How are general damages calculated?

General damages is the element of your compensation that cover the pain and suffering you have incurred as a result of the injuries you have suffered.

The starting point for assessing your general damages is the Judicial College Guidelines, these guidelines set out brackets for the level of compensation that should be awarded for different types of injury.

Factors which need to be considered are; the type of injury, whether a full recovery had been made or if the injury is permanent will surgery be necessary, has the injury caused any disability and has the injury caused worsening of a pre-existing condition.

For instance if you suffered a broken arm the Guidelines provide for the following brackets.

Often an injured person will suffer more than one injury at a time, and they could suffer a physical injury and a psychological injury. Where there is more than one injury suffered, we must look at the cumulative suffering caused by those injuries.

The guideline will direct us to an approximate bracket for calculating the value of the general damages, from there we will also need to consider case law, to determine what value the courts have historically placed on an injury of the type suffered.