Head and brain injury compensation claims
Our brain injury lawyers are specialists in securing the compensation needed when you've been hurt, and someone else was at fault.
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Brain injuries often have long lasting, life changing impacts and making a claim is a way to fund the care and support you’ll need as well as offsetting the loss of earning potential that you or your loved one may now be facing.
We can help even when the person injured does not have the mental capacity to make the claim themselves. Our experienced team will explain your options in full.
We understand the needs of our clients and their families, and we succeed in complex, high value brain injury compensation claims where others might give up.
We offer no win no fee arrangements and initial free consultations to help you decide how to progress. We are happy to speak with people who have launched a case with another solicitor and would like a second opinion or are dissatisfied with the service so far.
Brain injury as a result of an accident or medical negligence
Our team is experienced in helping people who have been affected by brain injury whether that is as a result of an accident or as a consequence of medical negligence. Sometimes brain injury is part of a larger serious injury claim.
We work with adults and children impacted by brain injury to ensure they, and their families, have all they need to live a secure and full life, despite the difficulties they have been through.
We help people with cases involving:
Where someone else was negligent in the cause of your brain injury, however it was caused, we can help.
That includes brain injuries due to:
- a car crash, motorcycle accident or other road traffic incident
- accident at work
- Clinical or medical negligence
- Sports injury
- Inadequate care during birth or pregnancy
- an incident involving an animal
Compensation claim for brain injuries in children
Different parts of the brain develop at different ages. That means that the full extent of the damage from a child’s brain injury may not become apparent until all the parts of the brain are due to have reached full development.
This means it can take years for you to find out exactly how your child has been affected, especially with younger children. Because of this, there are longer timescales in which to start a claim in the case of a child.
Following a brain injury someone may find it difficult to concentrate, experience problems with co-ordination or speech, develop behavioural issues or suffer impaired mental capacity. Any of these can leave you needing extra support in life and that’s something a claim can help with.
Brain injury claims aren’t about pointing the finger of blame. They’re about future proofing and ensuring you have the financial support necessary to cope with the situation you are in.
“I can really picture Billy as an adult man being happy, secure and I think it’s this process that we’ve gone through that has helped me to see that and especially with the set up we’re now going to have, with everything that we can put in place for him.”
Brain injury charities we work with
As specialists on brain injury compensation cases, we have developed strong relationships with associated charity partners.
Enable Law is proud to be corporate partners with the Child Brain Injury Trust, and we are their chosen Legal Support Service provider for the South West.
We also have a corporate partnership in place with Cerebra, who provide innovative solutions and support to children affected by brain injury.
We work closely with Headway, the brain injury association, both nationally and with local groups such as Headway Somerset and Headway Bristol.
How much compensation will I get for a brain injury claim?
Compensation for brain injuries, especially severe brain injuries, is often very substantial and can run into hundreds of thousands, even millions of pounds. The awards are so large in complex cases because they are intended to cover all the future needs someone will have as a result of the injury.
Compensation is made up of two elements – general damages and special damages.
The general damages element is intended to provide compensation for the pain, loss of amenity and suffering caused by a brain injury. There are guidelines on how much this part of the payment should be.
In addition to a general damages claim our traumatic brain injury solicitors will put together a special damages claim that is unique to you. This element of the claim can be very comprehensive as it is intended to itemise and cover for all your future and current needs in relation to the brain injury. That means everything from communication and mobility equipment and technology to house adaptations and carers.
It will take many months, usually years, to develop this list and negotiate a payment accordingly. We will always seek interim payments to cover immediate costs you may have before the final settlement is agreed. Interim payments can be substantial in themselves, and offer early financial relief when your resources are being strained by the increased expense of caring for a person with a brain injury.
Below are details of the guidance on the ‘general damages’ element of brain injury claims, which is only one part of the overall claim:
*This is an indicative rather than exact guide General damage award guideline amounts for compensation. (Note – this element forms only a limited part of a full compensation award. Additional ‘special damages’ may far exceed general damages)
| Severity of injury | Types of outcome of an injury that may be classified in this bracket* | |
|---|---|---|
| Very Severe Brain Damage | Top end awards will be given to injuries that have resulted in significant impacts on senses and severe physical limitations.
Injury will result in little evidence of response to the environment, little or no language, incontinence and need for full time nursing care.
It may include cases of quadriplegic cerebral palsy and ‘locked in’ syndrome.
Cases involving birth injury resulting in severe cognitive and physical disabilities. |
£264,650 – £379,100 |
| Moderately Severe Brain Damage | When the injured person is very seriously disabled, with substantial dependence on others and a need for constant professional and other care.
Disabilities may be physical, including, limb paralysis, or cognitive, with marked damage to intellect and personality. |
£205,580 – £264,650 |
| Moderate Brain Damage (I) | Those people whose injuries lead to less dependency on others than the category above. | £140,870 – £205,580 |
| Moderate Brain Damage (II) | Cases in which there is a moderate to little intellectual deficit, but ability to work is lost or greatly reduced and there is risk of epilepsy. | £85,150 – £140,870 |
| Moderate Brain Damage (III) | Injury has impacted on concentration and memory, ability to work and there is small risk of epilepsy but dependence on others is limited. | £40,410 – £85,150 |
| Less Severe Brain Damage | When someone has made a good recovery and returned to work and their social life but there may not have been full restoration of concentration and memory or mood is impacted, which may have implications for future work and life. | £14,380 – £40,410 |
| Minor Brain or Head Injury | Level of award will be affected by the period taken to recover from injury and extent of continuing symptoms.
The bottom end of the bracket is for those who have made a full recovery. |
£2,070 – £11,980 |
How to pay for care when someone suffers a brain injury
Paying for the intense care and needs of someone who has suffered a brain injury is a huge worry.
That’s why claiming compensation is vitally important for families and why it is better to work with a specialist solicitor who understands the likely needs and costs you may face in the future.
We work with families to consider current and future needs to ensure our compensation claims are comprehensive and seek to gain the fullest settlement possible.
Brain injuries vary so greatly that the level of support required for someone who has one varies hugely too.
In cases of severe and complex brain injury things to consider may include:
- carers
- benefits advice
- loss of earnings
- communication and mobility aids
- psychological and physical treatments
- house adaptations
We pride ourselves on supporting people to begin to put in place plans and action to deal with the full variety of need they are or may become faced with.
We liaise with brain injury specialists and therapists all the time and know what treatments are or may be available to you. It’s our job to connect you with the support you need and ensure you have the means to pay for it.
Our Court of Protection specialists are also on hand to help in managing your settlement long term and ensuring it lasts as long as you need it to.
What is the time limit to claim compensation for brain injury?
There are time limits in relation to when a claim can be made for a brain injury but it’s best to speak to a solicitor about your personal case to decide how they apply to you.
Broadly the time limit to bring a claim is usually within three years of the injury being suffered for an adult and within three years of the 18th birthday of a child (so before the child turns 21). These limits do not apply where someone is unable to manage their own affairs as may be the case for someone who has suffered a severe brain injury.
Also, brain injuries and the harm they cause are not always evident straight away. In clinical negligence cases, for example, the time limit is within three years of you being aware of the negligence which may be much later than three years after the injury was suffered.
We’ll be happy to advise you about your individual case and we offer free initial consultations.
Our guide to birth injury claims may also be relevant in some cases.
Can I claim compensation for my brain injury?
If someone else was even partly responsible for your injury or that of your loved one then you are likely to have a compensation claim.
A road crash victim who was not wearing a seatbelt may still be entitled to compensation as might someone who stepped out into a road and was hit by a car.
It’s vital to speak to a specialist solicitor to understand if you have a valid claim. Compensation can greatly improve your quality of life after a brain injury and without it your future or that of your child may be more greatly diminished than is necessary.
How long does it take to get compensation for a brain injury?
It will usually take at least three years to gain settlement of a brain injury or brain damage compensation claim.
In cases where liability is accepted by the other party, it is often possible to secure interim payments to help with immediate needs and costs whilst the settlement is awaited.
Claims take a long time because thorough assessments need to take place to fully understand and account for the damage done and need it creates. It’s possible that you’ll need to be assessed by experts acting on your behalf and experts acting on behalf of the person, company or insurance firm you are claiming against.
Will I have to appear in court to make a brain damage compensation claim?
Compensation cases are often settled without the need for parties to appear in court, particularly where liability is accepted.
When liability is not accepted a preliminary trial is likely to be scheduled, often within a few months. It is possible you would need to give evidence, but you would be fully supported throughout the process by your solicitor.
Costs involved in a case, especially one that goes to court, can be significant but our no win, no fee options and insurance policies offer guards against you facing the prospect of having to pay them.
The full process of making a claim and the possible routes your claim will take are things your solicitor will work through with you. No-one need be scared off from pursuing the compensation they need and deserve for fear of court proceedings being involved.
More questions and answers about brain injury claims
Our team is happy to answer your questions about brain injury claims – do get in touch and allow us to help. We can help regardless of where in the UK you live.
Click on the following links for more frequently asked questions and some useful guides.
