Calculating Compensation

The calculation of the amount of compensation and damages an individual is likely to receive is complex. Every client’s circumstances and claim is different. Years of legal experience is required to be familiar with the relevant law and how that it likely to apply in an individual client’s case.

What amount of compensation or damages you will receive depends upon a large range of factors. The factors may include:

• Any legislative provisions that will apply to your case
• The common law (case law)
• The extent of your injuries and disabilities – both past and continuing
• Your age and future working life (but for your injury) and extent of any loss of earning capacity
• How much treatment and care you have received and your requirements for the future.
• Your pre-accident health.

Not all of these factors will be relevant to the assessment of compensation in all cases.

In assessing the amount of compensation or damages you might receive, solicitors also take into account other factors such as how you and your witnesses might be regarded by a court (if the matter has the potential to go to a hearing) and which expert evidence is likely to be preferred and how.

In some cases, it is possible for solicitors to advise precisely what amount of compensation you will receive. In most cases however, we will advise a range of compensation or damages you could expect to receive. The range is known as ‘best case – worst case’.