury and damage to themselves and others. As part of this duty, road users are expected to comply with the Road Traffic Act 1988 and any relevant rules and regulations found in the Highway Code. If you are injured as a result of another driver’s failure to comply with this duty, you could be eligible to make a claim for a car crash.
However, you must satisfy the eligibility criteria. This means that in order to seek personal injury compensation for a car accident, you must prove that:
- Another driver owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- You were injured because of this breach.
Speak with an advisor from our team to further discuss the eligibility criteria for car crash injury claims.
What Evidence Do I Need To Claim?
To be able to make a car accident claim, you will need to present evidence that proves another driver was liable for the accident and the extent of the injuries you suffered.
Some examples of the evidence that could be gathered to support a car crash compensation claim include:
- The contact details of any witnesses – a road accident solicitor can then get in touch for a statement from them at a later date.
- Medical evidence – this will need to demonstrate the types of injuries you suffered and the treatment you needed for them, such as a copy of your medical records.
- Photographic or video evidence – for example, this could be CCTV or dashcam footage of the example taking place.
- Proof of any financial harm – for example, if you have suffered a loss of earnings, a payslip could be used to prove this harm.
Contact our advisors with any questions you may have, such as ‘What is the average payout for a car accident in the UK?’. They may also connect you with one of the solicitors on our panel, who could assist you with gathering evidence.
Time Limit For Making A Car Accident Injury Claim
The Limitation Act 1980 states that the time limit for starting a personal injury claim is three years. This time limit normally applies from the date of the accident that caused your injury. Under some circumstances, the time limit can work differently.
If a child is injured in a car accident, then the time limit is paused until their 18th birthday. Before the injured child turns 18, a court-appointed litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf. If a claim has not been made by their 18th birthday, they will have three years to start one from this date.
Should the injured party lack the mental capacity to make their own claim, then the three-year time limit is indefinitely suspended. In such cases, a litigation friend could make a claim on the injured party’s behalf. However, if the injured party later regains this mental capacity, and a claim hasn’t already been made, then they will have three years to start a claim from the date of recovery.
For more information on car accident injury compensation amounts or the time limit to start a personal injury claim, contact our advisors today. Our team can help answer your questions and provide examples of potential car crash compensation payouts.
Car Accident Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
By getting in touch with a member of our team today, they could connect you to a solicitor from our panel that works on a No Win No Fee basis with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When a No Win No Fee lawyer agrees to take on your claim, you don’t have to pay them an upfront fee and there are no running fees during the claims process. What’s more, you will only have to cover your solicitor’s legal fees if they win your claim for you, meaning you can use some of your payout to cover any costs.
There’s no need to worry about losing much of your award either, as any ‘success fees’ that you’re charged are capped to ensure that you take home the compensation that you deserve.
To find out if you can make a car accident injury claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor, please reach out to a member of our team for a free consultation. If you have a valid claim, you’ll be connected with a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor.
To get in touch with our advisors, you can:
- Call on 0161 696 9685
- Fill out a contact form to have us call you back
Related Road Traffic Accident Claims Guides
- The Highway Code, road safety and vehicle rules
- Vehicle insurance
- A guide to claiming loss of earnings
Other Car Accident Claim Guides
- Car Accident Claims
- Claim Compensation As A Passenger In A Car Accident
- HGV Accident Compensation
- Snow And Ice Car Accidents
- Taxi And Minicab Accident Claim
Thank you for reading our car accident injury claims guide.