Loss to the individual
If someone came and took £1,178.45 out of your bank account, you would do something about it. Yet following an accident that was the fault of someone else many people choose not to do anything about it.
As shown above, the cost of apathy is huge with the average level of loss to the injured individual being £1,178.45. The living example of adding ‘insult to injury’.
Those losses may not always seem immediately apparent as they occur gradually. Following an injury you may be off work and initially receiving contractual or at least statutory sick pay which is lower than what you would normally earn. What if you have to be off for longer? What happens when even these means of income dry up?
On top of earning less income, add to that the cost of treatment that you might seek to speed up your recovery and you’re looking at an even bigger loss. Regular physiotherapy, osteopath, gym, swimming sessions can soon mount up in cost. Don’t forget to factor in the travel you have to expend in getting to and from those appointments.
All of this is money that is recoverable through a successful personal injury claim. Many people are reluctant to make a personal injury claim because of some perceived ‘compensation culture’ but all in all, you do not profit from the claim, you are simply recovering the money that you have lost.
Still not persuaded? Well there is more; not only does a successful personal injury claim recover your losses, but you are also serving to recover sums that your injury has cost your employer, the NHS and the state.
Loss to Business
If you are injured and absent from work, often your employer will still be paying you whilst you are absent. Yet your employer is still having to operate in your absence and may have to employ temporary staff or redeploy others to cover the work that you would usually be there to do.
A successful claim can recover those losses for your employer in addition to the sums claimed for you.
Loss to the State
If you are not paid by your employer during your absence, or that contractual pay comes to an end, the likelihood is that you will receive statutory sick pay. Whenever a claim for compensation is pursued, you are required to inform the party against whom you are making a claim of your national insurance number. From this the Department for Work and Pensions is notified of the claim you are making and it keeps track of the amount of state benefits that you receive during your absence.
Once again, if your claim is successful then all of the state benefits that you have received due to your being injured is repaid to the state in addition to the sums claimed for you.
Loss to the NHS
Finally, the NHS is a Great British institution but one that is under great financial strain. The approximate cost of walking into Accident and Emergency and being seen by a triage nurse is £105. The cost increases significantly if you require further medical treatment, scans, consultations, therapies and medication to help you back to health.
Again, these NHS charges caused by your injury are recorded, and if a claim succeeds, they are repaid to the NHS in addition to the monies claimed by you.
Conclusion
Accordingly, looking to make a personal injury claim for compensation following an accident at work, in a public place or building, or a road traffic accident is the right thing to do to put right all of the losses caused, due to the fault of another.
To not pursue a claim, results in loss to the state and to you, and a windfall to the insurance industry that has already collected premiums to cover the risk of these accidents occurring.
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