Special Damages

 

Special Damages are the financial losses which have arisen as a consequence the Defendant’s negligence and which can be claimed from the Defendant on top of your claim for the injuries that you have suffered.

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It is always easier to make the claim if you are able to provide receipts or other documentary evidence in support of this element of your claim, so you should ensure that you keep records of all ongoing expenses and provide them to your Solicitor, to enable them to attempt to recover these expenses on your behalf.

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A non-exhaustive list of examples of Special Damages has been provided below:

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• Loss of earnings – to be supported by either payslips or, where self- employed, accounts.

• Loss of pension/benefits – such as company car or private healthcare scheme

• Care and assistance – received from either someone you have paid for the service or a family member/friend. Where the service has been paid for, please provide receipts. In all cases please provided the names of who provided the care, a list of the tasks that they assisted you with, the time spent on assisting you per day/week for each task and over what period this care was received. Please note that any damages relating to the care received are held on trust by you for the benefit of the care giver.

• Damaged items/clothing – details of any items which were damaged in the accident. Please note that whilst we will claim the purchase cost of these items, strictly speaking you are only able to recover the value of the item at the time of loss.

• Medication expenses – both prescription and over the counter medication

• Treatment expenses – such as CBT, physiotherapy, chiropractic, sports massage, acupuncture etc.

• Travel costs – the costs incurred in travelling to all medical appointments, treatment sessions, garages to deal with vehicle repairs etc.

• Loss of membership charges – for example if you pay a monthly subscription fee to a gym that you were unable to use following the accident, however still had to pay for.

• DIY/Gardening/window cleaning assistance – for example, if prior to the accident you carried out all DIY tasks yourself however now pay someone to do this on your behalf due to your accident injuries

• Equipment – for example the purchase of an orthopaedic mattress, bath step, rental of wheelchair/crutches, or any other items purchased to assist in managing your injury

• Extra postage/telephone costs – for corresponding with Solicitor, treatment providers etc.

 

If you or a loved one have sustained financial losses as a consequence of an incident of medical negligence, please contact our specialist team for further advice to see if you are entitled to make a claim.