Care and assistance claims
Last updated · By Mustafa Bilgic
Why care is a head of compensation
When you are injured, a huge amount of practical help is often provided by the people around you — a partner who takes over the cooking and childcare, a parent who helps you wash and dress, a friend who drives you to appointments. The law recognises that this help has economic value even though no money changed hands. It forms part of your special damages (your financial losses), under the heading of care and assistance.
The principle was settled by the courts in cases such as Housecroft v Burnett: the injured person can recover the value of necessary care provided gratuitously by family and friends, and holds that sum on trust for the carer. It compensates the reality that someone gave up their time — and sometimes their own earnings — to look after you.
What counts as care and assistance
- Personal care — help washing, dressing, toileting and mobility.
- Domestic help — cooking, cleaning, laundry and shopping you could normally do yourself.
- Childcare taken on by others because you cannot manage it.
- Transport — being driven to medical and other essential appointments.
- Supervision for those who cannot safely be left alone.
How gratuitous care is calculated
The value is essentially hours × rate:
- Hours — a realistic estimate of the extra care needed because of the injury, often supported by a care expert's report in serious cases. Only care beyond what the person would normally have done counts.
- Rate — usually based on commercial carer rates (for example, local agency or national care rates), then discounted — commonly by around 25% — to reflect that a family carer pays no tax, National Insurance or agency overhead. Aggravated cases may attract a higher rate.
| Element | Example |
|---|---|
| Extra care hours (first 12 weeks, 3 hrs/day) | 252 hours |
| Commercial carer rate | £12 / hour |
| Gross value (252 × £12) | £3,024 |
| Less ~25% gratuitous discount | – £756 |
| Care claim value | £2,268 |
Illustrative only. Actual rates, hours and discounts depend on the evidence and the court's assessment.
Past and future care
Care is claimed for the period from the accident to settlement (past care) and, where the injury has lasting effects, for the future. Future care can be the largest part of a catastrophic-injury claim and is calculated using a multiplier from the Ogden Tables, the same actuarial approach used for future loss of earnings. Where paid professional care will be needed, that commercial cost is claimed in full.
Care and assistance sits alongside the other elements of a claim — see special damages explained and how compensation is calculated for how it all fits together.
Commercial care versus gratuitous care
Two distinct things can be claimed under the care heading, and it is worth separating them. Commercial care is professional care you actually pay for — an agency carer, a support worker — and it is recoverable at its real cost, with invoices as evidence. Gratuitous care is the unpaid help given by family and friends, valued at a discounted commercial rate as explained above. A serious claim often includes both: paid professionals for specialist tasks and family for everyday support.
When a family member gives up work to care for you
Occasionally a relative reduces their hours or leaves a job to provide care. Where that is reasonable, the claim for their care can be valued by reference to their actual lost earnings instead of the standard carer rate — provided this does not exceed what commercial care would have cost. This is fact-sensitive and needs evidence of the earnings given up, but it recognises the real sacrifice some families make. For how this sits within the wider claim, see special damages and, for lasting needs, future losses.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim for care provided by my family for free?
Yes. The value of necessary care provided gratuitously by family and friends — help with washing, dressing, cooking, childcare and transport — is recoverable as part of your special damages. It is valued by the hours of care at an appropriate hourly rate, and you hold the money on trust for the person who cared for you.
How is the value of gratuitous care worked out?
Essentially hours multiplied by a rate. The hours are a realistic estimate of the extra care needed because of the injury; the rate is usually based on commercial carer rates, then discounted (commonly by around 25%) because a family carer pays no tax, National Insurance or agency overhead. Serious cases use a care expert's report.
Can I claim for future care as well as past care?
Yes. Past care covers the period from the accident to settlement. Future care — for injuries with lasting effects — is calculated using a multiplier from the Ogden Tables and can be the single largest element of a serious-injury claim. Where professional paid care will be needed, that commercial cost is claimed in full.