Here’s the full picture behind this week’s explainer, including the difference between past and future losses, and why getting it all included matters before a claim settles.
The Short Answer
A claim isn’t limited to a single injury or item. It’s important to include all losses that flow from the injury, both physical and psychological, alongside the injury itself. This includes past losses, such as wages lost while unable to work, and, where an injury has a long-lasting impact, future losses too, such as ongoing loss of earnings, care, or home adaptations. Everything needs to be covered before a claim settles, because once it’s settled, it generally can’t be reopened for further losses later.
Can You Claim for More Than Just the Injury?
A claim isn’t just about the injury in isolation. Everything that flows from it is relevant too.
“Yes, absolutely. It’s really important when pursuing a claim following an accident that we include all losses, so the injury, both physical and psychological, as well as all of the losses that flow from that injury.”
You can read more about how No Win No Fee Claims work on our No Win No Fee page.
No Win No Fee: The law limits our success fee to 25% of the compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity and for past financial losses, after any state benefits are repaid. Compensation for future losses is not counted. If you win, our success fee is deducted from your compensation. It is a percentage of our basic charges, and the law limits it as set out above. If the legal costs we recover from the other side do not cover our charges, your agreement also lets us take that shortfall from your compensation. We cap the success fee and any shortfall together at 25% of your compensation, or at 40% for some types of claim. Any After the Event insurance premium is not part of any cap on our fees: it is always deducted from your compensation in addition. It is payable only if you win, and is never charged upfront. Your letter of engagement sets out exactly what you will pay for your type of claim, and we explain it before you sign. If you lose, you pay us nothing. This applies as long as you keep to your responsibilities under the agreement. You may have to pay costs if you end your claim early, fail to beat an offer the other side made, or a court finds your claim dishonest or exaggerated; where we have arranged After the Event insurance, it covers some of these costs if you keep to the policy's terms. See exactly what you pay.
Past Losses
Losses already incurred by the time a claim is made, such as wages lost during time off work, need to be captured as part of the claim.
“You’re going to have past losses. So, for example, as you’ve referred to, if you’ve had six weeks off work, it’s important that we include that.”
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Future Losses
Where an injury is likely to have a longer-term impact, it’s not just what’s already happened that matters, but what’s likely to follow.
- Loss of earnings going forward
- Care needs
- Adaptations to the home
“If we’re looking at an injury that’s going to have a long-lasting impact, we’re going to need to look at things like loss of earnings, care, any adaptations to the home, for example, and it will all need to be covered in the claim before the final decision is made, before the final agreement is reached between the parties.”
Why It All Has to Be Included Up Front
Once a claim is settled, it generally can’t be reopened to seek further losses later, which is why making sure everything is captured before that point matters so much.
“We can’t, once a claim is settled, reopen that again and return to the other side or the court for further losses.”
For a broader look at the claims process, see our How Personal Injury Claims Work guide
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, past losses such as wages lost while you were unable to work should be included as part of your claim, alongside compensation for the injury itself.
Where an injury has a long-lasting impact, future losses can include ongoing loss of earnings, care needs, and home adaptations.
Generally not. Once a claim is settled, it can’t be reopened for further losses, which is why it’s important that everything is included before that point.
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Conclusion
A claim should reflect the full picture, not just the injury itself, but everything that flows from it, now and in the future. Because a settled claim generally can’t be revisited, making sure everything is accounted for from the outset is one of the most important parts of the process.
Thinking about a claim? Read about Personal injury claims and how No Win No Fee works, or send us your enquiry.