How Are Accident Claims Evaluated for Compensation?
When you’re hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you could be granted compensation by the Injuries Board, via settlement, or it could be awarded from a court. But how do you know how much your claim is worth? This is a common question posed to the personal injury solicitors of Tiernan & Company Solicitors. It’s not an easy question to answer because every claim comes with its own facts. However, there is a compensation claims estimator that can be used which is known as The Book of Quantum.
How the Book of Quantum Acts as a Compensation Claims Estimator
The Book of Quantum provides general information related to compensation that could be awarded for an accident claim. It is used when a claim comes before the Injuries Board. It was developed using information from over 50,000 completed personal injury cases that were awarded compensation from the court from the years 2013 and 2014.
This data allows you and your personal injury solicitor to determine whether the suggested compensation from the Injuries Board is sufficient and reasonable for what happened to you. The data is available to both the injury victim and the at-fault party. This is important because both parties may accept or reject the suggestion of the Injuries Board.
Remember, though, all accident claims have their own factors. Those factors could make the claim worth more or less than the figures in The Book of Quantum.
Factors That Affect Compensation
Since we’ve referenced the importance of individual factors that affect accident claims, let’s discuss them. Overall, you will find that the factors affect either the quality of your life or your ability to earn money to support yourself or your family. The most common factors include:
- Loss of the quality of life. This includes pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of your life and its activities.
- Loss of earnings from missing time at work because of your injuries related to the accident.
- Medical bills from your injury. This includes the possibility of future medical care for your injury.
- Loss of income in the future because you can no longer work in the same occupation or work at all.
- The severity of your injury.
- The number of injuries.
The Severity of Injuries According to the Compensation Claims Estimator
The Book of Quantum classifies injuries as minor, moderate, moderately severe, and severe and permanent conditions.
- A minor condition means that the victim fully or mostly recovers from the injury.
- A moderate injury means someone has recovered quite a bit but has symptoms that negatively impacts their quality of life or their day to day activities. With time, they usually experience a full recovery.
- A moderately severe injury causes long-term or permanent physical limitations for the part of the body that was injured.
- A severe and permanent condition causes a major and permanent change in the victim’s quality of life. These injuries cause permanent pain and need long-term medical assistance.
What about Claims with Multiple Injuries?
For victims who have more than one injury from the same accident, it’s important for you to know that you cannot simply add the different amounts together to get an estimate. The Injuries Board looks first at your most severe injury. Then, they adjust the compensation amount to cover less severe injuries.
How Is the Compensation Claims Estimator Used?
While we will list the steps of how the compensation claims estimator is used, always remember that the factors related to your claim directly affect the amount suggested by the Injuries Board. It is not a guarantee.
- Step 1. Use The Book of Quantum to find the category that includes your most severe injury. If you only have one injury, choose the category that includes your injury.
- Step 2. Determine the severity of your injury. You may want to rely on the information given to you by your medical provider as well as how you’re progressing in your recovery.
- Step 3. Find the value range for your injury. If you have more than one injury, start by finding the value for your most severe injury. Remember that the Injury Board will look at your other injuries as secondary and add compensation accordingly.
- Step 4. Consider The Book of Quantum compensation guidelines. You and your personal injury solicitor can better estimate the potential compensation by applying the guidelines to your specific situation.
What Are the Most Common Compensation Claims Estimates?
This information is subject to change as The Book of Quantum is updated on a regular basis. Depending on severity:
- Concussions may be worth between €19,000 and €74,000.
- Skull fractures and other minor head injuries without loss of consciousness may be worth between €34,700 and €105,000.
- Skull fractures and severe head injuries with loss of consciousness may be worth between €52,800 and €144,000.
- Eye injuries that affect eye sight may be worth between €9,800 and €138,000.
- Cheek fractures may be worth between €21,000 and €63,900.
- Nose fractures may be worth between €18,000 and €63,900.
- Soft tissue injuries that affect the jaw may be worth between €11,000 and €52,700.
- Dislocation of the jaw may be worth between €21,200 and €68,600.
- Fractures of the jaw may be worth between €21,200 and €80,200.
- Damage to teeth may be worth between €4,400 and €12,700.
- Whiplash and other soft tissue injuries to the neck may be worth between €15,700 and €77,900.
- Soft tissue back injuries may be worth between €14,800 and €92,000.
- Spinal injuries may be worth between €32,500 and €139,000.
- Injuries to the arm or hand, including amputation, may be worth between €41,600 and €80,500.
- Soft tissue injuries to the shoulder or upper arm may be worth between €22,000 and €67,700.
- Dislocation of the shoulder may be worth between €17,500 and €76,700.
- A fracture to the humerus may be worth between €34,700 and €83,900.
- A fracture to the collar bone may be worth between €22,100 and €44,000.
- A crushed hand or arm may be worth between €14,400 and €87,700.
- A soft tissue injury to the elbow or forearm may be worth between €9,200 and €63,900.
- Dislocation of the forearm or elbow may be worth between €21,200 and €75,300.
- Fracture of the radius or ulna bones may be worth between €22,100 and €83,700.
- Soft tissue wrist injuries may be worth between €21,900 and €67,500.
- Dislocation of the wrist may be worth between €19,800 and €77,6900.
- A wrist fracture may be worth between €19.300 and €78,000.
- A soft tissue hand injury may be worth between €21,700 and €67,500.
- A hand fracture may be worth between €14,600 and €67,700.
- A soft tissue injury or dislocation to the fingers may be worth between €12,800 and €62,700.
- Tenosynovitis may be worth between €17,500 and €68,600.
- Radial or cubital tunnel syndrome may be worth between €22,400 and €76,600.
- Carpal Tunnel may be worth between €22,100 and €74,100.
- Tennis or Golfer’s Elbow may be worth between €18,400 and €51,400.
- Dermatitis on the hand or arm may be worth between €14,000 and €53,700.
- Soft tissue injuries to the hip or pelvis may be worth between €13,400 and €70,000.
- Dislocation of the ship or pelvis may be worth between €27,100 and €94,800.
- A femur fracture may be worth between €27,700 and €102,000.
- A soft tissue injury to the knee may be worth between €14,800 and €81,600.
- Dislocation of the knee may be worth between €22,100 and €93,400.
- A fractured knee may be worth between €20,600 and €89,100.
- A fracture to the tibia or fibia may be worth between €40,500 and €96,800.
- A soft tissue injury to the ankle, not including the Achilles tendon, may be worth between €23,000 and €62,300.
- An injury to the Achilles tendon may be worth between €12,600 and €51,500.
- Fractures to the distal tibia, distal fibula, or talus may be worth between €54,00 and €93,300.
- A soft tissue foot injury may be worth between €19,900 and €54,400.
- A dislocation of the foot may be worth between €16,300 and €77,500.
- A fracture of the foot may be worth between €18,000 and €92,900.
- A crushed foot may be worth between €12,800 and €78,300.
- The loss of a toe may be worth up to €70,600 depending on the toe.
- Injuries to the big toe may be worth between €11,000 and €46,800.
- Injuries to other toes may be worth between €10,900 and €33,700.
- Injuries to the ribs or a chest bone fracture may be worth between €13,900 and €80,000.
- Heart contusions may be worth between €18,500 and €22,100.
- Injuries to the lung may be worth between €15,900 and €31,700.
- A punctured or collapsed lung may be worth between €14,600 and €82,700.
- Kidney injuries may be worth between €13,400 and €28,000.
- An injury to the bowels or digestive system may be worth between €21,300 and €93,900.
- An injury to the bladder may be worth between €14,200 and €86,000.
- An injury to the spleen may be worth between €21,300 and €73,100.
- A hernia may be worth between €25,700 and €60,300.
- Food poisoning may be worth between €14,500 and €40,300.
Do keep in mind that The Book of Quantum is updated with new data on a regular basis. These figures may be different when you file your claim. If you have questions about the compensation claims estimator or about filing an accident claim, call on Tiernan & Co Solicitors at 01-6622822 or use our immediate call back form.
