By Stephen Bishop. Last Updated 29th August 2024. In this online guide, we are going to look at how to use a mental health compensation calculator. Additionally, we will cover some of the reasons why you might want to make a claim for harm caused to your mental health.
You may assume that if you have been injured in an accident, for example, a car accident or accident at work, you can only claim for the physical injuries that the incident has caused you. However, this is not the case.
You can make a personal injury claim for the mental injuries that your accident has caused you. Mental injuries can be debilitating and might stop you from being able to live your life as you did before.
We can’t hope to cover every possible combination of circumstances that could lead to a claim in this guide. However, we can still answer any more questions that you may have after reading this guide. You can call 0333 000 0729 and speak to one of our claims experts, or get in touch with us online. They can help you further.
Jump To A Section:
- Psychological Injury Compensation Calculator
- What Are Psychological Injuries And When Could I Claim?
- Is There A Time Limit For Mental Health Compensation Claims?
- How Could A Mental Health Compensation Calculator Help Me?
- What Steps Do I Need To Take To Prove My Claim?
- Make A Psychological Injury Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Useful Mental Health Resources
Psychological Injury Compensation Calculator
In this section, we explain how your compensation may be calculated in a successful claim. Factors that could influence a payout include the type of psychological injuries you’ve sustained and their severity.
The table below shows injuries and related figures taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Legal professionals, solicitors and others responsible for valuing claims may use these guidelines to help value general damages. It should be noted that the top row is not from the JCG.
| Type of Injury | Severity of Injury | Compensation Guideline | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple severe injuries and illnesses plus expenses | Very serious | Up to £250,000+ | You could be awarded compensation for one than one very serious injury or illness and any financial losses that occurred as a result, such as lost earnings and therapy costs. |
| Psychological damage | Severe | £66,920 to £141,240 | This bracket would include marked problems with respect of a range of factors including life and education. |
| Psychological damage | Moderate to severe | £23,270 to £66,920 | While there will be significant problems relating to various factors, there will be a better prognosis than in cases above. |
| Psychological damage | Moderate | £7,150 to £23,270 | In this bracket, marked improvement will have been made and there will be a good prognosis. |
| Psychological damage | Less severe | £1,880 to £7,150 | The amount of compensation within this bracket will depend on things like how badly the injured person had their sleep affected. |
| PTSD | Severe | £73,050 to £122,850 | No function at the pre trauma level. |
| PTSD | Moderately Severe | £28,250 to £73,050 | A better prognosis following professional help. |
| PTSD | Moderate | £9,980 to £28,250 | Cases of large recovery with no majorly disabling effects remaining. |
| PTSD | Less Severe | £4,820 to £9,980 | A full recovery within one to two years. |
As noted, these figures relate to general damages, one of the two possible heads of a claim. General damages compensate you for the suffering caused by your injuries. Special damages, the other potential head of claim, address any possible financial impact caused by the accident and your injury. This could potentially cover lost income, transport costs and counselling or treatment charges.
You may consider using an online mental health compensation calculator to value your psychological injury claim. However, a psychological injury compensation calculator may not be able to take into account every factor of your case, such as financial loss. For an accurate evaluation, contact our advisors today.
Special Damages
Psychiatric injury compensation settlements may be divided into two heads of claim. In this section, we’ll focus on what else you may be compensated for other than general damages.
Special damages may be included in a mental health compensation payout if you have suffered any financial harm or loss due to your injuries. This also includes future monetary losses.
We’ve featured some examples of special damages below:
- Loss of earnings
- Care expenses
- Travel costs
- Medical expenses
An anxiety compensation calculator may not be able to take your special damages into account when valuing your claim. To find out what psychiatric injury compensation amounts you could be owed, call our advisors at a time that best suits you.
What Are Psychological Injuries And When Could I Claim?
A psychological injury is damage to your mental health, such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression that has occurred as a reaction to an incident. There are various ways a psychological injury could occur, including as the result of an injury, an accident without a physical injury or as a witness to an accident.
You may be able to seek personal injury compensation for damage to your mental health if you can prove:
- A liable party owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty.
- You suffered harm to your mental health as a result.
An accident that can result in a mental injury could occur while at work, in a public place or on the roads. Additionally, mental health claims may also consist of compensation for a physical injury. However, if you only suffered a mental health injury as a result of the incident, you could claim for this alone. For example, you may break your leg in a road traffic accident and develop PTSD. Both injuries could be included in the same claim. Or, you could get stuck in a lift, causing psychological injuries.
Alternatively, you may develop generalised anxiety disorder after witnessing a colleague’s accident at work. You might be able to claim if you can prove that your employer owed you a duty of care and a breach in this resulted in your mental health injury.
As each claim is different, a psychological injuries compensation calculator may not consider every aspect of your claim when providing a figure. For example, if you suffered a physical injury in the same incident that caused your mental health damage. If you would like a more accurate figure for what your claim could be worth, contact an advisor from our team.
Is There A Time Limit For Mental Health Compensation Claims?
Under the Limitation Act 1980, the time limit for starting a claim seeking a mental health compensation payout is usually three years. This usually begins from the date of the incident that caused psychological harm to you.
If a party with psychological injuries lacks the mental capacity to make their own claim, then the time limit for claiming will be frozen for as long as the injured person is without this capacity. A litigation friend could start a claim instead on behalf of the injured party. If the injured party later recovers the capacity required to manage the claims process, and one hasn’t been made, then the three-year time limit for starting a claim will apply from the day of recovery.
If a child has suffered psychological injuries, then the time limit for claiming will be put on hold until the day they turn 18. A litigation friend could make a mental health compensation claim on the child’s behalf before the day of their 18th birthday.
You can contact our advisors for free today to ask any questions you may have about the time limit for claiming or other related matters, such as whether you can use a specific kind of mental health compensation calculator, such as an anxiety compensation calculator.
How Could A Mental Health Compensation Calculator Help Me?
Using a mental health compensation calculator could be beneficial if you have suffered psychological harm and want a broad idea of the compensation that you may receive. It could help in a couple of different ways:
- If you use an anxiety compensation calculator after a road traffic accident, you could get some insight into what your payout could look like.
- Alternatively, if you suffered physical injuries in a workplace accident as well as stress, a compensation calculator could account for compensation addressing all types of harm.
The calculator notes how payouts may vary depending on the type of condition and extent of harm. For example, a severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) case is likely to lead to a larger payout than a less severe case of depression.
However, the calculator focuses on the compensation that falls under the general damages head of loss only. To get an even broader idea of what you could be compensated for, including any financial losses, we recommend calling our free helpline for dedicated guidance today.
What Steps Do I Need To Take To Prove My Claim?
Following the diagnosis of mental health injuries, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or emotional distress you may wish to make a claim. Collecting sufficient evidence is a vital step for any personal injury claim.
Examples of what you can do following an incident that caused emotional distress include:
- Seek help from medical professionals. If you seek medical attention for your mental injury, you can submit your medical records as evidence. These can help illustrate the nature of your emotional distress and the treatment you require.
- Collect witness contact information. Anyone who witnessed the incident that resulted in your psychological injury can provide a statement at a later date. For example, if you were injured in a road traffic accident, you can note the contact details of anyone who saw it, even if you didn’t suffer physical injuries.
- Gather accident images and footage. Any pictures or videos of the incident that resulted in your psychological injuries can be useful when making a compensation claim.
- Keep details of your financial losses. For example, an invoice for a psychiatrist for any therapy you have needed for your mental injury.
- Speak with a personal injury solicitor. If you would like to make a mental health claim, you may wish to seek advice from a solicitor. A solicitor can help ensure that your case for psychological injuries is filed within the limitation period and can also help you gather vital supporting evidence.
For free advice on the evidence you could collect for your specific claim, you can speak with a member of our advisory team. They could also help answer any questions you may have about how to use a mental health compensation calculator.
Make A Psychological Injury Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
Our panel of expert solicitors are here to help if you would like to make a psychological injury claim. They can help you claim for a mental health compensation payout on a No Win No Fee basis by offering their services through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
With a CFA, a solicitor can guide you through the psychological injury claims process without asking for any upfront or ongoing fees. For example, they can help you gather evidence, ensure that all areas of your claim are considered, and provide more information on PTSD compensation amounts.
If your claim succeeds, your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation. This fee is a small percentage of your award that has a legislative cap, ensuring that you keep the most of what you receive. However, if your claim fails, then your solicitor will not take this fee.
To find out if you could be eligible to work with a solicitor from our panel on a No Win No Fee basis, get in touch with our team of advisors.
Contact Our Team For Help Using Our Mental Health Compensation Calculator
You may have decided that, rather than use a mental health compensation calculator to value your claim; we can help you with this. You can call our claims team, and they can provide you with important facts such as the personal injury claims time limit that will apply.
They can also help you to arrange for a solicitor to value your claim for you. You can use the information below to get in touch with us. Our team of advisors will be ready and waiting to provide you with the free legal advice you need.
You can get in touch by:
- Telephone on 0333 000 0729
- Via our live webchat
- Using our contact form
Useful Mental Health Resources
Here are some links to some of the other claims guides we have published on this website.
- How To Claim For Medical Negligence
- Claiming For A Child Brain Injury
- Making A Claim For Sexual Abuse
And here are a few links to other websites that have some useful information.
