Claiming Care And Assistance After An Accident: What You Need To Know
When you’ve been injured in an accident, the impact often goes beyond medical treatment and lost earnings. Many people also need help with day-to-day activities – whether that’s washing, cooking, cleaning, or getting to appointments. In personal injury claims, this support is known as “care and assistance”, and you may be entitled to recover compensation for it.
What counts as care and assistance?
Care and assistance covers the help you need because of your injuries, which go above and beyond the care that you would have normally received such as:
- Assistance with personal care (washing, dressing, mobility).
- Help with household tasks (cleaning, laundry, shopping, childcare).
- Transport to and from medical appointments.
- Supervision for safety, especially where injuries affect memory or awareness.
This can be provided by professional carers or by family and friends who step in to help – often referred to as “gratuitous care.”
What evidence is required?
To succeed with a claim for care and assistance, you’ll need clear evidence, such as:
- Medical records confirming your injuries and expected recovery period.
- Witness statements from family or friends who provided care, describing what they did and how often.
- A care diary or log recording the tasks you needed help with, and the time spent.
- Invoices/receipts if professional carers or services were used.
The stronger and more detailed your evidence, the more accurately your claim can be assessed.
How is it calculated?
The value of a care and assistance claim depends on:
- Hours of care provided – based on diaries, statements, and medical opinion.
- Hourly rate applied – for professional care, this is usually the actual cost charged. For gratuitous care, courts often apply a reduced “notional rate,” recognising that family and friends aren’t paid market rates.
- Duration of care – whether it was needed short-term during recovery or ongoing into the future.
Example
A Claimant was injured when her vehicle was struck from behind by the Defendant’s van whilst she was waiting in a queue of traffic approaching a junction and was shunted forward into other traffic.
By reason of her injuries, the Claimant required care and assistance.
The Claimant was a single mum and had 2 children of school age.
Prior to the accident, the Claimant would wake in the morning and prepare breakfast for her two children, take them to school and then go to work; the children would then be collected, and dinner would be prepared. She would then clean up after dinner. The Claimant would then play with the children in the evening, on occasions they would be taken to extracurricular activities, at 7 pm the children would then be bathed and put to bed.
On a weekly basis she would carry out a weekly shop, the bedding would be changed, the bins would be taken out and the household domestic cleaning would be done.
Following the accident, the Claimant required assistance from her parents and friends.
Her friend would collect the children in the morning and carry out the school runs for her.
Her mother would prepare meals and bring them to her and clean up following the meals and carry out the weekly shop.
Her father would drive her to and from her medical appointments and drive the children to and from their extracurricular activities.
She hired a cleaner for the weekly domestic chores, and a gardener on two occasions to prepare the garden in the spring.
It was accepted that the Claimant had been severely restricted however, managed to do more over time by adapting and pacing herself.
At the onset of the case the Claimant was advised to keep a daily diary of the assistance received, keeping receipts/invoices when professional services were utilised.
Liability was admitted and the Claimant was medically examined. The medico-legal expert agreed that assistance with activities of daily living could be supported for the first few months post-accident.
Using the Claimant’s diary logs, and after obtaining statements from the Claimant’s friend, mother and father, we were able to accurately calculate and support a successful care claim.
Final thoughts
Claiming for care and assistance ensures you are properly compensated for the real impact of your injuries. If you’re pursuing a personal injury claim, it’s worth keeping detailed records so that this important part of your claim is not overlooked.
If you have been involved in an accident and would like legal advice, please contact our leading Personal Injury team on 0330 822 3451 to discuss your circumstances. Alternatively, you can request a call back online.