Last Updated on 15th November 2024. In this guide, we discuss when you could be eligible to begin a serious injury claim for organ damage. Certain third parties owe you a duty of care with regard to your health, safety and well being. A breach of this duty could give rise to a serious accident that causes you to sustain damage to your organs, such as your brain, lungs, kidney, bowels and bladder. In some cases, you might have valid grounds to pursue personal injury compensation if you meet the eligibility criteria. We discuss these criteria further in our guide, as well as looking in more detail at the duty of care owed to you by road users, employers, and occupiers.
Additionally, we provide examples of how you could sustain organ damage in a road traffic accident, a workplace accident, and an accident in a public place. We also include a figurative case study as a way of showing the steps you might need to take when seeking serious injury compensation.
Later in our guide, we discuss the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel, the services they can offer, and the terms under which they can offer to represent your claim.
If you have any other questions, please contact an advisor for free. They are available at any time and can offer further guidance on serious injury claims. To reach them, you can:
- Call on 0800 408 7825
- Fill out the ‘Contact Us‘ form on our website
- Starting a conversation through the live chat option below.
Jump To A Section
- Can You Make A Serious Injury Claim For Organ Damage?
- How Much Compensation For Internal Organ Injuries?
- What Is The Time Limit When Making A Serious Injury Claim For Organ Damage?
- Why Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor When Making Organ Damage Claims?
- Learn More About How To Claim For Internal Injuries
Can You Make A Serious Injury Claim For Organ Damage?
In order to have eligible grounds for a personal injury claim, you need to show that you meet the following criteria:
- A third party owed you a duty of care at the time and place of the accident.
- A breach of this duty occurred.
- This breach caused you to suffer a physical and/or psychological injury.
These three criteria form the definition of negligence in tort law. If you are able to demonstrate that negligence took place, you may have a valid serious injury claim for organ damage.
The following sections discuss the duty of care different third parties owe you in more detail and the legislation that must be adhered to in order to uphold this duty.
Accidents At Work
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) explains how employers have a duty of care towards their employees. It states that they must take practicable and reasonable measures as a way to keep employees safe and well while they work. A breach of this could potentially give rise to a serious accident at work. For example:
- An employer fails to ensure machinery is safe and fit for purpose, including making sure it is securely fitted. As a result, a large piece of machinery falls on an employee and causes them severe crush injuries and damage to internal organs.
Accidents In A Public Place
The party that manages a public place has a duty of care to visitors which is outlined by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. As per this piece of legislation, they need to take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of visitors using the space for it’s intended purpose. Failure to do so could result in an accident in a public place. For example:
- A faulty handrail, that was reported but not fixed in a reasonable time frame, could lead to a customer falling from a height in a supermarket accident. As a result, they could sustain severe brain damage.
Road Traffic Accidents
A duty of care is owed by road users to prevent each other from becoming injured or sustaining damage whilst navigating the roads and operating their vehicles. To uphold this duty, they need to adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. If another road user breaches their duty of care, it could lead to a serious road traffic accident. For example:
- A motorist speeding above the legal limit could collide head-on with another vehicle causing the driver to sustain multiple organ damage to their heart and lungs in a serious car accident.
To discuss your specific case and find out whether you’re eligible to begin a serious injury claim for organ damage, please speak with an advisor using the number above.
How Much Compensation For Internal Organ Injuries?
Following the completion of a successful serious injury claim for organ damage, you could be awarded a settlement that comprises up to two heads of loss; general damages and special damages.
Firstly, general damages is the primary head of loss that will be included in your payout after a successful claim. This compensates for the pain and suffering of your injuries, both physical and psychological. It also accounts for the impact your injuries have had on your quality of life.
As part of the claims process, you may need to attend an independent medical assessment which can be arranged for you. The assessment will produce a report that solicitors can then use to help value your injuries.
They can also use the guideline award brackets listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) alongside this report. The JCG figures provide a guideline compensation bracket for different types of harm. You can find some of these in the table below. However, you should use them as a guide only. Please note that the figure in the top row was not taken from the JCG.
| Type of Injury | Level of Harm | Guideline Award |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Organ Injuries | Serious Organ Damage Plus Significant Financial Loss | Up to £1 million plus. |
| Kidneys | Loss or Serious and Permanent Damage | £206,730 to £256,780 |
| Bowels | Double Incontinence | Up to £224,790 |
| Bowels | Total Loss of Natural Function | Up to £183,190 |
| Chest | Total Removal of a Lung | £122,850 to £183,190 |
| Chest | Traumatic Chest/Lung/Heart Injury | £80,240 to £122,850 |
| Chest | Relatively Simple Injury | £15,370 to £21,920 |
| Bladder | Complete Loss of Function | Up to £171,680 |
| Bladder | Seriously Impaired Control | £78,080 to £97,540 |
| Digestive System - Damage Resulting from Traumatic Injury | Severe Damage and Continuing Pain | £52,490 to £75,550 |
| Spleen | Loss of Spleen With Ongoing Infection Risk | £25,380 to £32,090 |
Special Damages After Suffering Organ Damage Symptoms
Special damages are the second head of loss that can be awarded if general damages are included in your settlement. This head compensates for the financial losses incurred due to your injuries. For example:
- Loss of earnings.
- Medical costs.
- Travel costs.
- Care costs.
Evidence in the form of receipts, payslips, and invoices can help prove these losses.
Find out more about how compensation is calculated when you make a successful claim for organ damage by calling the number above.
What Is The Time Limit When Making A Serious Injury Claim For Organ Damage?
The Limitation Act 1980 outlines that you generally have three years to begin a personal injury claim, starting from the accident date. With that being said, exceptions can apply in some cases. For example:
- Those under 18 cannot claim, so the time limit doesn’t apply. During this time, a suitable adult could apply to the courts to act as a litigation friend. Alternatively, the injured party could make their own claim from the day they turn 18, which is when the three-year limit kicks in.
- For those who have a reduced mental capacity, the time limit is suspended indefinitely. During the pause, a litigation friend could act on the person’s behalf and start the claim. If the person recovers the required capacity to start the claim themselves, and no proceedings have already been started for them, the three year time limit will start from the recovery date.
For further guidance on how long you have to begin a serious injury claim for organ damage, please contact an advisor on the number above.
Why Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor When Making Organ Damage Claims?
Should an advisor from our team find that you have a valid claim for organ damage, you could secure expert legal representation for your case. A No Win No Fee solicitor would handle much of the work, removing as much stress as possible and giving you an experienced professional to get legal advice from.
Our panel’s solicitors offer clients a Conditional Fee Agreement, which means three things:
- You don’t have to pay fees to the solicitor before or during your claim.
- They won’t ask you to cover their fees at all if the claim fails.
- You also don’t pay them if you win your claim. Instead, the solicitor deducts a small percentage of your organ damage compensation before sending it to you.
There’s a legal guarantee that the percentage taken by the solicitor will be minor. The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 applies a clear cap, and our panel’s solicitors are always transparent about what they would collect as their fee.
Naturally, if you have any questions about this, all you need to do is ask. Get in touch today to ask questions, discuss your experience or get your potential case evaluated. It’s entirely free and an advisor is available around the clock.
- Try the live chat feature on this page for an immediate chat.
- Alternatively, call 0800 408 7825.
- If you’d like us to call you instead, just fill in the ‘Contact Us’ form.
Learn More About How To Claim For Internal Injuries
For more of our helpful guides:
- Find out how a serious injury lawyer could help you claim compensation.
- If you have suffered a kidney injury caused by a third party breaching their duty of care, read our guide to find out whether you’re eligible to seek compensation.
- Discover how to claim for a punctured lung injury and the steps you can take to strengthen your case.
For more external resources:
- Read guidance on when to call 999 from the NHS.
- Helpful workplace health and safety statistics from the Health and Safety Executive.
- Useful road accident and safety statistics from GOV.UK.
Thank you for reading this guide on when you could be eligible to make a serious injury claim for organ damage. If you have any other questions, please contact an advisor on the number above.
