Each year in the UK, 1.2 million people are admitted to hospital because of an accident. For many of these people, a big concern is whether they will need time off work to recover. For some people, an accident can mean taking days, weeks, months, or even years off work, while people with really serious injuries may be unable to ever return to work.
Financial loss
If you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you do not have to lose any money, no matter how long you have to take off work. You can make a claim for damages against whoever was responsible for the accident. The personal injury system is designed so that nobody injured after an accident should bear any financial loss, whether this is loss of earnings or other costs, associated with the injury, such as medical expenses.
Special damages
If somebody else is responsible for your accident, it is only fair they pay for any costs or loss of money that your injury causes. Personal injury compensation comes in two forms. There are ‘general damages,’ which is compensation paid out for the pain and stress of the injury, and ‘special damages,’ which compensates you for any loss of earnings or costs accrued as a result of the injury. These costs can be anything from prescription charges and travel costs, to missed wages, a loss of a work bonus and even expenses created by late payment of bills because of financial hardship caused by the accident.
Making a claim for lost wages
If you have suffered financial loss due to an accident that wasn’t your fault, you need to speak to a personal injury specialist who will guide you through the process of making a claim for compensation. In most cases, a court will want to see previous payslips to see how much you would have earned, and if you would have been entitled to overtime or bonuses, you need to get confirmation of this from your employer. For self-employed people, compensation is usually based on net average monthly earnings for the three months preceding the accident.
