Each year, over 1.4 million people attend their local Accident and Emergency Department, seeking treatment for a head injury. About 200,000 of those people will be admitted to hospital, and about 40,000 of these people will subsequently be diagnosed with a serious brain injury or trauma.
It’s a deeply distressing experience, and in some cases it can be a life-changing event for those affected. Even relatively mild head injuries can result in long-term complications – complications which can have a major impact on your home and family, your work, and your overall quality of life.
In these sorts of circumstances, financial compensation can be invaluable for helping you cope with the new costs, lifestyle changes and individual stress factors that might be associated with your injury.
You may be eligible for a head injury compensation claim in Burnley if your head injury was incurred as a result of someone else’s negligence.
We know how daunting it can seem to pursue a head injury claim in Burnley, which is why one of our top priorities is to make everything as clear, simple and stress-free as we can for you. Our head injury compensation claims solicitors don’t bury you under legal jargon, or put you under any undue pressure to make a decision. Instead, we lay out your options in a way that’s straightforward and easy to understand, so you’ve got the freedom to make the choice that you feel is best for you.
Wherever possible, we’ll pursue your claim on a no-win, no-fee basis.
For your Burnley head injury compensation claim to be successful, you’ll need to make it within 3 years of the date of the incident, or from the ‘date of knowledge’. To quickly recap, ‘date of knowledge’ is a legal term that refers to the earliest point at which you became aware of tangible effects on your physical or mental health that can be directly linked to your injury. Once this 3-year time limit has expired, it’s very likely that you’ll no longer be able to bring a claim. (There are sometimes exceptions, but these are exceedingly rare.)
If you sustained the injury as a child, you have three years to claim from the date of your 18th birthday.
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The complex and sensitive nature of head injuries mean that they can often entail extensive (and frequently costly) rehabilitation treatment for those affected to regain some semblance of normality. What’s more, since sufferers cannot always be expected to make a full recovery, these sorts of injuries can sometimes have life-changing consequences, and this is reflected in the average compensation payouts for claims in Burnley.
Here at Farleys, we know how difficult and distressing these situations can be if you’ve suffered a head injury yourself, so we’re determined to do everything we can to make things go as smoothly and stress-free for you as possible. Drawing on decades of legal expertise, we’ll put all our knowledge and skills to work in helping you to obtain a substantial financial settlement, one that reflects the daily realities you’re dealing with, and enabling you to get the medical care and support that you deserve.
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Wherever possible, Farleys will pursue your claim on a ‘no win no fee’ basis.
We are a friendly, trusted, and straight-talking local firm with over 60 years of experience in serving clients in Burnley and across the North West. Our solicitors draw upon a wealth of knowledge and industry-specific expertise in order to answer all of your most pressing questions regarding head injury claims in Burnley.
For free initial advice on pursuing a claim, feel free to get in touch with our Burnley head injury claims solicitors today on 01254 367853 or contact us by email to arrange an appointment.
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As soon as you’re ready, we’re here to help you at Farleys Solicitors. With decades of experience at our disposal, we’ll explore the options available to you and explain them in a way that ensures you can easily understand them, without having to know the finer points of legal terminology. And of course, we’ll make sure to be compassionate and understanding at all times. After all, we’re focused on achieving the best possible outcome for you.
To ensure that your claim has the best chance of success, it can help to let us know the answers to the following:
When your accident happened.
The details of any medical treatment you’ve had.
Whether or not you’re suffering pain, and if not, when it stopped.
Whether you’ve had to take any time off work.
How your daily life has changed.
What adaptations (if any) have you had to make to your accommodation or living situation?
What are the common symptoms of a head injury?
The severity of your symptoms can be one reliable indicator of telling you how serious your injury is. Dizziness and headaches are some of the single most common symptoms, but even relatively minor head injuries can also be associated with a long list of further consequences which can have significant repercussions on your physical and mental health.
Crucially, the full extent of these repercussions might not be immediately obvious, and can sometimes worsen drastically with little to no warning. So before you begin making a head injury compensation claim in Burnley, the most important thing to do is get professional medical attention from an appropriate practitioner.
Even relatively mild head injuries can still incur a wide variety of distressing or debilitating symptoms, including:
If you’ve sustained a more critical head injury, it can have even more long-term (and possibly even permanent) consequences for your physical and mental health, and your overall quality of life. As you’d expect, cases focused on more serious no-fault head injuries tend to involve higher amounts of compensation. The symptoms of more serious head injuries can be any of those we’ve just outlined above, in addition to one or more of the following:
How can head injury compensation help?
Head injuries are one of the most serious types of injuries you can sustain, so you may still be dealing with the consequences for a long time after the event – weeks, months or years into the future. (Sadly, sometimes the effects of some of the most severe types of head injuries can even be permanent.)
This is where compensation can help. It may not be able to unilaterally solve your injury, but it can ease the stress of dealing with many of the associated costs, including the costs of medical treatments, lifestyle changes, or extra amenities you may require – allowing you to fully focus on your recovery.
These costs may include:
Continuous specialist care may be necessary for you to regain and retain your quality of life in the long term. Some people only need specialist intervention for a relatively short time after their injury, after which they can get by with regular check-ups. For others, it can be a lifelong requirement.
Depending on the specifics of your situation, you may be able to claim for all medical expenses, such as diagnostics, surgical and non-surgical procedures, hospital stays, and medication. This isn’t necessarily limited to treatments that are only available on the NHS – if you require specialist input from a private care provider, you can seek compensation for this too.
If your claim is successful, your compensation can also potentially cover the fees for specialist rehabilitative care such as physiotherapy, speech therapy, and a range of other therapeutic treatments.
The nature of your head injury may have required you to make several one-off or regular trips to medical facilities or practitioners, such as hospitals or physiotherapy practices. If so, you may be able to claim compensation for the cost of these trips.
If your head injury is severe enough that it’s prevented you from working, you may be able to make a claim for the earnings you’ve missed as a result of this. And if you’re subsequently unable to return to full-time work, our head injury claims solicitors in Burnley will take care to make provisions for this in the amount of compensation we seek on your behalf.
If your head injury restricts your ability to take care of yourself, and you’ve had to employ outside help (whether on a temporary or permanent basis), you may be able to claim compensation for their services.
On a related note, if you’ve had to make any alterations to your home or living space in order to accommodate changes to your physical or mental ability, you can claim renumeration for the cost of these alterations.
‘General damages’ is a term that generally refers to pain and suffering, loss of amenity, etc – in other words, for the injury itself.
What should I do if I have had a head injury?
If you’ve suffered a head injury that wasn’t your fault, you may be able to claim compensation to help you with the above. However, before you go any further with your legal proceedings, it’s worth taking the time to ensure you’re properly prepared. We recommend the following:
If you’re able, make a photographic record of the scene of your injury, including anything that may have contributed to the accident. If possible, it’s also a good idea to take a picture of the object you were struck by. Don’t forget to take detailed photographs of your own injuries. (You may need someone else to help you for this last bit.)
Try and get the names and contact details of any witnesses who may have been present at the time of the accident, or been involved immediately afterwards. They’ll be able to testify as to the circumstances and cause of your accident, and can sometimes make a crucial difference to the outcome of your case.
This is a particularly vital step. Don’t do anything else until you’ve been seen – or made arrangements to be seen – by the appropriate medical care provider. This might involve a hospital visit, or a trip to your GP or dentist. This is partially important for limiting the immediate impact of your injury, as well as the potential for further complications. Another key reason why it’s so important, though, is because it creates an official record of your injuries which can be referred to in any subsequent legal proceedings.
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