If your car has been written off or there is an insurance excess this loss can be claimed. You can only recover the pre-accident value of a written off vehicle and this may be less than the actual replacement cost. You can recover the reasonable repair costs of a damaged vehicle provided it is not an uneconomical repair. If you are without a vehicle for a period of time, you may claim for loss of use. If you have to hire a car for work or domestic needs you will probably be able to recover the hire cost for a limited period. Please speak to us as soon as possible if you require assistance with this head of claim.

If you have been unable to work as a result of your injuries, you will be able to recover any lost pay, including loss of overtime or bonus.

If you do not have payslips, we can contact your employer for details of your earnings before the accident. This gives an indication of what you would have received during your absence from work.
If you are self-employed, we will need to assess your loss of income, usually by reference to the previous year's trading accounts or tax return.

The medical report will deal with your inability to work due to the injury. In the meantime, you should keep copies of any medical certificates issued by your doctor or other medical advisor.

If clothing or other personal items are damaged in the accident, you can generally recover the cost of the item on a "wear and tear" or "second hand" basis. You may not be able to recover the full replacement value. However, to prove the loss, it will assist if you are able to provide either original receipts or quotes as to the replacement cost. The damaged items may need to be inspected; so you should keep them in a safe place.

If, as a result of the accident, you have had private treatment, for example, physiotherapy, you can claim the cost back with receipts. Also, if you have paid for painkillers or prescriptions, you should keep the receipts so that this can be included in your claim.

You are entitled to claim for the reasonable cost of travel that you have undertaken as a direct result of the accident. If you use public transport you should keep all tickets/receipts for all journeys undertaken and make a note of the reason for the trip. You should only use taxis where necessary and again keep all receipts for all journeys undertaken and make a note of the reason for the trip. If travelling by another vehicle make a note of the mileage.

If you are injured to the extent that a friend or relative has to provide some care for you, for example, with shopping, looking after pets, dressing, washing, cooking or cleaning, and that assistance is above and beyond what they would usually do for you, you can claim the notional value of the cost of their time even though you do not actually pay them for their assistance. We will need to obtain a statement from them confirming the duration and nature of their care and assistance. It will be helpful evidence if a dairy record is kept.

If your holiday was cancelled or ruined because of your injury, it may be possible to claim a proportionate amount of additional compensation towards the cost of the holiday.

If your injury is disabling or prolonged and if you used to carry out this type of activity, you can claim the amount you have paid for someone else to do this work. You should keep receipts or invoices.

You can claim the interest you have paid if you have had to take out a loan due to having reduced income because of the accident or injury. You can also claim the bank charges you incur if you are overdrawn due to the reduced earnings. We will need full details of the loan or charges as well as confirmation that the accident has caused the interest to be payable.

If you are at home for a long period in order to recover from your injuries and this has led to an increase in household bills it may be possible to claim the additional cost. We will need to see bills from previous years and the time you were home in order to show that the amount has increased.

There may be some losses that you have not yet suffered or some expenses that you have not yet incurred but which you are likely to face in the future as a result of your injuries. Examples include medical treatment costs that will continue after the claim has concluded, pension losses and loss of earnings where you are unable to return to work. These can be included in the claim.

There are also other heads of damages that may be pursued in certain cases.

These include additional compensation for the following:

• Loss of congenial employment
• Handicap or disadvantage on the open labour market
• Loss of amenity

The value of these heads of claim can often run into several thousand pounds. If appropriate a detailed analysis will be required in each particular case.

In appropriate cases we can seek provisional damages. This means that if there is a significant risk of an identified medical condition deteriorating or arising in the future, settlement can be drawn up on the basis that you may return to the court to seek further damages should the risk materialise at a later date.