What is it worth?

Compensation comes in two categories known as Special Damages and General Damages.

Special Damages are things that can be calculated in money terms that you have already lost at the time the case is settled such as lost wages, medical expenses, car repairs, insurance excess and so on. These are usually fairly easy to calculate.

General Damages covers things that are less easy to put a value on. For instance what your injury is worth, how much future earnings you may lose, what the future medical expenses or cost of care or rehabilitation might be. This is not an exact science and every case is different. The Judicial Studies board have issued some guidelines for judges and lawyers on the expected compensation for certain types of injury.