Contributory negligence claims & compensation

Our personal injury lawyers are specialists in catastrophic and severe injury compensation claims. Our clients have often suffered life-changing injury resulting in permanent disability, and we aim to assist their recovery by securing funded rehabilitation, whilst supporting them in adjusting to the changes to their lives and securing compensation to meet their needs in the future.

Our clients usually have suffered one or more of the following:

• head injury/brain injury;
• spinal cord injury (SCI) - paralysis, tetraplegia, paraplegia; 
• loss of limbs or amputation;
• major trauma /multiple injuries;
• fractures (broken bones) - spinal fractures, skull fractures, maxillofacial injury;
• asbestos-related disease;
• musculoskeletal injury;
• blindness, deafness or sensory impairment;
• nerve injury;
• electrocution, burns or scalds;
• chronic pain conditions, such as CRPS; 
• degloving injuries (needing skin grafting);
• scarring and disfigurement;
• stab wounds and severe lacerations;
• psychological injury, such as PTSD;
• internal injuries, such as damage to organs;
• fatal injury/death. 

If you have suffered a serious injury as a result of somebody else’s negligence (breach of their duty of care), we may be able to help you make a claim for compensation.

Depending on the circumstances of your accident and the severity of your injury, we may also be able to help you claim compensation:

• where someone else was responsible for causing the accident but you were also partly to blame;
• where your injuries were caused by an untraced driver in a ‘hit and run’;
• where you were the victim of criminal violence.

The vast majority of our clients’ serious injury claims are settled without the need for a court hearing (trial). Our clients very rarely need to go to court.

Our personal injury specialists are highly experienced in investigating and assessing the strength of each client’s case. From the outset, and throughout the claim, we advise our clients clearly and honestly about their prospects of success.

Court proceedings are issued (started) in many cases but this does not mean that the case will end in a trial. There are many reasons why court proceedings might be issued:

• to protect our client’s right to claim compensation if their limitation deadline (time limit for making a claim) is approaching;
• to force the defendant (and their insurers) to take the claim seriously;
• to push the defendant to admit liability (fault);
• to push the defendant (and their insurers) to make an interim payment to our client;
• so that we can obtain a court judgment, guaranteeing our client’s right to compensation, if liability has been  admitted;
• to encourage the defendant to enter into settlement negotiations;
• to avoid unnecessary delay by setting a timetable, which is overseen by the court, for the steps that must be taken to bring the case to a conclusion.  

We work hard to prove each client’s claim, based on evidence of the circumstances of their accident and the impact of their injury. We encourage cooperation with the defendant’s insurers and negotiate the best possible settlements for our clients. On the rare occasions when a claim cannot be settled without a court hearing, this will be because:

• there are serious, insurmountable challenges with the evidence, or disagreements between experts in a case, which need to be decided upon by a trial judge;
• the defendant’s insurers are using the case to test the court’s approach to a point of law.

In the following circumstances, the law requires a judge to approve an out-of-court settlement, for the protection of those involved:

• where at least one of the injured claimants is a child under the age of 18;
• where the claimant does not have mental capacity to manage their own affairs;
• where at least one of the claimants in a fatal accident claim is a child or lacks mental capacity.

In these cases, the approval hearing will be a short hearing at which the lawyers for both parties explain the circumstances of the case and the settlement terms to the judge. In most cases, our client will be expected to be in court during the hearing, accompanied and fully supported by members of our legal team.

The amount of compensation that an injured person receives in a personal injury claim depends on a number of individual factors:

• the severity of the injury;
• the extent of any permanent disability caused by the injury;
• the impact that the injury has on their ability to live independently, study, work, or participate in leisure activities;
• additional needs arising from their injury, such as care, specialist equipment or an adapted home;
• their life circumstances before the accident;
• their predicted lifespan;
• litigation risk factors, such as contributory negligence.

Depending on the client’s injury and the way it affects their life, their claim may include compensation for:

• pain, suffering and disability;
• costs of care;
• case management;
• costs of medical or surgical treatment;
• loss of earnings and pension;
• additional costs of adapted accommodation;
• assistive technology (IT);
• prosthetics (after amputation);
• specialist equipment and aids;
• extra costs of transport or adapted vehicles;
• special educational needs (SEN);
• Court of Protection deputyship;
• funeral costs (fatal cases);
• bereavement damages (fatal cases);
• loss of dependency on the deceased’s income or services (fatal cases).

Rehabilitation

• Funded directly by the defendant’s insurer;
• Funded from interim payments;
• Future rehabilitation costs funded from final settlement;

Therapies

• Occupational therapy (OT);
• Physiotherapy;
• Speech and language therapy (SALT);
• Psychological counselling;
• Pain management;

An interim payment is a part-payment of compensation which is paid to the injured person, in advance, whilst the claim is ongoing. We can usually secure an interim payment from the defendant’s insurer where they have admitted liability (accepted fault) for our client’s injury.

We use interim payments to help the injured person and their family, who may be suffering financial hardship as a result of the injury. Where insurers are not willing to provide Rehabilitation Code funding, we sometimes obtain interim payments to ensure that our client receives the rehabilitation, case management and therapies that they need straight away.

Interim payments may be used to meet any genuine need, but it is important that the injured person and their family understand that the sums that they have already received as interim payments are deducted from their final compensation at the end of the claim.

Depending on the client’s injury, an interim payment may help meet their needs for:

• case management;
• rehabilitation;
• personal care and assistance;
• physiotherapy;
• occupational therapy;
• speech and language therapy;
• psychological counselling;
• adapted accommodation;
• wheelchairs;
• transport;
• prostheses (after amputation);
• assistive technology and other specialist equipment;
• trials of supported independent living.

By understanding and targeting provision for our clients’ rehabilitation and other essential needs early in the claims process, we help restore our clients’ mobility, independence and ability to participate fully in family and social life, long before the claim has concluded.

When claiming for compensation, Boyes Turner will help you gain:

• early access to appropriate rehabilitation, treatment and support;
• interim (advance) payments to meet urgent financial needs;
• expert advice about your injury, your long-term needs and how to meet them in the future;
• peace of mind from long-term financial provision.  

The easiest way to get started is to talk to one of our friendly, experienced solicitors. You can talk to us free and confidentially about your potential claim, with no obligation, by contacting us by email.

It costs nothing to talk to us to find out about making a claim. Our initial advice is free.

When you first contact us, we advise you whether we can help you make a claim. We discuss how your claim will be funded, and advise, fully and clearly, how that works and what it will mean for you.

We offer a range of funding options, but the majority of our clients’ claims are handled on a conditional fee agreement (CFA) basis, often known as ‘no win no fee’. This means that there is nothing to pay at the outset or until the claim is settled, and you receive compensation. If you win your claim, the defendant’s insurer makes a contribution towards your legal costs. You pay nothing if your claim does not succeed.