Personal Injury Compensation Calculator UK 2026

At a glance

• General damages — compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA), assessed by reference to the Judicial College Guidelines. The amount depends on the type of injury and its severity, not on any fixed formula.
• Special damages — compensation for quantifiable financial losses: lost wages, medical costs, travel to appointments, care costs, damaged property, and future losses where proven.
• Three-year limitation period — most personal injury claims in England and Wales must be brought within three years of the accident or the date of knowledge of the injury, under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980. The clock does not run against children until their 18th birthday.
• Whiplash tariff (road traffic accidents) — low-value RTA soft-tissue claims use a fixed-sum tariff under the Civil Liability Act 2018 and the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. The tariff applies where the total claim value is under £5,000 and the injury is expected to resolve within two years.
• OIC portal — the Official Injury Claim service is the required route for eligible low-value RTA claims arising from accidents on or after 31 May 2021.
• This is not legal advice. Figures from any calculator are illustrative starting points — the courts set the actual award.

What a personal injury compensation calculator actually does

A personal injury compensation calculator is a web-based estimator that asks you questions about your injury and produces a rough value range. Most UK calculators work from the same two building blocks that courts use:

General damages — also called the PSLA award (pain, suffering and loss of amenity) — cover the injury itself: how serious it is, how long it has lasted or is expected to last, and the effect it has had on your life. Courts set general damages by reference to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which publish assessed brackets for hundreds of injury types ranging from minor soft-tissue injuries to catastrophic harm. The JCG gives a range, not a fixed figure; a judge picks a point within the bracket based on the specific circumstances and medical evidence.

Special damages cover every financial loss that flows directly from the accident. These are the items you can prove with a receipt, payslip, or bank statement: medical fees, physiotherapy, prescription charges, taxi fares to appointments, care costs, and lost earnings or self-employed income. In serious cases, future losses — ongoing treatment, future earnings shortfall, future care needs — can also be claimed, though these require detailed expert evidence.

A calculator combines an estimate of your general damages (using published guideline brackets) with a total of the financial losses you enter. The output is an estimate, not an offer, and the actual settlement in any case can land above or below that figure once the full evidence is considered.

This guide covers the law in England and Wales. Different rules apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The two types of damages: a closer look

General damages — injury, pain and loss of enjoyment

General damages are awarded for what the injury has done to you personally. The Judicial College Guidelines give courts a structured framework: each injury type has a range, with the bracket reflecting factors such as severity, the presence of surgery, residual symptoms, prognosis, and the claimant's age.

Key points about general damages:

• No fixed formula. The JCG provides ranges, not precise figures. The judge applies judgment within those ranges based on the medical evidence.
• Psychological injuries count. Recognised conditions — PTSD, clinical anxiety, depression — that were caused or materially worsened by the accident can attract a general damages award alongside any physical injury.
• Whiplash tariff exception. For road traffic accident soft-tissue claims where the injury is expected to last up to two years and the total claim value is under £5,000, the JCG bracket is replaced by a fixed whiplash tariff (see below). That tariff determines the PSLA element; there is no judicial discretion within the tariff band.

Special damages — financial losses proved by evidence

Special damages are calculated, not assessed. Everything on this list must be documented:

• Lost earnings — net pay lost during time off work, or a self-employed income reduction evidenced by accounts or tax returns
• Future earnings loss — where an injury causes a lasting reduction in earning capacity
• Medical and treatment costs — private physiotherapy, surgery, prescription charges, counselling
• Travel costs — mileage, parking, or taxi fares to medical appointments or legal meetings
• Care and assistance — costs of a carer or, where a friend or family member has provided unpaid care, a reasonable sum for their time
• Equipment and adaptations — mobility aids, home modifications, or specialist items required as a result of the injury
• Damaged property — clothing or equipment destroyed in the accident, at its pre-accident value

Calculators often understate special damages, particularly for serious injuries with long-term consequences. If your injury has required significant care or will affect your future earnings, the calculator figure is likely to be a material underestimate.

The whiplash tariff: what it is and when it applies

Background

Before May 2021, whiplash compensation was assessed under the standard JCG framework — a judge applied a bracket. The system was heavily criticised for driving up motor insurance premiums through a high volume of soft-tissue claims, many of which were contested.

The government's response was the Civil Liability Act 2018, which gave ministers the power to set a fixed tariff for whiplash PSLA damages. The Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 brought in the tariff from 31 May 2021.

How the tariff works

The tariff applies to RTA-related whiplash injuries — and any minor psychological injury suffered at the same time — where:

• the accident occurred in England or Wales on or after 31 May 2021
• the whiplash injury is expected to resolve within two years
• the overall claim value is under £5,000

The compensation amount is determined solely by the prognosis period — how long a medical expert expects the effects of the injury to last. There are seven duration bands. The court may uplift the tariff by up to 20% in exceptional circumstances.

Table 1 applies to injuries from accidents between 31 May 2021 and 30 May 2025 (set by the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021):

| Duration of injury | Whiplash only | Whiplash + minor psychological injury | |---|---|---| | Up to 3 months | £240 | £260 | | Over 3 months, up to 6 months | £495 | £520 | | Over 6 months, up to 9 months | £840 | £895 | | Over 9 months, up to 12 months | £1,320 | £1,390 | | Over 12 months, up to 15 months | £2,040 | £2,125 | | Over 15 months, up to 18 months | £3,005 | £3,100 | | Over 18 months, up to 24 months | £4,215 | £4,345 |

Table 2 — an uprated tariff roughly 15% higher — applies to injuries from accidents on or after 31 May 2025 (set by the Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025):

| Duration of injury | Whiplash only | Whiplash + minor psychological injury | |---|---|---| | Up to 3 months | £275 | £300 | | Over 3 months, up to 6 months | £565 | £595 | | Over 6 months, up to 9 months | £965 | £1,025 | | Over 9 months, up to 12 months | £1,510 | £1,595 | | Over 12 months, up to 15 months | £2,335 | £2,435 | | Over 15 months, up to 18 months | £3,445 | £3,550 | | Over 18 months, up to 24 months | £4,830 | £4,975 |

Source: GOV.UK — The whiplash tariff and guidance on minor psychological injuries

When the tariff does NOT apply

• The whiplash injury is expected to last longer than two years — standard JCG assessment applies
• The overall claim value is £5,000 or more (including special damages)
• The injury is not to soft tissue — a fracture, disc herniation, or nerve damage alongside soft tissue does not automatically fall within the tariff
• The accident occurred before 31 May 2021
• The accident was not a road traffic accident (employer liability, occupier liability, and clinical negligence claims use the JCG, not the tariff)

The Official Injury Claim portal

For eligible claims — RTA-related, accident on or after 31 May 2021, total value under £10,000 with the injury element under £5,000 — the Official Injury Claim (OIC) service is the required route. The OIC portal lets claimants make and settle their own claims without attending court or instructing a solicitor, though legal representation remains permitted.

The small claims track limit for RTA personal injury claims was raised from £1,000 to £5,000 when the whiplash reforms came into force. This means that most low-value RTA claims that proceed to court are allocated to the small claims track, where each party is ordinarily responsible for its own legal costs regardless of outcome.

Claims that cannot be settled through the OIC process can be referred to the county court for determination.

The three-year time limit

Most personal injury claims in England and Wales must be issued at court within three years of whichever is the later of:

1. the date the cause of action accrued (usually the date of the accident), or
2. the date of knowledge — the date on which the claimant first knew, or could reasonably have known, that an injury was significant and that it was attributable (in whole or in part) to the act or omission of the defendant

This is the limitation period under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980.

Special rules:

• Children — the three-year period does not start running until the child's 18th birthday. A child injured at age 10 has until age 21 to bring a claim.
• Lack of mental capacity — the limitation period does not run while a claimant lacks the mental capacity to manage their own affairs.
• Industrial disease and occupational illness — the date of knowledge rule can produce a later start date for conditions that develop gradually.
• Court discretion — under section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980, a court may allow a claim to proceed outside the limitation period where it is just and equitable to do so. This is a discretionary power, not a right, and the court weighs factors including the length of the delay, the reasons for it, and whether the defendant would be prejudiced.

If you believe you may be approaching the limitation deadline, do not wait — issuing proceedings stops the clock.

How to get the most useful estimate from a calculator

Step 1 — gather your injury facts before you start

Write down the date, the diagnosis from your GP or hospital, the treatment you have received, any ongoing symptoms, and a prognosis if a clinician has given you one. For whiplash claims, the tariff amount turns entirely on the prognosis period — so even a rough medical estimate makes the calculator output more useful.

Step 2 — total your financial losses carefully

List every cost that flows from the injury. Lost wages (use your net pay, not gross), physiotherapy fees, prescription charges, taxi fares to appointments, home help, and any equipment you had to buy or replace. Gather receipts and bank statements where you can — these become the backbone of your special damages claim.

Step 3 — enter the information honestly

Most tools ask about injury type, severity, recovery time, age, and lasting impact on work or daily life. Inflated answers produce inflated estimates that will not survive scrutiny. If a question does not apply, leave it blank.

Step 4 — read the output as a range, not a promise

Calculators typically produce a figure or a band. Treat it as a guide to the order of magnitude, not a commitment. Two people with similar-sounding injuries can settle for very different amounts depending on medical evidence and how well financial losses are documented. The calculator cannot know these things.

Step 5 — check whether you are within the time limit

Before investing time in a claim, verify that you are within the three-year limitation period — or that a special rule applies if you are not. An estimate is only worth pursuing if the claim can actually be brought.

What calculators cannot tell you

Online calculators are useful orientation tools, but they have structural limits that mean they can materially understate or misstate the value of a claim:

• Medical evidence is the foundation of any award. Without a proper medical report, the general damages element is guesswork. Calculators substitute general parameters for actual diagnoses.
• Future losses require expert assessment. Loss of future earnings, ongoing care needs, and the cost of future treatment are calculated using actuarial tables (the Ogden Tables) and expert reports — neither of which a calculator can replicate.
• Contributory negligence can reduce any award. If you were partly at fault, a court will reduce the damages proportionally. Calculators rarely account for this.
• Pre-existing conditions complicate the picture. A defendant is only liable for the extent to which the accident aggravated a pre-existing condition, not for the condition itself. Calculating that line requires medical expertise.
• The whiplash tariff is not what most calculators model. Many online calculators were built before the 2021 reforms and still use pre-tariff JCG figures for soft-tissue claims, which can produce materially different results from what a court would now award.

This is not a substitute for advice on your specific circumstances. If your claim is anything other than a straightforward minor injury with clear, documented losses, speaking with someone who understands how personal injury claims work in England and Wales is worth doing before you make any decisions.

Last reviewed: June 2026 · Next review due: June 2027 or on legislative change.