8

I’m injured. Can I be 

compensated?

Not necessarily. There is a significant difference between 

an injury caused by an accident which could not have been 

avoided, and an injury which could have been avoided had 

it not been for someone failing to take proper care. Injured 

people only have a right to compensation when they have 

been injured by negligence. 

By the way, you never ‘win’ compensation. No-one who is 

suffering because of someone else’s negligence would think 

of themselves as ‘a winner’. 

What is needed for a claim to 

be successful?

How is compensation calculated? 

It must be determined who can be held responsible for causing your injury 

and that they were negligent. This is establishing ‘liability’.

In some cases, liability can be difficult to prove. Part of your lawyer’s job is to 

prove that the person or people who caused your injury were negligent and 

also that they are legally answerable for your injuries.

It must also be proven that the negligence caused the injury. This is called 

‘causation’. Causation is usually obvious. For example, if you fall from height 

and have a broken back afterwards there is little room for doubt that the 

event and the injury are connected. But sometimes the extent to which the 

negligent act caused the harm can be called into question, such as if the 

injured person has a pre-existing medical condition. In workplace disease 

cases it can sometimes be difficult to prove that the illness was not contracted 

elsewhere. 

Once liability and causation have been established the amount of 

compensation, or (damages) is addressed.

It is a very detailed process. Two people with the same injuries, even if 

caused in the same incident, will almost certainly receive different levels of 

compensation because they will have separate individual needs. An injury can 

affect different people in different ways. This could be down to age, ability to 

earn and pay the mortgage and other factors including family life. An injured 

person may have responsibilities for children, or other family members, which 

cannot be fulfilled as a result of the injury and for which he or she needs to 

be compensated. This is why judges oversee compensation payments in most 

types of personal injury case, to ensure the damages are fair and reasonable. 

Why are injured people compensated with money?

“Money in itself is not something which can replace adequately what has been 

lost, in terms of the ability to do some of the things you could do before,” says 

APIL executive committee member Suzanne Trask. “But it does make some 

things easier”.

Personal injury law exists to help put an injured person’s life back to where it 

was before a needless injury happened.

“Often, we are limited to achieving that through money,” Suzanne explains. 

“But also rehabilitation is available to help them to get better at the same time”.

What should I do if I am injured and want to claim?

“Make sure your lawyer is a specialist in personal injury. Finding a decent lawyer 

is the first challenge,” says APIL executive committee member Colin Ettinger. 

He explains: “Lawyers can operate in all areas; the job isn’t always distinctive 

like it is for doctors. You wouldn’t have a neurosurgeon repairing a broken leg, 

whereas I have never done a conveyancing job in my life, but there’s nothing to 

stop me from doing it. 

“It really comes down to making sure your personal injury lawyer has the 

relevant accreditation and is experienced. Injured people need sophisticated 

legal advice”.