What does a list of compensation payouts UK include?
UK compensation payouts include all recoverable losses arising from an injury caused by another party's negligence. They divide into two heads.
General damages compensate for the injury itself: the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity the injury causes. Courts use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) ranges as the reference. The figures in this list are JCG general damages brackets only.
Special damages cover every financial consequence of the injury. They are calculated item by item and have no ceiling:
- Net lost earnings from the date of injury to settlement
- Future lost earnings where the injury permanently or long-term affects earning capacity
- Private medical treatment, physiotherapy, prescriptions, and aids
- Travel costs to medical appointments
- Care provided by family members (at a recognised hourly rate)
- Adaptations to the home or vehicle
- Future care costs where the injury causes lasting disability
In serious and catastrophic injury cases, special damages routinely account for the majority of the final compensation payout. A general damages award of £80,000 for a severe spinal injury may be accompanied by £400,000 or more in future lost earnings and future care costs, depending on the claimant's age and pre-accident earnings.
How are compensation payouts UK calculated?
Compensation payouts UK for personal injury are not set by a fixed tariff. The JCG provides ranges, not fixed figures. Within each range, the actual award depends on:
- The medical prognosis: how long symptoms last, whether they resolve fully, and what permanent effects remain
- The claimant's age: a younger claimant suffers loss of amenity for longer, and a larger future earnings multiplier applies
- The severity of the injury within its JCG band
- Any contributory negligence: if the injured person was partly at fault, the award is reduced by the percentage of their responsibility
Special damages are calculated precisely from evidence: wage records, tax returns, employer confirmation, receipts for expenses, and expert evidence for future losses.
Compensation payouts UK for head, brain, and psychiatric injuries
Head and brain injuries carry the widest JCG ranges of any category because outcomes vary dramatically between a minor concussion and a severe traumatic brain injury.
- Very severe brain damage (dependent, full-time care required): £344,150 to £493,000
- Moderately severe brain damage (significant cognitive or physical disability): £219,070 to £344,150
- Moderate brain damage (lasting effects but some independent function): £43,060 to £219,070
- Minor head injury (good recovery within a few weeks): £2,690 to £12,770
Psychiatric injury is separately categorised:
- Severe psychiatric damage (inability to cope, permanent prognosis): £66,920 to £141,240
- Moderately severe psychiatric damage: £23,270 to £66,920
- Moderate psychiatric damage (improved prognosis): £7,150 to £23,270
- Minor psychiatric damage: £1,880 to £7,150
Where both physical and psychiatric injury are present, courts make a combined award rather than simply adding two separate figures.
Compensation payouts UK for spinal and back injuries
Back and spinal injuries are among the most common serious claims arising from workplace accidents, particularly manual handling incidents and falls from height.
- Severe spinal cord injury (paralysis, significant neurological deficit): £148,330 to £197,790
- Severe back injury (serious disc damage with nerve root compromise, residual disability): £38,780 to £69,330
- Moderate back injury (disc prolapse, residual symptoms): £12,510 to £38,780
- Minor back injury (full or near-full recovery): £2,990 to £12,510
Special damages for spinal injuries are typically the largest component of the total payout. A worker who sustains a serious disc injury in their 30s and cannot return to manual work may generate future lost earnings running to six figures even at a modest pre-accident wage.
Compensation payouts UK for upper limb injuries
Upper limb injuries include shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist, and hand injuries. They are frequent in warehouse, construction, and manufacturing settings.
- Severe shoulder injury (rotator cuff damage, significant functional restriction): £19,200 to £48,030
- Serious arm injury (permanent significant disability): £39,170 to £59,860
- Wrist fracture with permanent impairment: £24,500 to £39,170
- Wrist fracture with full or near-full recovery: £12,590 to £24,500
- Amputation of index finger: £14,900 to £54,830 (varies by level and dominance of hand)
- Severe repetitive strain injury (bilateral, work-related): £14,900 to £24,950
Workers in manual roles who sustain permanent upper limb impairment often face a career change, making future lost earnings a significant special damages head.
What compensation payouts UK apply to leg, knee, and lower limb injuries?
Lower limb injuries arise frequently from slips, trips, falls from height, and vehicle incidents.
- Amputation of both legs: £293,150 to £406,050
- Amputation of one leg above knee: £127,930 to £183,520
- Severe knee injury (multiple operations, risk of future arthrodesis): £26,190 to £43,460
- Moderate knee injury (ligament damage, residual instability): £14,840 to £26,190
- Ankle fracture (significant, ongoing): £13,740 to £46,980
- Fractured leg (serious, complications): £17,960 to £54,830
- Achilles tendon injury (significant, some permanent disability): £24,990 to £39,200
- Simple fracture with full recovery: £9,110 to £13,740
Where a lower limb injury prevents a return to physically demanding work, future lost earnings are assessed by reference to the wage differential between the claimant's previous role and any alternative employment they can now access.
What compensation payouts UK apply to industrial diseases?
Industrial diseases produce distinct JCG ranges. The key feature of most industrial disease compensation payouts UK is the application of the date-of-knowledge rule: the three-year limitation period runs from diagnosis, not from the period of exposure.
- Mesothelioma (malignant, caused by asbestos): £78,870 to £197,790 (general damages only; special damages for care and loss of earnings during decline add significantly)
- Total bilateral deafness (work-related NIHL): £105,460 to £147,690
- Moderate to severe NIHL with tinnitus: £29,380 to £45,430
- Severe occupational asthma (permanent sensitisation): £38,780 to £72,340
- Severe HAVS (vibration white finger, significant disability): £29,380 to £45,430
- Asbestosis (severe, significant lung function restriction): £103,300 to £152,700
Industrial disease claims against dissolved employers remain viable where employers' liability insurance was held at the time of exposure, because insurers remain on risk under employer liability law.
How are special damages added to the general damages payout?
Special damages are calculated separately and added to the general damages figure to produce the total compensation payout. The method for each head is:
Past lost earnings: Net wages that would have been earned from the accident date to settlement, less any sick pay received. Tax and National Insurance are not payable on compensation; the net rather than gross figure applies.
Future lost earnings: A multiplier is applied to the annual net earnings loss. The multiplier is set by reference to the claimant's age, life expectancy, and the Ogden Tables (actuarial tables published by the Government Actuary's Department). For a 35-year-old with a career-ending injury, the multiplier might be 25 or more, meaning a £20,000 per year net earnings loss produces a future lost earnings award of £500,000 or more.
Care: Where family members have provided care, a reasonable hourly rate is applied to the hours given. Professional future care costs are assessed by a care expert and discounted to present value.
There is no cap on special damages. For a full guide to how the total claim value is built up and what happens at settlement, see our how claims work guide. For examples of how these heads combine in specific accident types, see our compensation examples guide. For an index of claim types by industry and accident category, see our claim types hub.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. The JCG ranges listed are general damages brackets and do not include special damages. Actual compensation payouts depend on individual medical evidence, prognosis, financial losses, and the specific facts of the accident. For advice about your situation, speak to a regulated solicitor. You can find one through the Find a Solicitor service (Law Society) or through APIL.
Frequently asked questions
Are UK compensation amounts published anywhere officially?
Yes. The Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases (17th edition, April 2024) set out the ranges used by courts across England and Wales. They are available from the Judicial College website. Scottish courts use the same guidelines as a reference, with some variation in case law.
Why do compensation figures vary so widely within the same injury type?
The range within any category reflects severity. A minor whiplash injury and a permanent loss of neck movement are both "neck injuries" but sit at opposite ends of the compensation range. The medical prognosis, impact on daily life, age, and pre-accident health all affect where within a range an individual award falls.
Does the compensation payout cover my lost earnings as well as the injury?
General damages cover the injury itself. Special damages — which can often exceed general damages — cover all financial losses: lost earnings, medical costs, care, travel, and future earning capacity. Both elements are awarded in the same claim and added together to produce the total settlement.
Can I find out what a comparable case received?
Reported case decisions are published on BAILII (bailii.org) and accessible free of charge. Law reports and personal injury practitioner databases contain further precedent. Your solicitor can advise on comparable settlements in their own caseload, though the terms of most settlements are confidential.
Browse every plain-English guide in the work accident guides hub, or read the main guide to how a claim works.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every claim turns on its own facts. For advice about your specific situation, speak to a regulated solicitor.