Special damages explained
Last updated · By Mustafa Bilgic
The "money" side of a claim
Compensation has two halves. General damages value the injury itself (pain, suffering and loss of amenity). Special damages are everything financial — the concrete costs and losses the accident caused you. The crucial difference is proof: general damages come from injury brackets, but special damages must be evidenced and quantified, item by item.
What special damages include
- Lost earnings — wages, overtime, bonuses and benefits lost while you could not work (see loss of earnings), claimed net of tax.
- Medical and treatment costs — private treatment, physiotherapy, prescriptions, aids and appliances.
- Care and assistance — paid carers, and the value of unpaid help from family (see care and assistance).
- Travel — to medical and other essential appointments, and adapted transport.
- Other out-of-pocket costs — damaged belongings, prescriptions, additional household costs.
- Future losses — ongoing care and future loss of earnings for lasting injuries.
| Item | Evidence needed |
|---|---|
| Lost earnings (employed) | Payslips, employer letter, P60 |
| Lost earnings (self-employed) | Accounts, tax returns, invoices |
| Treatment & physiotherapy | Invoices and receipts |
| Care & assistance | Care diary; carer's lost earnings |
| Travel | Mileage log, tickets, receipts |
| Damaged property | Receipts, repair/replacement quotes |
Past and future special damages
Special damages divide into past losses (from the accident to settlement — known and provable) and future losses (after settlement — estimated). Future losses, calculated with the Ogden Tables, can dominate a serious claim: future care and future loss of earnings for a young, badly injured claimant can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The golden rule: keep the paperwork
How they fit into your total
Your award is general damages plus special damages, with any contributory negligence reducing the total. The free compensation calculator lets you add your special-damages figures on top of the injury value to see an indicative range. For the full method, see how compensation is calculated and the comparison in general vs special damages.
Net, not gross: how lost earnings are claimed
A common misunderstanding is that you claim your gross salary for time off. In fact lost earnings are claimed net — after tax and National Insurance — because that is what you actually lost from your pocket. Overtime, shift premiums, bonuses, commission and lost employer pension contributions can all be included where you can evidence them. For the employed, payslips and an employer letter do the job; for the self-employed, accounts, tax returns and invoices are needed to show the dip in income caused by the injury.
The duty to mitigate your losses
The law expects you to act reasonably to keep your losses down — the "duty to mitigate". That does not mean returning to work before you are fit, but it does mean not running up avoidable costs or unreasonably refusing suitable lighter duties. A defendant can challenge expenses that were not reasonably incurred. Claim genuine, evidenced losses, keep them proportionate, and remember that inflating a claim is fraud that can collapse the entire case. For how special damages combine with the injury value, see general vs special damages and how compensation is calculated.
Recovery of state benefits (the CRU)
If you received certain state benefits because of your injury, the defendant may have to repay them to the government through the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU), and some of those amounts can be offset against parts of your compensation. This prevents double recovery — being paid twice for the same loss. It mainly affects the financial-loss elements of the award rather than the damages for the injury itself, and your adviser will account for it when calculating your net settlement, so the figure you actually receive reflects any CRU deduction.
Frequently asked questions
What are special damages in a personal injury claim?
They are your financial losses — the actual money you have lost or will lose because of the accident. They include lost earnings, medical and treatment costs, care and assistance, travel, other out-of-pocket expenses, and future losses for lasting injuries. Unlike the injury value (general damages), special damages must be proven with evidence and are recovered pound-for-pound.
What evidence do I need for special damages?
Documentary proof of each item: payslips and an employer letter (or accounts and tax returns if self-employed) for lost earnings; invoices and receipts for treatment and expenses; a mileage log for travel; and a care diary for assistance provided by family. Because these losses must be proven, keeping the paperwork from the start is essential.
What is the difference between special and general damages?
General damages compensate for the injury itself — pain, suffering and loss of amenity — valued from injury brackets such as the Judicial College Guidelines. Special damages reimburse your measurable financial losses, proven with evidence. Together they make up your total compensation; the calculator estimates the first and adds the second.