Not all injuries will warrant the need for you to hire a Personal Injury (PI) solicitor.  If you tripped over an uneven pavement resulting to a minor sprain in your ankle, do you need to hire a personal injury solicitor already? The It is essential that you understand the types of financial losses that you can include in your accident claim.  Some may be obvious such as lost earnings due to lost work hours, medical expenses supported by your hospital bills and other medical receipts but there are those not so easily equated to cash.  

Some of these are the support in the home rendered by family and friends, travel expenses during hospital visits, and the deprivation of sleep due to pain or trauma.

Below is a list of possible financial losses that you may state in your claim.

Earlier financial losses

These are the past expenses you have incurred from the date of the accident that caused your personal injuries to the date of your claim’s resolution.  These expenses are considered as a direct consequence of your injuries.  

Examples of past financial losses are lost income, medical expenses, travel expenses, etc.  

It is important for you being the claimant to identify all your past financial losses together with their supporting substantiation for a better chance of winning the best possible settlement for your claim.

For example – lost wages can be supported by your payslips prior to the accident.  The average net income can be computed from the numbers in your payslip.  A written confirmation from your employer regarding your average income before the accident will also suffice.

However, interest for past losses may not be included unless your personal Injury solicitors file your claim in the court.  A settlement before the commencement of the court proceedings will not permit your solicitor to add interest in your claim.

Perceived financial losses

These are the future expenses that you are likely to incur because of your personal injuries.  It may be challenging to prove this because it did not yet happen but a careful analysis of your physical or psychological state may provide solid basis.

For example, how can you compute for lost income due to future absences from work?

You can do this with the help of a medical expert who would need to ascertain that given the nature of your job and the degree of your sustained injuries – prolonged time off is reasonable.  The medical expert through a prognosis will provide the estimated duration of your recovery.  Even if he cannot identify the exact number of days, his prognosis is reliable to the court.  

From the estimated number of days that you need to be absent from work, the lost income can be computed by using pure math.

When in doubt whether all possible financial losses were included in your injury claim, better consult a solicitor.  He may see the less apparent expenses you have incurred or will incur in the future due to your personal injuries that may significantly affect your claim.