This year, Injury Awareness Week will be taking place from Monday 23rd June 2025 to Friday 27th June 2025. The campaign is held every year and was started by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). Its aim is to keep the public informed about the types of injuries that can be sustained through negligence and the impact that it can have on the victims and their families.
Jefferies Solicitors, based in Southend and Chelmsford, Essex, fully support the aims of Injury Awareness Week and are committed to helping individuals affected by negligence.
Types of injuries
Injuries can be physical or psychological in nature.
Physical injuries can include relatively minor soft tissue injuries like bruises or sprains. Physical injuries can also be severe such as fractures, burns, crush injuries and head and spinal injuries.
It is important to remember that not all injuries are visible. Many people can be affected psychologically by the trauma surrounding the circumstances leading to their injury, causing them to develop illnesses such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Although most people are aware that they may be entitled to some compensation if they are injured in an accident that was not their fault, many people are not aware that they can try and claim for compensation if they have witnessed or have been directly involved in the aftermath of an event where a loved one is killed or seriously injured and they suffer psychiatric harm. These individuals are known as ‘secondary victims.’ However, to bring a successful claim they must satisfy the criteria. The law surrounding this originates from the Hillsborough disaster case. There must be a “close tie of love and affection” to the injured person, “a shocking event” and “close proximity”. Every case is different depending on its facts so if you feel that you may have a secondary victim claim, you should seek legal advice on whether you have a potential claim.
If you’re in Essex, Jefferies Solicitors, with offices in both Southend and Chelmsford can offer the expert guidance you need.
Impact of injuries on victims and their families
Although it is virtually impossible to put someone back in the position that they were in before they sustained the injury, awarding compensation acts as some form of acknowledgement for the wrongdoing.
Compensation for injuries are usually split into two categories: general damages and special damages. General damages refers to compensation for what is known as (PSLA) pain, suffering and loss of amenity (quality of life). Special damages deals with any expenses that have been incurred as a result of the injury to include past losses and future losses such as travel expenses, medical expenses and care and assistance.
Injuries can affect someone’s life in more ways than most people think. Even the simplest of tasks can be increasingly difficult even if it is just for a short period. For people who suffer a catastrophic injury, their lives can be changed forever – including the lives of their family members who have to take care of them. This is known as gratuitous care. A Claimant can claim for care and assistance that they receive from family or friends as long as the assistance was needed because of the Defendant’s negligence. The care that the Claimant receives must also be above and beyond what would reasonably be expected from the individual caring for them.
At Jefferies Solicitors, we understand how life-changing these injuries can be and are here to support clients across Chelmsford, Southend, and the wider Essex area.
Difference between accidents and harm caused by negligence
Negligence arising out of an accident usually gives rise to a personal injury claim. These typically consist of claims that do not involve medical professionals and arise from accidents at work, road traffic accidents or accidents that take place whilst out in public such as ‘slip and trip’ claims.
Clinical negligence claims usually involve the medical profession and are brought when a medical professional is negligent and their negligence causes an injury/harm to an individual. These types of claims can consist of misdiagnosis, a mistake in a surgical procedure, delayed diagnosis and maternity cases.
To have a claim in negligence, there must have been a duty of care owed to the Claimant, that duty must have been breached and the breach must have directly caused the injury or have been reasonably foreseeable.
If you feel that you may have a personal injury or clinical negligence claim, you can contact Jefferies Solicitors on 01702 332 311. We are proud to serve clients from our offices in Southend and Chelmsford, Essex.
The contents of this article are for the purpose of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.