Could I Use A Car Accident Claims Calculator?
This guide will look at whether you could use a car accident claims calculator for a personal injury suffered in a road traffic accident. This online tool can be a good resource for figuring out how much your injuries could be worth in a personal injury claim. If you’ve been injured in a traffic accident that occurred due to someone else’s negligence, it’s worth seeing how much compensation you might receive.
Read on to learn more about calculating personal injury payouts, the two heads of claim that can make up personal injury settlements, and how a personal injury solicitor could help you receive compensation for your injuries and financial losses.
Alternatively, you can get in touch with us at Advice.co.uk. We’ll listen to your personal circumstances and tell you if we feel your claim is valid. To find out more, you can:
- Call us on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us on our live chat feature
- Send your query using our online contact form
Select A Section
- What Is A Car Accident Claims Calculator?
- How Are Car Injury Claims Calculated
- Are Special Damages Included In A Car Accident Claims Calculator?
- Start Your Claim For A Car Accident Now
What Is A Car Accident Claims Calculator?
A car accident could be a life-changing event, especially if it alters your ability to work or get around the house. While trying to report the car accident and watching for injury symptoms, you may also ask, ‘should I pursue a personal injury claim?’
If you find yourself asking that question, you may want to check a personal injury claim calculator. This is a free tool designed to give you an estimate of how much your injuries could be worth based on the information that you enter. They are designed to be easy to use.
Car accidents can occur when a driver collides with a vehicle, an object, or another road user, such as a cyclist. They can occur for a number of reasons, but to make a personal injury claim, three criteria must be true of your situation:
- A road user owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty,
- As a result of this breach, you were injured
A car accident claims calculator is designed to give you some insight into the injury part of your potential claim, but several other factors are taken into account when calculating compensation. Read on to learn more, or contact our advisers today.
How Are Car Injury Claims Calculated
Recently the law changed how some personal injury claims are made following vehicle accidents if the injuries sustained were to do with whiplash or soft tissue injuries.
What Is The Whiplash Reform?
As per the Whiplash Reform programme, drivers and passengers over the age of 18 years old who suffer whiplash injuries that value to no more than £5,000 will make their claim through the Official Injury Claims Portal.
The tariffs are set and illustrated in The Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. We have put the figures in the table below:
| Amount of Time Injured | Whiplash injury or injuries | Whiplash injury or injuries and minor psychological injuries |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months or less | 240 | 260 |
| 3 months+ not more than 6 | 495 | 520 |
| 6 months+ not more than 9 | 840 | 895 |
| 9 months+, not more than 12 | 1320 | 1390 |
| 12 months+ not more than 15 | 2040 | 2125 |
| 15 months+ not more than 18. | 3005 | 3100 |
| 18 months + not more than 24 | 4215 | 4345 |
For other injuries, a car accident injury claim calculator could be useful as it will ask about your injuries to provide you with an estimate of your potential compensation amount. The figure returned to you by the calculator will be general damages, which is one of two heads of claim that can be involved in a personal injury claim. This head of claim is meant to financially recompense you for the pain and suffering you’ve experienced as a result of your injury.
We’ve included a table below. Keep in mind that you can claim for separate injuries. For example, if you receive a brain injury, a leg injury and severe soft tissue injuries, your final compensation amount will be higher than if you received one injury, such as a leg injury in a car accident.
| Injury Type | Compensation Bracket | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Very Severe Brain Injury (a) | £282,010 to £403,990 | Little meaningful reaction to environment. Need for full-time care. |
| Moderately Severe Brain Injury (b) | £219,070 to £282,010 | Serious disability and considerable dependence upon others. |
| Total or Effective Loss of Both Hands (a) | £140,660 to £201,490 | Both hands rendered useless or nearly useless. |
| Serious Damage to Both Hands (b) | £55,820 to £84,570 | Significant loss of function. |
| Total or Effective Loss of One Hand (c) | £96,160 to £109,650 | This bracket considers traumatic or surgical loss of one hand. |
| Severe Back Injuries (a) (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Severe damage that leads to other complications and severe pain. |
| Severe Leg Injuries (b) (i) | £96,250 to £135,920 | Injuries that fall short of amputation but that are nonetheless exetensive. |
| Severe Leg Injuries (b) (ii) | £54,830 to £87,890 | Injuries that cause lifelong mobility problems. |
| Severe Shoulder Injuries (a) | £19,200 to £48,030 | Serious nerve damage that includes other injuries or symptoms in the neck and arms. |
| Skeletal Injuries (a) | £23,810 to £36,740 | Fracturing of the frontal facial bones. |
To learn more about how multiple injuries could affect the compensation received after a road traffic accident, ring our advisers today.
Figures Are Based On Judicial College Guidelines
The figures that appear in our car accident compensation table are based on the Judicial College Guidelines. This is the document that a personal injury solicitor will usually use to establish how much a particular injury will be awarded.
The Judicial College, formerly known as the Judicial Studies Board, publish the guidelines used by legal professionals to determine personal injury compensation amounts. The most recent update to these figures occurred in April 2022, and the table above reflects these changes.
Are Special Damages Included In A Car Accident Claims Calculator?
General damages make up the first head of claim in a personal injury case. They are paid out in a successful claim. There is a second head of claim known as special damages, which can be paid out in addition to the sum awarded for general damages.
One of the most important things you can do if you are injured in a car accident is to save your receipts. Special damages compensate you for financial losses incurred as a result of your injuries. Collecting evidence is important to do after a car accident.
Because a car accident claims calculator may not calculate special damages, we’ve included some of the categories that could be relevant.
Loss Of Earnings
Loss of earnings is one type of special damages you could receive in a personal injury claim. If you had to take absence from work to recover from your injury, you could recoup your lost earnings through special damages.
Additionally, if your injury is so severe that it affects your ability to find or perform work, special damages could recompense you for lost future earnings. For example, if you work as a builder and receive a back injury from a car accident, you may find it difficult to continue in your current career. Special damages can be a way of receiving the wages you would have earned had the accident not occurred.
Medical Expenses
Medical expenses may also form part of special damages. This can include anything you’ve had to pay for in pursuit of treatment and recovery, including:
- Prescriptions and medications
- Medical consultant fees
- Physiotherapy
Note that you can also claim for future medical expenses. However always check that these expenses will be covered before you spend costs you may not receive back.
Travel Costs
Special damages could also take the form of compensating you for travel costs that you would not have otherwise paid. For example, you could be reimbursed for the bus tickets or taxi fares spent getting to medical appointments.
If you have more questions about special damages or about a car accident claims calculator, contact us today.
Start Your Claim For A Car Accident Now
If you’ve been injured in a car accident and are wondering how best to claim compensation for your injuries, you may wish to hire legal representation. One of the solicitors from our panel may offer their services under a kind of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under this kind of agreement, you don’t have to pay for a solicitor’s fee upfront. Nor do you have to pay during the process itself. Instead, you only pay a small percentage of your final compensation amount if the claim is successful. This amount is capped by law.
To learn more, get in touch with us at Advice.co.uk using the methods below:
- Call us on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us on the live chat feature
- Send your query using our online contact form
Further resources
More information about car accident claims:
Your Rights After A Car Accident – A page detailing your rights after receiving an injury in a car accident
Faulty Traffic Lights – Information about claiming personal injury compensation after an accident caused by faulty traffic lights.
Claims Process – A guide walking you through the process of claiming personal injury compensation
Further information you may find useful:
Hit And Run Or Uninsured Drivers – Government guidance for claiming compensation after accidents involving hit and run or uninsured drivers
The Highway Code – A collection of rules and guidelines for good conduct on the roads, some of which is backed up by law
Brake – A charity concerned with the victims of road traffic accidents
To conclude, we hope this guide has provided useful information about a car accident claims calculator. To learn more, get in touch today.