The breakdown of damages in a compensation award

For anyone in Scotland who is considering making an accident claim for compensation it is worth making yourself aware of the elements of damages that comprise the total compensation package.

Generally speaking, any accident claim award of compensation in Scotland is made up of three different elements: general damages, special damages and future damages.

General damages in a Scottish accident claim
As the name suggests, general damages are compensation for aspects of the accident claim that cannot be measured. An example of this would be pain and suffering.

Usually, the amounts awarded will be taken from precedents set in previous accident claims. Guidelines to the compensation amounts are also to be found with the Judicial Studies Board.

Another aspect of general damages in a Scottish accident claim is an amount providing for loss of amenity'. Loss of amenity' compensates a sufferer for the types of things they may have done before an accident but in the aftermath are no longer capable of doing.

One relevant example of this which our no win, no fee solicitors recently resolved was the accident claim of a 32-year-old man from Aberdeen who after suffering personal injury in a work accident is no longer able to pursue his passion for rock-climbing.

In consideration of this, our solicitors managed to secure him a component of compensation for loss of amenity.

Special damages in a Scottish accident claim
In an accident claim, special damages differ from general damages in that they are roughly quantifiable. They will account for the financial losses incurred up to the time of the accident claim award.

These might include such things as loss of earnings, medical expenses, specialist equipment, cost of carers, cost of specialist accommodation and extra domestic costs as well as other miscellaneous costs resulting from the accident.

Future damages in a Scottish accident claim
These are invariably the most difficult aspect of compensation to determine in any Scottish accident claim.

In an accident claim settlement, basically the same principle that is used to assess special damages is used to assess future damages. The major difference is that future damages are calculated to give compensation for financial losses that will arise in later years.

A system of multiplication is used to calculate the amount of future damages that will be awarded in an accident claim. Projected yearly future expenses are then multiplied by the number of years the claimant is expected to live.

Figures of compensation in an accident claim may be reduced if there is some finding of partial responsibility' on the part of the claimant.

YouClaim's panel of Scottish personal injury solicitors
Whether you have suffered personal injury in a work accident, road accident or holiday accident, if you live in Scotland and need to make an accident claim, we can help you.

YouClaim are the Scottish accident claim experts. We enjoy a long and successful relationship with some of Scotland's best personal injury solicitors. In fact, between ourselves and our panel of no win, no fee solicitors we have an excellent success rate in resolving accident claims in Scotland.

When you make a compensation claim with YouClaim we guarantee you that, win or lose, you won't have to pay us a penny.

If you win, you get to keep 100% compensation. And, even if you lose, you won't have to pay a penny of the opposing side's costs as we take out an insurance policy on your behalf covering this outcome. Win or lose, no fee it's our guarantee.

So why not get in touch with us today?

You can discuss your accident claim with one of our friendly legal advisors using e-chat, request a call back, fill out an online claim form or, alternatively, call us now on 0800 10 757 95.