What Can I Claim for After a Road Traffic Accident? | Inson Legal

If you've been in a road traffic accident that wasn't your fault, you're probably wondering what you can actually claim for. Most people think it's just about the injury itself — the pain, the bruising, the broken bones. But that's only part of it.

I'm Chris Hutchinson, a personal injury solicitor based in Bolton, and I've handled hundreds of RTA claims over the years. The single biggest mistake I see? People not claiming for everything they're entitled to.

Let me walk you through exactly what road traffic accident compensation covers — and the things most people forget.

The Two Types of Compensation: General and Special Damages

Every personal injury claim is split into two categories. Understanding this is the key to making sure you don't leave money on the table.

General Damages — Pain, Suffering, and Loss of Amenity

This is the compensation for your actual injury. The pain you've been through, the suffering, and how the injury has affected your day-to-day life — what lawyers call "loss of amenity."

The amount depends on the type and severity of your injury. Courts use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines to work out a bracket for each injury type. For example:

• A moderate whiplash injury might attract £4,000–£8,000
• A broken ankle could be £8,000–£30,000
• Serious back injuries can run into six figures

If you've got a neck injury from a car accident or back pain after an accident, these fall under general damages.

But general damages also cover the psychological impact. If you've developed anxiety about driving, depression because you can't work, or PTSD from the accident — that's all claimable. And it's often missed.

Special Damages — The Financial Losses

This is where most people lose out. Special damages cover every financial loss you've suffered because of the accident. Every penny. But you need to know what to claim for, and you need evidence.

Here's what falls under special damages:

Lost Earnings

If you've had time off work because of your injury, you can claim for every day of lost income. That includes:

• Wages or salary you've missed
• Overtime you would have worked
• Bonuses you've missed out on
• Self-employment income — trickier to prove, but absolutely claimable
• Sick pay — even if your employer paid you sick pay, you may still have a claim if you used up your entitlement

I had a client who was a delivery driver. He was off work for four months with a fractured wrist. His lost earnings claim was worth more than the injury compensation itself. He nearly didn't mention it because his employer had given him statutory sick pay and he thought that meant he was "covered." It didn't. The difference between SSP and his actual wages was fully claimable.

Travel Costs

This one gets forgotten constantly. Every journey you make because of the accident is claimable:

• Hospital and GP appointments — mileage or taxi fares
• Physiotherapy sessions
• Trips to the pharmacy
• Travel to your solicitor's office
• Alternative transport costs if your car was written off and you had to use taxis or public transport

Keep receipts. Keep a log. If you drove, note the mileage — HMRC's approved mileage rate (currently 45p per mile) is the standard used.

I've seen travel costs add up to £500–£1,500 on claims where the client initially said "oh, I don't think I have any expenses." You do. You just haven't added them up.

Care and Assistance

If anyone has helped look after you because of your injury, that has a monetary value — even if they did it for free. This is called "gratuitous care" and it's one of the most commonly overlooked heads of claim.

Examples:

• Your partner helping you get dressed because you've got your arm in a sling
• A family member driving you to appointments
• Someone doing your shopping, cooking, or cleaning
• A parent looking after your children because you can't

The rate is typically calculated using guidelines from the case of *Evans v Pontypridd Roofing* — usually somewhere around £8–£12 per hour depending on the level of care. If you needed help for 3 hours a day for 8 weeks, that's over £1,500 just for care costs.

And no, it doesn't matter that your mum or your partner didn't charge you. The law says you can claim it anyway.

Medication and Treatment Costs

Anything you've had to pay for medically:

• Prescription charges
• Over-the-counter painkillers (paracetamol, ibuprofen, heat patches, etc.)
• Private physiotherapy — if the NHS waiting list was too long
• Counselling or therapy for anxiety or PTSD
• Medical aids — crutches, supports, special pillows

If the NHS couldn't provide what you needed quickly enough and you went private, that's claimable. I regularly see clients who've spent £300–£800 on private physio and didn't realise they could recover it.

Damaged Property

Your car is the obvious one — either repair costs or the market value if it was written off. But it's not just your car:

• Clothing damaged in the accident
• Glasses or sunglasses broken
• Phone or tablet smashed
• Bicycle, helmet, or cycling gear if you were a cyclist
• Child car seats — these should always be replaced after an accident, even if they look fine
• Personal items in the car — laptop bags, tools, equipment

I had a tradesman whose tools were in the boot of his car when he was rear-ended. The boot crumpled and his tools were damaged. That was an extra £2,000 on his claim that he wouldn't have thought to mention if I hadn't asked.

Future Losses

If your injury is going to affect you going forward, your claim should account for that. This includes:

• Future lost earnings — if you can't return to the same job, or you'll earn less
• Future care costs — if you'll need ongoing help
• Future treatment — ongoing physio, potential surgery, long-term medication
• Pension losses — if time off work has affected your pension contributions
• Loss of career progression — if the injury has derailed a promotion or career path

Future losses can make a massive difference to the value of a claim. A young person with a serious injury that affects their earning capacity for the rest of their working life could be looking at a claim worth hundreds of thousands — most of that from future losses.

This is one of the reasons I always say: don't accept the first offer from an insurer. They rarely account for future losses properly. And once you've accepted, you can't go back.

Interim Payments — Money Before Your Claim Settles

Here's something most people don't know: you don't necessarily have to wait until your claim is fully settled to receive compensation.

If liability is admitted (the other side accepts it was their fault), I can apply for interim payments. This is money on account — an advance against your final settlement — to help you while you're waiting.

This matters if you're off work and struggling financially. I've secured interim payments for clients within weeks of starting their claim, sometimes £5,000–£10,000 or more.

I talk about this in more detail on my page about getting a payout before your claim settles, and it's one of the things that sets my service apart. I don't think you should have to go into debt while waiting for compensation that's rightfully yours.

Rehabilitation

Under the Rehabilitation Code, the other side's insurer should consider funding your rehabilitation — things like physiotherapy, occupational therapy, or psychological support — even before your claim is settled.

This isn't compensation in the traditional sense, but it's something I push for early in every claim. Getting you better faster is good for everyone, and it costs you nothing.

Things People Forget to Claim For — Real Examples

Over the years, these are the things clients almost always forget:

1. Childcare costs — if you normally look after your children but needed someone else to do it

2. Garden maintenance — if you couldn't mow the lawn, trim hedges, or maintain your garden for weeks or months

3. DIY and home maintenance — if you had to pay someone to do things you'd normally do yourself

4. Holiday cancellations — if you had to cancel a holiday because of your injury, the lost deposits and costs are claimable

5. Increased household bills — being at home all day recovering means higher heating and electricity bills

6. Alternative accommodation — if your home needed adaptations or you had to stay elsewhere

7. Ruined special occasions — missed a wedding, birthday, or family event because of your injury? That factors into your general damages

8. Pet care costs — if you couldn't walk the dog and had to pay someone

None of these are trivial. They add up. And if you don't claim for them, you're effectively paying for someone else's negligence out of your own pocket.

How I Make Sure You Claim for Everything

When you instruct me, I go through a detailed schedule of losses with you. We go line by line through every possible head of claim. I ask the questions most people wouldn't think to ask, because I've done this hundreds of times.

I also keep your schedule of losses updated throughout your claim. As new expenses arise — more physio sessions, more time off work, a cancelled holiday — we add them in.

This is one of the reasons I believe you should have a solicitor handling your personal injury claim rather than trying to do it yourself. The insurer is not going to prompt you to claim for garden maintenance or childcare. That's my job.

What About No Win, No Fee?

All of my RTA claims are handled on a no win, no fee basis. That means you don't pay me anything upfront, and if your claim doesn't succeed, you don't pay me at all.

If we win — which we do in the vast majority of cases — my fee is a percentage of your compensation, capped at 25% of your general damages. So if your injury compensation is £10,000, the maximum fee would be £2,500. Your special damages (lost earnings, expenses, etc.) are yours in full.

Whether you were in a car, on a motorbike, a bicycle, or a pedestrian — if someone else was at fault, you've got a claim.

Don't Settle for Less Than You're Owed

The insurance company's job is to pay you as little as possible. My job is the opposite. If you've been in a road traffic accident and you're not sure what you can claim for, talk to me. It costs nothing to find out, and you might be surprised at how much your claim is actually worth.

I handle claims across Bolton, Manchester, and Greater Manchester, and throughout England and Wales.

Ready to Find Out What Your Claim Is Worth?

Call me on 01204 263147 for a free, no-obligation chat. Or fill out my quick contact form and I'll get back to you within 24 hours. You can also email me at mail@insonlegal.co.uk.

No pressure. No jargon. Just honest advice on what you're entitled to.