Brain and Head Injury Claims 

Some of the more common brain injury claims that we deal with include: 

• Road Traffic Accident Claims and Car Accident Passenger Claims – brain injuries can occur if you are the driver or passenger of a car, motorcyclist, cyclist or if you are a pedestrian.
• Horse Riding Accident Claims - such as falling from a horse or being kicked by a horse.
• Medical Negligence Claims – including birth injuries, delays in treatment, misdiagnosis, surgical errors, or infections such as sepsis.
• Criminal Injury Claims - due to physical assault.
• Military Accident Claims – including training and parachute accidents.
• Accident at Work Claims - such as falls, trips, or being hit in the head with an object can all result in brain injuries. We also advise and represent people who have suffered a brain injury after being hit by a vehicle at work or assaulted by a colleague or member of the public. 

Head or brain injury compensation claims are split into two types of damages: 

• General Damages – this is to compensate you for the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity caused by your brain or head injury. Loss of amenity refers to the effect the injury has had on your ability to carry out everyday activities and enjoy your usual hobbies, interests and lifestyle. The amount awarded will depend on factors such as the nature and severity of your injury, your recovery and any long-term effects. 
• Special Damages – this is awarded to cover the financial expenses and losses you have incurred, or will incur, directly due to your head injury. It can include medical costs, travel expenses to and from hospital appointments, rehabilitation costs, care assistance, loss of earnings, parking charges, and any changes you have to make to your home and vehicle. 

You have three years from the date of your accident to start your claim. You can do this at any point during this period. But it's usually better to start a claim as soon as you can. This gives our team the best chance of collecting the evidence needed to make a successful claim. It also lets you access specialist rehabilitation and treatment sooner.   

In some cases, there are exceptions to the three-year time limit, including: 

• If you lack the mental capacity to make a claim yourself. The time limit is paused until you regain capacity, which means it can be indefinite. 
• If you're claiming on behalf of a child. A claim can be started at any point until their 18th birthday. At this point, the three-year limit will then start for your child, and they will have until their 21st birthday to claim. 
• If your injury resulted from a violent crime, you may be able to make a criminal injury claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). In most cases, an application must be made as soon as reasonably practicable and within two years of the incident, although different time limits may apply in some circumstances.
• Compensation claims through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) for brain injuries that occur whilst serving in the military must be made within seven years.
• If a loved one experienced a fatal brain injury caused by an accident, the time limit to make a claim is generally three years from the date of death or, in some circumstances, from the date you became aware that the death may have been linked to the accident or the negligence. 

We'll need to access your medical records and any evidence you have of the accident that caused your head injury, for example, a copy of your workplace's accident report book if the injury happened at work. If your brain injury is severe, we'll need to obtain evidence from independent medical experts, such as a neurologist or neuropsychiatrist who can show that an accident or medical negligence caused your brain injury and what your long-term prognosis is likely to be. 

You'll also need to provide receipts and details of all the expenses and financial losses you have suffered due to your head injury. 

Brain injury claims can be complex. With all the factors involved, they can sometimes take a few years to settle. One reason is that the actual impact on your life may only become known over time. And by settling too early, you could receive less compensation than you need. 

Even though a claim may take time to settle, you can still get financial help. If the other party accepts fault, you may be able to receive interim payments to cover any immediate costs. 

Can I still make a claim if my brain injury symptoms didn't appear until weeks or months after the accident? 

Yes. The three-year time limit can run from the date you first connected your symptoms to the accident, not the accident date itself. This applies to many mild TBIs, where cognitive or emotional changes surface later.  

Making a personal injury claim against your employer does not automatically mean that you will lose your job. If your brain injury affects your ability to work, there may also be employment rights and protections that apply depending on your circumstances. 

You may be entitled to certain state benefits whilst your claim is ongoing. If you receive compensation, this could affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits if the money is held personally. A Personal Injury Trust may allow compensation received as a result of your injury to be disregarded when your entitlement to means-tested benefits is assessed, provided the relevant rules are followed. 

We can explain how compensation may affect your benefits and discuss whether setting up a Personal Injury Trust may be appropriate for your circumstances. 

We assess severity using medical evidence, such as how long you lost consciousness, your Glasgow Coma Scale score, and any ongoing cognitive or neurological symptoms confirmed by a neurologist or neuropsychiatrist. A concussion is usually considered a mild traumatic brain injury. In some cases, symptoms can persist or develop into a more serious or long-term condition, which may form part of a brain injury claim where someone else was at fault.  

Your solicitor relies on expert medical reports, not the initial diagnosis label, to value your claim.