General Damages & Special Damages

There are two main categories of compensation that you can recover in personal injury and medical negligence claims – these are known as general damages and special damages.

A solicitor handling your personal injury case may refer to general damages and special damages during the course of a claim and should give you a clear explanation of what they mean. Here is an overview of both terms:

Personal injury damages

What are general damages in personal injury claims?

General damages are compensation awarded for pain, suffering, and loss of amenity – losses which are unable to have a precise quantification in terms of money. Loss of amenity means the inability to complete activities (whether that’s temporarily or permanently) after an accident, which could be undertaken before, such as being unable to pursue certain hobbies or socialise with friends.

General damages are deemed to be a ‘natural’ or probable consequence of the injury and are designed to compensate you for the actual injuries suffered, and the effect those have had on your quality of life. Your solicitor should consider the following when valuing general damages:

What are special damages in personal injury claims?

Special damages are compensation to cover the financial losses and expenses incurred because of an accident or negligent medical treatment – losses which can be calculated in financial terms. The aim is to put you back into the financial position you would have been in, had the accident or medical negligence not occurred.

If you are unsure whether you can claim for a certain loss or expense, the test is to think – If not for the injury from the accident or treatment, would it have been incurred? If the answer is no, then in principle it is likely to be something you can claim for.

However, an injured person has a duty to take reasonable steps to minimise their losses/expenses. This is called mitigation of losses – for example if you are able to go back to a job (even if it is not the same job as before the accident), then you are expected to. Similarly, if you are offered private medical treatment and you decline it without good reason, this is a failure to mitigate your loss. Lastly, if you can get to medical appointments via a bus, but opt for a taxi/Uber, this is also a failure to mitigate your loss. A Court will assess whether the loss was reasonably incurred, before making an award of damages.

Common types of financial losses/expenses are:

Another common type of loss, less widely known about, is care and assistance. This can apply in circumstances where an injured person relies on help with everyday household and/or personal care tasks which, but for the accident, they would have completed themselves. The help can be provided gratuitously, for example, by a family member or friend, and can be included in the claim.

Repaying benefits

If you receive any state benefits as a direct result of the injuries suffered, these will need to be repaid out of the damages recovered, if they can be offset against the claim for loss of earnings or care and assistance. This is to avoid what is called double recovery. However, there is a cut-off point of five years post-accident. Any benefits received after this date are not repayable.