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Personal injury, youclaim.co.uk

Employing a carer after suffering personal injury

Suffering life-changing injury in an accident demands a great deal of personal adjustment. Severe injuries such as those to the spine and brain will often have the effect of placing limitations on a person's independence. As a consequence, the sufferer will generally need to make a personal injury claim, both to compensate for the trauma and pain of the injury itself and to provide money for the cost of future care.

All people with lasting injuries who receive personal injury compensation payments will have some provisions relating to the cost of ongoing care written into their damages award. Recently there have been some changes in the way this is done. A landmark Court of Appeal ruling now means that payments for the costs of ongoing care will no longer be linked to the Retail Prices Index. Instead, costs will be linked to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings for Care Workers. There has been unanimous consensus that this represents a preferable system of care cost linking.

Once a damages award has been secured, if necessary, the injured claimant will then have to resolve the question of ongoing care. Whether this care takes the form of regular home visits, occasional help or 24 hour live-in care will depend on the individual's needs. Whatever the case, maintaining as much independence as possible will always have primacy.

In situations where the injured individual decides to employ his or her carer directly, he or she will owe their carer certain responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities might seem overwhelming to begin with. They include:

  • Tax if your employee earns more than the tax threshold, you will be responsible for deducting tax and National and Insurance contributions so that they can be paid to HM Revenue and Customs.
  • Pay this must meet the UK national minimum wage.
  • Schedule of hours, breaks, illness pay and holiday pay.

Accident compensation cover Employer liability insurance will cover your carer in the event they suffer an injury or accident while caring for you; public liability insurance will cover any injury caused by your carer while he or she is in your employ.

If you would like to find out more about your rights and responsibilities, go to www.direct.gov.uk

UK leading no win, no fee solicitors
No matter what your financial circumstances, if you suffer injury in an accident that was caused by another person, you are entitled to claim compensation.

For many years, YouClaim have provided claimants with an excellent cost-free compensation service. Our no win, no fee solicitors are all leaders in their respective fields of specialisation. Governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, they uphold the very highest industry standards.

Our ethical approach to client representation means that you can rest assured that in the event of your claim's success, you will always receive 100% compensation as we never take a cut.

If you would like to discover more about what we can do to help you, simply fill out a claim form or have an e-chat.

Alternatively, if you would like to get your personal injury claim underway over the phone, call us on 0800 10 757 95 or leave us a callback request.