The Review has joined forces with local solicitors Debenhams Ottaway to offer our readers the best legal advice.

Below Anna Bailey, Senior Associate Solicitor at Debenhams Ottaway, answers a question on personal injury.

Q:I have had an accident. I understand that I can claim compensation for my injury because the accident was someone else’s fault, but what else can I claim for? I have been off work for two months and I am not currently able to return to my pre-accident activities.

A:As well as an award of compensation for your personal injuries, you are entitled to claim for any financial losses which are reasonably incurred arising as a result of the accident.

Items of loss must not be too remote, in other words they must be a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the accident and you are under a duty to keep any such expenses to a minimum.

If you are off work as a result of your injury and you are not paid your wages, you are entitled to claim your loss of earnings.

You will only be able to claim your net loss of earnings, ie after deduction of tax and national insurance because this will be your actual loss.

This applies even if you are self employed. Evidence of your loss from your employer or accountant will be required and your Solicitor would normally make the enquiries and calculations for you.

Sometimes an injured person is unable to return to their former employment, or can do so, but only part time.

If there is likely to be an ongoing partial wage loss, subject to medical evidence confirming the same, an injured person can claim that future partial loss, in some circumstances to retirement age. This could be a significant sum.

Equally if an injured person’s pension entitlement is likely to suffer through not being able to work full time or in the same job, it is possible to claim damages for that loss of revenue.

If you are able to return to your pre-accident work, but you have a disability as a result of your injuries, you may be less employable on the labour market if something went wrong and you lost your job, or had to give it up.

Accordingly it is possible to include in your claim an award of damages to cover for this contingency. A typical award is 6 months loss of earnings which you would receive in a lump sum.

If as a result of your injuries you need someone to help you with a task that you were previously able to do yourself, you should be able to make a claim for that “care”.

For instance if a member of your family or a friend, has to help you wash, dress, or do your shopping, cooking and cleaning, you can claim an hourly rate for that assistance.

It is important in such circumstances for the person who is “caring” to keep a record of all times spent and the tasks completed to facilitate the claim.

If you have to be driven to and from hospitals, doctors or any other appointments, the person carrying out the task should keep a note of the time they spend and their mileage.

If you have a dog and cannot walk it because of your injury, you can hire a dog walker, or ask a friend or a member of your family to walk the dog.

If there is sufficient evidence to prove (usually in the form of a medical report) that you were unable to complete this task, you should be able to recover the dog walking fees, or claim an hourly rate for family member or friend who obliges.

The same principle applies if someone has to mind your child, in circumstances where you previously did not require their assistance.

In some circumstances it might be possible to claim for “loss of congenial employment”.

By way of example, if you are unable to return, due to your injuries, to a job you previously enjoyed, and have to take up less favourable work, awards can be made to compensate a claimant for not being able to return to a job they enjoyed and hoped to continue to be able to do. There are numerous miscellaneous expenses you can claim, but the most common will include taxi fares (if for instance you are unable to drive due to your injuries, or your car is awaiting repair), vehicle and cycle repairs, hire charges, physiotherapy or other treatment charges, replacing ruined clothing, prescriptions etc.

Always ask your solicitor to advise if you are unsure about incurring any particular expense. Always replace a cycle helmet or crash helmet if it comes into contact with anything as a result of an accident, for instance, the ground, another vehicle, wall etc.

Remember to always keep receipts where possible. If you are able to prove any item of loss and show that it was reasonably incurred, you should be able to recover it.