Head and Brain Injury Compensation
Guiding you through all aspects of head and brain injury
In the UK, there are around 900,000 people who go to hospital with a head injury and 160,000 need to be admitted. It is also estimated that 1.3m people in the UK are living with disabilities following a head injury.
A failing in medical care can lead to brain injury for children and adults. When it happens, the effects can be life changing. At Higgs LLP we have many years’ experience of helping clients with a brain injury claim.
If you think that a medical care failure has caused a head or brain injury, you must consult a specialist solicitor who understands brain injury. At Higgs LLP we know how best to claim against a negligent medical practitioner, and importantly we are familiar with how a brain injury impacts a person, their work and home life.
We prioritise your early rehabilitation needs and help with securing early interim payments wherever possible. We also have an in-house client support manager who can help support you with a wide range of social needs. We also offer ‘no win no fee’ agreements to fund your claim, which means that there is no financial risk to you if you lose.
Start your brain injury compensation claim
What is a brain injury?
Our brain is the organ which controls the rest of our body. It is made of soft tissue and is protected by the bony skull however it is still prone to injury. In a medical setting the brain can be injured if doctors fail to act in time to prevent swelling in the skull, or to treat an infection in time, or prevent a reduction in oxygen to the brain. However, the brain is affected, it can cause temporary or lasting injury.
Causes of brain injury
You may suffer an injury to the head which directly injures the brain.
In other cases, an infection can cause swelling inside the brain cavity which can pressing on the brain and cause brain injury, as can brain tumours. It is important that your treating doctor looks out for signs of a problem with your brain, as prompt treatment can help prevent or minimise brain damage.
What are the types of brain injury?
Brain injury can be classified in several ways. If your brain is injured in an incident, it will be called a traumatic brain injury. However, if it was injured some other way, such as a tumour, stroke or bleed on the brain, it will be called an acquired brain injury. These are often shortened to TBI or ABI.
Other than that, doctors will classify a brain injury based on its severity, classing it a severe, moderate or mild. However, no matter the classification, any brain injury can have long term ongoing effect on someone’s life, and that of their family.
What are the effects of brain injury?
If you are making a brain injury claim, it is crucial that your solicitor understands the complexities of brain injury and what treatment may be needed. Damage to your brain can cause several impairments to mental ability and behavioural symptoms such as:
- Memory problems - unable to store and retrieve information or create new memories.
- Information processing - less able to process large amounts of information in short time periods. This may lead to slower speech or responses to questions, needing to repeat instructions several times and general frustration due to information overload.
- Attention span and poor concentration - damage to the part of the brain that controls attention and concentration will often harm the ability to multi-task.
- Perceptual difficulties – this is where the brain is not interpreting the information from our senses correctly. A very wide range of problems that can result from perceptual difficulties, such as difficulty with co-ordination, judging distances correctly and spatial awareness.
- Physical symptoms – these include movement or balance disorders, epilepsy, fatigue, headaches, chronic pain, a loss of sensation, spasticity and incontinence.
- Behavioural symptoms – damage to the frontal lobe can often affect personality and if damaged a person may have reduced self-control resulting in outbursts, mood swings, aggression and inappropriate behaviour or conversation. These types of symptoms can have a particularly large impact on a loved one.
- Lack of disinhibition - the ability to evaluate and adjust our personal behaviour to the circumstances around us is a complex skill. Largely controlled by our frontal lobes, if they are damaged it can affect self-awareness, insight into the consequences of one's actions, and ability to show empathy or sensitivity. People may also be unable to distinguish when they are being impolite or breaching appropriate social etiquette.
- Apathy - damage to the frontal lobe can also cause a lack of motivation or spontaneity. This is because the person has reduced levels of emotion and forward planning, which makes activities appear extremely overwhelming.
- Sexual problems - after a head injury, a person’s sex drive can either increase or decrease.
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Recovery and rehabilitation
The first six months are typically spent understanding the precise impact of the brain injury on function and cognition. Most improvements are typically seen in the first 12 months. Following brain damage new neural pathways must be created by the brain to help it recover, and this is called neural plasticity. After the first-year progress is often much slower; the importance of rehabilitation in the first 12 months cannot be underestimated, as this is when the brain learns new ways of adapting. After the first year many people reach a plateau, so the key to long term functional improvement is to then set new realistic goals by taking small steps. Working with a dedicated occupational therapist is critical in setting and achieving these goals.
Rehabilitation normally takes place whilst a person is in hospital and in cases of severe brain injury, a patient may be discharged to a specialist rehabilitation facility. Unfortunately, due to pressures on the NHS, all too often patients are discharged too early with little or no support once they arrive home.
Every brain is different, and rehabilitation is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Typical types of treatment which may be required are:
- Occupational therapy – focuses on ensuring the individual can meet certain daily living skills and regain as much independence as possible, by adapting to the home environment. Treatment will often involve learning coping strategies to make activities of daily living easier, like showering, preparing food, getting dressed.
- Neurological physical therapy – focuses on balance and coordination, using exercises which aid nerve regeneration. This type of treatment improves functional impairments.
- Cognitive therapy – focuses on improving the ways in which people think and how they retrieve information. This can help an individual overcome any difficulties they are experiencing by highlighting and repairing dysfunctional behaviours, thought processes and emotional responses.
- Cognitive behavioural therapy – aims to help the individual move away from heavily polarised thought processes which amplify negativity and minimize positivity. The goal is to create a more realistic way of thinking and so reducing stress.
Compensation in our view is only part of the solution. We prioritise rehabilitation for our clients from the very outset and select the best rehabilitation providers to work with you to identify what treatment you require. Wherever possible we appoint a case manager, who will be a medical professional with expertise in managing brain injury, to carry out an Immediate Needs Assessment. After this assessment, your case manager will co-ordinate your rehabilitation package and work with you and other professionals to identify what treatment you require.
The Immediate Needs Assessment will often take place in your own home and identifies areas where you need support or more help, such as:
- physiotherapy or hydrotherapy
- occupational therapy
- adapting or buying a home more suited to your needs
- adapting or buying a more suitable vehicle
- psychological therapy
- employment rehabilitation
- educational needs
If your assessment makes recommendations, we will advise how we can help you access and fund them to get the support and care that you need.
Funding a brain injury claim
When you speak with us, we advise you on the best way to fund your claim. It may be that you have existing legal expenses cover.
In a medical negligence claim, for example, legal aid may be available if a child suffers brain injury following medical negligence during pregnancy, their birth or within eight weeks of their birth. Higgs LLP are approved by the Legal Aid Agency to act on a legal aid certificate for a child with a brain injury claim if it meets all necessary criteria.
For other claims, if you do not have existing legal expenses insurance cover, we will offer to act for you a ‘no-win – no fee’ agreement so long as we think that your claim has enough prospects to succeed, which means that there is no financial risk to you if you lose.
No win no fee claims
This means if your claim is unsuccessful, you pay nothing; there are no hidden costs. Our focus is on supporting you, not on profits.
Working with Headway
We are recognised by Headway – The Brain Injury Association, as specialist head injury lawyers. We also have close links with our local Headway charities in the Black Country, Birmingham, and Worcester, and provide legal advice to their service users who have suffered a brain injury.
How our brain injury solicitors can help
Our medical negligence solicitors are specialists in brain injury. They understand how stressful it can be to make a legal claim for your brain injury, while at the same time trying to adapt to a brain injury; they also understand the impact that this has on your family.
We will meet with you face to face to understand more about what has happened, and the impact of the brain injury on you and your family. We will notify the organisation responsible for providing compensation, ordinarily the NHS, and start to collect evidence of your losses, instructing medical experts to report on your brain injury in support of your legal claim.
We believe that early intervention is the best way to help you maximise your chances of rehabilitation, so we focus, where possible, on arranging case manager support and interim payments, whilst we work to secure the best overall outcome for you and your family. We always put you at the centre of everything we do.
Our brain injury lawyers will assess the value of your claim and fight for the best negotiated outcome possible but, when necessary, they will prepare your case and take it to court. Often this can result in a better negotiated settlement without having to go to a trial.
As we are a broad-based legal practice, we can provide holistic support and work with our colleagues in other legal disciplines to support your case, if needed. It means you will benefit from a seamless, one-team approach. You are in safe hands.
We are:
- Accredited members of Headway’s Head Injury Solicitors Directory
- Founding members of the Brain Injury Group
- Spinal Injuries Association trusted legal partner for the West Midlands
- One of three law firms selected by The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham to support patients at the hospital as part of the 4 Trauma 4 Patients support service
- One of three firms selected by the University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire operated by Cardinal Management to support patients as part of the Major Trauma Signposting project
- One of three firms selected by the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital operated by Cardinal Management to support patients as part of the Major Trauma Signposting project
- Serious Injury Guide signatories
- Members of:
- The Motor Accident Solicitors Society
- Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
- Approved by Association for Victims of Medical Accidents
- Approved Law Society Personal Injury Panel and Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel
- Birmingham Law Society
- Recognised in Chambers and Partners Directory
- Recommended by the Legal 500 as leading personal injury and clinical negligence lawyers.
Evidence needed to make a brain injury claim
The evidence needed in each claim will vary, depending on the circumstances. For medical negligence claims, as well as your statement as to what went wrong with your medical care, we must obtain expert medical opinions to support your case that your medical care was below the expected standard.
We will also need evidence of your financial losses and expenses, as well as expert medical evidence on the extent of your injuries.
Time limits
Most claims must begin within three years of the incident that caused your brain injury or when you reasonably became aware that someone’s negligence had caused your injury. In a medical negligence setting, you may not know of a doctor’s negligence until after the treatment.
However, if a case involves a child, the three years limitation period does not begin to run until their 18th birthday.
What is involved in a brain injury claim?
To win your claim you must prove that the medical practitioner’s care was below the accepted standard, which then caused or materially contributed to your brain injury.
To investigate a brain injury claim, we will take a statement from you and others, such as family members. We will also obtain and review your medical records.
In a medical negligence claim, if our initial review of the medical records is supportive, we also ask independent medical experts to report on whether the care was negligent, whether it caused or materially contributed to your brain injury, and the extent of your injury and its prognosis.
The claim formally begins when we send a letter of claim to your opponent. A protocol sets out the time that an opponent must consider your claim before providing a formal response to your claim. Their reply may be a full admission of liability however, if it is not, it will state what their position is and why. For example, in a medical negligence case, a reply may agree that the care provided was below the expected standard however, dispute that it caused or materially contributed to any injury. The protocol is intended to allow both you and your opponent to understand each other’s position on the claim, without having to take the step of going to court.
How is brain injury compensation decided?
In many brain injury claims we can negotiate an agreed settlement, so a court does not have to decide the amount of compensation. In most cases involving a significant brain injury, this is often in a formal settlement meeting; these are sometimes called a Joint Settlement Meeting or a Round Table Meeting. We attend the meeting with our client and barrister, the opponent’s solicitor and barrister also attend.
However, if liability is disputed or a settlement cannot be agreed, we will recommend court proceedings are started if there are reasonable prospects of success. Sometimes it is necessary to start court proceedings if the time to bring a court claim is due to expire, so court proceedings are started to protect the claim.
We handle all aspects of the court process for you. This includes preparing the court documents setting out your claim for compensation. After your opponent send their defence setting out what they agree or dispute, a judge would set a timetable of steps for us and your opponent to follow. These are designed to prepare your claim for trial if it does not settle beforehand. They include sharing relevant documents, witness statements, expert medical evidence, and schedules of loss with your opponent.
Even if a claim is in the court process, it is still possible to settle it without going to trial however, for those that do, the judge hears and reviews all the relevant evidence. After hearing the arguments of your barrister and the opponent’s barrister, they decide whether the claim is successful and if so, the amount of compensation to award.
How is a brain injury compensation paid?
It is possible to settle a brain injury claim in a single lump sum, which would be on a full and final basis. However, this is rarely advisable in a brain injury claim because of the risk that it may result in an under-settlement if, for example, your future care costs increase more than expected due to inflation or if you live longer than expected. For these reasons, whilst it is appropriate to settle parts of the claim in a lump sum like the general damages, it is often best to settle other parts of your claim, such as future care costs, on a periodical payment basis. This allows for those payments to be paid annually for the rest of your life and to be increased annually based on the relevant interest rate. This removes the risk of a lump sum to pay running out.
In some cases, such as when you may have a risk of developing epilepsy or dementia, we would also advise you on the benefits of seeking an order for provisional damages. In this situation, a settlement or award would be made based on the epilepsy or dementia not developing. However, if it did develop in the timescale stated in the order, then you would be able to go back to court for a further award of compensation. This is a specific exception to the rule that compensation is full and final.
Financial Affairs and the Court of Protection
When you receive compensation, it is important that you have advice on the benefit of a trust to protect any current or future entitlement to means-tested state benefits. We have a specialist team which can advise you on this and arrange the trust.
Also, if the brain injury affects your mental capacity and you do not have an attorney to look after your financial affairs or health and welfare, we can also advise you on applying to the Court of Protection to appoint a deputy to protect your interests. Our specialised team can also help you with this process.
Brain injury payouts
Compensation awards are broken down into several categories. The award for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity, sometimes called general damages, will vary depending on the extent of a person’s injury and its impact on their life. This is assessed individually, based on the medical evidence. Here are the brackets of likely awards for brain injury:
- Very severe brain injury - £300,000 - £440,000
- Moderately severe brain injury - £240,000 - £310,000
- Moderate brain injury - £47,000 - £240,000
- Less severe brain injury - £16,500 - £47,000
- Minor brain injury - £2,400 - £14,000
- Grand mal epilepsy - £110,000 - £165,000
- Petit mal epilepsy - £60,000 - £144,000
In addition to these awards, the compensation can include amounts to cover the cost of suitable accommodation, care needs, equipment and aids, lost earnings, lost pension, and many other losses, where these are proven to be reasonably required. In brain injury cases, these losses will often make up the bulk of the overall compensation.
Why choose us as your brain injury lawyers
Our team of solicitors have the knowledge, experience, and proven track record to help you make a successful brain injury claim.
Our team are recognised and accredited in the legal directories and across many organisations, including being on the Law Society Clinical Negligence panel, Action Against Medical Accidents panel, Headway, and the Spinal Injury Association trusted partnership.
Our team has an excellent reputation for its work on a broad range of high-value and complex clinical negligence claims.
Each team member has particular expertise, with a range of specialisms, including severe birth injuries, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries and fatal claims.
FAQs
How long a claim takes will vary, due to several factors. We need to gather the appropriate expert medical evidence on your injuries and your future needs, such as accommodation, care and equipment, as well as the impact on your capacity to work. This may take a time to assess with certainty. The timescale can also be impacted by the conduct of the party you are claiming against; if they are cooperative from the start that helps in reaching an earlier settlement of your claim. However, if they contest the claim and court action is needed, this extends the time to conclude your claim. We recognise that claims can take a long time, which is why we focus on early intervention and interim payments whenever possible.
Compensation awards are broken down into several categories. The award for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity, sometimes called general damages, will vary depending on the extent of a person’s injury and its impact on their life. This is assessed individually, based on the medical evidence. Here are the brackets of likely awards for brain injury:
- Very severe brain injury - £300,000 - £440,000
- Moderately severe brain injury - £240,000 - £310,000
- Moderate brain injury - £47,000 - £240,000
- Less severe brain injury - £16,500 - £47,000
- Minor brain injury - £2,400 - £14,000
- Grand mal epilepsy - £110,000 - £165,000
- Petit mal epilepsy - £60,000 - £144,000
In addition to these awards, the compensation can include amounts to cover the cost of suitable accommodation, care needs, equipment and aids, lost earnings, lost pension and many other losses, where these are proven to be reasonably required. In brain injury cases, these losses will often make up the bulk of the overall compensation.
The most common brain injury is concussion, which in most people will not leave any long-lasting problems. However, anyone who suffers concussion must be assessed by a doctor to rule out a more serious brain injury.
This will depend on the extent of your brain injury, the amount of rehabilitation and ongoing support that you receive. Some people still lead an active life after a brain injury and return to driving and working.
Some brain injuries like concussion are likely to be temporary. However, where there is more injury to the brain, then there are likely to be permanent symptoms which will vary, depending on the extent of the injury.
As part of an injury claim we will, where possible, arrange an immediate needs assessment and then try to access funding to provide for your rehabilitation needs.
If your injury is not due to anyone’s fault then, in the UK, the NHS will be responsible for your medical care. This will cover your initial treatment in hospital and any time you spend in a specialist rehabilitation centre. The NHS will also be responsible for your ongoing medical treatment needs. Your social care needs will be the responsibility of your local authority, but these services are means tested, so you may have to contribute to the cost of those services or pay for them entirely.
If, however, you are able to prove that your injury was someone’s fault, then you will be able to claim the reasonable cost of your care and rehabilitation, including the future costs that you expect to incur.
Compensation awards are broken down into a number of categories. The award for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity, sometimes called general damages, will vary depending on the extent of a person’s injury and its impact on their life. This is assessed individually, based on the medical evidence.
In addition to these awards, the compensation can include amounts to cover the cost of suitable accommodation, care needs, equipment and aids, lost earnings, lost pension, and many other losses, where they are reasonably required. In serious injury cases, these losses will often make up the bulk of the overall compensation.
Meet the brain injury claim team
Clare Langford
Partner - Medical Negligence
Jenny Tetlow
Senior Associate - Medical Negligence
Liz Hickman
Legal Director - Medical Negligence
Natasha Alton
Associate - Medical Negligence
Charlotte Measures
Legal Director - Medical Negligence
Sarah Huntbach
Legal Director - Medical Negligence
Sarina Nar
Paralegal - Medical Negligence
