Every year in the UK, over 1.4 million people attend their local Accident and Emergency Department with a head injury. About 200,000 of those will be admitted to hospital, and about one in five of those people will be officially diagnosed with a serious brain injury or trauma.
It’s a distressing and – in some cases – life changing event for those affected. Head injuries are one of the most severe types of trauma that you can suffer, so even relatively minor cases can cause long-term complications which can end up affecting many different areas of your life, from your home and family, to your employment, to your overall quality of life.
We understand that all too well here at Farleys Solicitors. We’ve got 60 years of experience behind us, so we know that sustaining a head injury can entail dealing with new financial burdens, lifestyle changes, and other stressful factors – all as you’re still dealing with the actual injury itself.
However, these sorts of costs and changes are exactly what head injury compensation claims are intended to cover. What’s more, you may be eligible for a head injury compensation claim in Preston if your accident was the result of someone else’s negligence.
Pursuing a head injury claim in Preston can be daunting in itself, but that’s where we can help here at Farleys. Our head injury compensation claims solicitors in Preston take care to maintain a friendly and approachable manner, and explain everything you need to know in clear, simple terms – without any unnecessary jargon or legal terminology. Our job is to listen, understand, and provide helpful and unbiased advice, giving you all the information you need to make a decision that’s in your best interests.
Wherever possible, we’ll pursue your claim on a no-win, no-fee basis.
If you plan on making a head injury compensation claim in Preston, you must do so within 3 years from the date of the incident, or the ‘date of knowledge’. This is essentially a legal term which refers to the earliest point at which you became aware of any negative effects on your physical or mental health, specifically those that can be linked directly to your injury. Once this 3-year time limit has expired, you’ll be unable to bring a claim. (Exceptions to this rule do exist, but they are very few and far between.)
If you sustained the injury during your childhood, the law says that you have three years to make a claim, starting from the date of your 18th birthday.
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The complex and sometimes debilitating nature of head injuries mean that they often require extensive (and potentially costly) rehabilitation treatment. What’s more, they can also have life-changing consequences, since a complete and full recovery is not always possible. These realities are typically reflected in the level of compensation that sufferers may be awarded.
We understand how distressing and overwhelming these situations can be if you’ve suffered an injury of this nature yourself, so when you make a head injury claim in Preston, we’ll put our decades of legal expertise to good use in helping you to substantial financial settlement, so that you can 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 Preston 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.
For free initial advice on pursuing a claim, feel free to get in touch with our Preston 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 with all the above, you can count on us to be able to help. With decades of experience behind us here at Farleys, we’ll take care to take as much stress out of the situation for you as we can, providing you with clear, actionable legal advice you can trust. Our Preston solicitors are, above all, passionate about achieving the best outcome for you.
When we sit down with you for our initial chat, it can make everything even easier and more efficient if you could tell us:
1. When your accident happened
2. The details of any medical treatment you’ve had
3. Whether or not you’re suffering pain, and if not, when it stopped
4. Whether you’ve had to take any time off work
5. How your daily life has changed
6. What adaptations (if any) have you had to make to your accommodation or living situation?
How can head injury compensation help?
A head injury is one of the single most serious type of injuries that anyone can suffer, and part of the reason for that seriousness is because of the long-term and complex repercussions that they can have on your physical and mental health. It’s not unheard of for these repercussions to last weeks, months or even years into the future. (Sadly, sometimes the most serious types of head injuries can even have lifelong consequences.)
This is where compensation can be useful. It will not be able to unilaterally solve your issue, but it can take the edge off many of the associated costs, especially those related to continuing medical treatments or lifestyle changes. That can free up valuable physical, mental and emotional energy that you can then use to focus on your recovery.
As we’ve touched upon above, even minor injuries can often entail long-term specialist care to ensure that you’re able to regain (and retain) at least a reasonable quality of life. If you’re lucky, you may only need this specialist care for a little while in the short term, whereas if you had a particularly serious head injury, you may end up relying on this care for much longer. (In some cases, sadly, some people may even end up with a lifelong requirement for specialist care.)
If you’re receiving treatment for a no-fault head injury, you can submit a claim for all medical expenses related to your injury, including (but not limited to): diagnostics, surgical and non-surgical procedures, hospital stays, and medication. You can also seek compensation for any medical assistance that may not be covered by the NHS, such as any from by a private medical healthcare provider.
If you’ve required (or continue to require) any specialist rehabilitative care, such as physiotherapy, speech therapy, or any other kind of therapeutic treatment, then you may be able to claim compensation.
If you’ve had to make any one-off or regular trips to medical facilities or practitioners in the course of treatment for your injury, then you can seek compensation to cover the cost of making these journeys.
If your head injury is severe enough to force you to take time off work, you may be able to make a claim for the earnings you’ve lost as a direct result. If you’re subsequently unable to return to full-time work, our head injury claims solicitors in Preston will take care to make provisions for this when making your case for compensation.
If your head injury has impacted your ability to look after yourself, and you’ve had to hire outside help for day-to-day care, then you may be able to claim compensation for the cost of their services.
You can also seek compensation for any alterations that you may have had to make to your home or living space, which may have been necessary to accommodate a change in your physical or mental condition.
‘General damages’ is a term typically used to describe damages more directly related to the injury itself, such as pain and suffering, loss of amenity etc.
What should I do if I have had a head injury?
If you’ve suffered a head injury that wasn’t your fault, you could be entitled to claim compensation. In order to make sure that your claim has the best possible chance of success, however, it can help to start by doing the following:
If possible, take pictures of the scene of the accident, including anything that may have played a key role in the accident (such as the object you were struck by). You should also take detailed pictures of your injuries. Depending on their severity and exact location, you might need help with this bit.
If you can, make a note of the names and contact details of anyone else who was at the scene of the accident. Having witnesses who can testify to your account of the accident can be immensely helpful for your case.
This is a particularly vital step, for several reasons. Firstly and most crucially, it’s important for your physical health and wellbeing, as it can limit the immediate repercussions and pain from your injury, and stop it from getting worse. Secondly, whether you’re visiting a hospital, general practitioner or dentist (or even all of the above), it will establish an official record of your injuries, which may be incredibly useful in later legal proceedings.
What are the common symptoms of a head injury?
Headaches and dizziness are some of the most obvious and well-known consequences of head injuries, but the full list is a lot longer. Even mild head injuries can result in a wide variety of possible repercussions, many of which can have a significant impact on your mental, physical and emotional health.
It’s also important to bear in mind that the full extent of these repercussions might not be immediately apparent, and may develop days, weeks or even months after the event. So, before you get started in earnest on making a head injury compensation claim in Preston, it’s first a good idea to ensure you’ve sought professional treatment from an appropriately qualified medical practitioner.
Even relatively mild head injuries can still incur a wide variety of distressing or debilitating symptoms, including:
The most severe types of head injuries can have even more long-term (and sometimes even permanent) effects on your health and your overall quality of life. For that reason alone, more serious no-fault head injuries tend to involve higher amounts of head injury compensation. These more serious head injuries can be identified by the following symptoms – possibly in addition to one or more of the ones we’ve already outlined above.
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