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Head Injury Compensation Claims

If you or a member of your family is suffering from a head injury caused by the negligence of someone else, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.

Head Injuries
Causes of Head Injuries
Common Symptoms of a Head Injury
Making a Head Injury Claim
Compensation

How Much Compensation am I Likely to Receive?
Our Personal Injury Lawyers

Successful Head Injury Claims

Head Injuries

A large percentage of head injuries are relatively minor due to the protection that the skull provides. Types of head injury range however from minor bumps and cuts to serious concussions, lacerations, or more devastating brain injuries.

A head injury is classified as any trauma to the scalp, skull or brain and is either closed or penetrating.  A closed head injury often occurs through impact with a blunt object, whereas a penetrating injury occurs when an object breaks through the skull.  Concussion is a type of closed head injury, whereby the brain is shaken by a blow to the head and this causes a short loss of consciousness.

The effects of a head injury can be short term, or more permanent such as scarring or lasting damage to the brain.  Brain damage caused by a head injury is often known as a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).   See the NHS Direct website head injuries page for more information.

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Causes of Head Injuries

A head injury can be caused in almost any type of accident.  Road accidents in particular are a common cause of head injuries, however they also occur frequently in falls or because of fallling objects.

If you sustain a head injury in an accident that was not your fault, and someone else is to blame, you may be entitled to claim damages.

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Common Symptoms of a Head Injury

The symptoms of a head injury may become apparent immediately after an accident, although in some cases they are only noticeable hours or even days afterwards. 

It is always advisable to seek medical attention after any type of head injury has occurred.  If there are signs of a serious head injury, you should call for an ambulance.  Even a relatively minor head injury can give rise to symptoms including:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Tiredness

Signs that there has been a more serious injury to the head or brain include:

• Disturbed vision
• Vomiting several hours after the injury
• Slurred speech
• Unconsciousness
• Seizures
• Pale fluid or blood coming from the nose or mouth (signs of a skull fracture)
• Heavy Bleeding
• Confusion and disorientation
• Unequal pupil size

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Making a Head Injury Claim

In every case, medical evidence will be required, and in any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence.

It is important to seek the advice and assistance of a specialist lawyer with extensive experience in recovering compensation for victims of head injuries. They can collate and prepare all of the necessary evidence to put forward the claim and deal with the matter on your behalf to achieve the best possible outcome.

You should try to record as much information as possible about the accident and your injuries, including details of any medical treatment that you have received. Remember to keep receipts for any injury related costs and expenses, as these may be useful in your claim.

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Compensation

There are two elements to a compensation award.

The first, called general damages, is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and any loss of amenity (perhaps an inability to take children to school, look after your garden, go out walking). The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after an accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.

Whereas the first element of compensation, the general damages, cannot make you better and can only really apologise, the second element of a compensation award, for your losses and expenses, (known as special damages) aims to put you back in a position financially as if the accident had never occurred. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident so that these can be reclaimed.

In serious cases, where a person is no longer able to continue their employment, this can be taken into account. Costs for care, equipment, transport and housing modifications can also affect the calculations. If the person is still able to work but not in the same role as before, particularly if they held a public service role such as a doctor or police officer, an extra amount may be awarded for loss of ‘congenial employment’. A court can also make a financial award to recognise that an injured worker's prospects on the open labour market may be limited.

If a person is fatally injured, a dependent relative such as a widow and children may be able to claim a statutory sum for their bereavement and funeral expenses, but also sums for the loss of income and contribution to the household in the form of future losses.

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How Much Compensation am I Likely to Receive?

The details of each case are assessed individually, as a number of factors affect the amount of compensation awarded in a personal injury claim. These include the extent of the injury, recovery period, any loss of earnings, other losses related to the injury (for example medical expenses and care costs) and whether or not the victim was partially to blame.

Awards made in previous claims of a similar nature are used as a guideline however, together with general guidelines from the Judicial Studies Board. Our ‘How Much’ section provides further information and you can find details of previous settled cases in our news and success stories sections.

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Our Personal Injury Lawyers

The Legal Line lawyers are experts in all areas of personal injury, with extensive experience in recovering compensation for the victims of head injuries.

They can provide specialist claim advice, assistance and guidance in helping you to pursue your claim to the best possible outcome.

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Successful Head Injury Claims

Our lawyers have successfully handled many head injury cases, including the following examples in our news section:

• Head Injury Caused by Unsafe Working Environment - Our lawyers recovered compensation for a lady injured at work by a falling light cover that was not properly fitted.
• Stricter Laws needed on Corporate Manslaughter - A young man's family was represented by our solicitors when he died after sustaining severe head injuries and internal bleeding in an accident at work.
• Injured Pedestrian Receives £110,000 Compensation - A woman was knocked down and suffered a head injury when a colleague accidentally reversed a car into her.
• Man Suffers Fractured Skull After Slip on Ice - We handled a case on behalf of a man who slipped on an untreated pathway at a holiday complex.
• Head Injury Compensation for Victim of Accident at Work - A man suffered head injuries when he was struck by a falling load from an overhead crane.
• £828,000 Compensation for Injured Motorcyclist - A motorcyclist sustained multiple injuries in a road accident, including a head injury.

Below you can also read case studies of some head injury claims we have dealt with:

• Whilst using the ladies toilets at her workplace, our client sustained a head injury when a cubicle door fell onto her as she opened it. As a result of the accident she was left with bruising to her face and head, headaches, lacerations to her eyebrow area and pain in her neck and shoulder. She was left with minor, permanent scarring to her eyebrow.
  
  Our client required physiotherapy treatment and help with her daily activities until she was recovered, and she was unable to enjoy a planned weekend away.
  
  She appointed our specialist personal injury lawyers, who have extensive experience in head injury claims, to assist her in recovering compensation. They were able to prove that her employer failed to provide sufficiently safe facilities and she was awarded £2,500.00 in respect of her injuries and losses.

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