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Matthew Cross comments on the calculation of damages:

A common question we are asked when assessing compensation in ordinary personal injury cases is: "Why is my claim worth less than my friend, Fred, when my injury was the same/much worse?"

The answer is generally quite straightforward : no two cases are the same.

In simple terms, you can make a claim for unquantifiable losses.  This includes damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity eg, not being able to do some of the things you would normally be able to do.

The valuation of general damages is made by reference to previous similar cases, and any guidelines that might be available eg, the Judicial Studies Board Guidelines.  However, there is no set tariff, and the exact valuation of general damages is down to the individual Judge.  It follows that one Judge on one day could value the same case differently to another Judge on another day.

Furthermore, we all experience different levels of pain and take different lengths of time to recover from injuries.  There may be issues that must be taken into account, specific to you personally, and thus affect the claim, eg, previous injury or pre-existing condition/disability.

So, on the face of it, you may appear to have suffered the same or even worse injury as your friend, but there are factors that might mean you do not recover the same as him by way of general damages.

Perhaps more significantly, however, they may be a marked difference in the special damages you can recover.  This is the legal name for losses that can be quantified in monetary terms.  These could include lost earnings, care and assistance, treatment costs etc.

For example, one week's loss of earnings for an architect may be significantly greater than for a clerical officer.  It may take one person a few weeks longer to return to work than another.  In each case the claim for lost earnings would be different.  Put the two together and the different in special damages could be significant.

By way of further example, you may be able to have physiotherapy provided free by the NHS.  Your friend may not.  The cost of treatment would form part of your friend's claim, but not yours. 

Most settlements are made on a global basis.  So when your friend says to you he recovered £7,000, he will almost certainly have included his special damages, which may well have been significantly different to yours. 

Matthew is an associate and Team Leader of the Personal Injury team based in Truro.  He is a Member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and Law Society Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme and can be contacted on 01872 265100 or by Email