How benefits can help you following an injury
Following an injury, it's likely you and your loved ones are focused on adjusting to your new situation. This could involve changing your home and routines or understanding your finances.
As well as making a compensation claim, you may also be able to receive benefits and welfare which is another way of easing your money worries. Receiving benefit support doesn't stop you from being able to claim compensation as well.
If you or a loved one has been left unable to work as a result of an injury, then we know that this can sometimes cause significant changes to your financial situation.
Although the benefits you could receive may be less than your salary, regular benefit support can help you regain the normality of a regular income after injury or during illness and can help to provide you with the financial support you need.
We know that there can be a stigma attached to receiving benefits, but when you've been left unable to work because of an injury or illness you're entitled to support.
What benefits can you receive
The benefits you and your family are entitled to depends on the seriousness of your injury and the type of injury you've suffered. In some cases, you may be eligible for more than one benefit allowance. We've taken some time to explain some of the common benefits here.
Below are some of the benefits that can help to support you during your recovery and the next stage of your life:
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer's Allowance
- Council Tax Benefit
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Guardian's Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
The best way to know what benefits you could receive is to speak to your local Citizen's Advice.
Compensation and benefits
Compensation can help support you in your new life. It can help you as you adjust to your injury and the impact that it's had on your family. But compensation can also affect your benefit entitlement.
Some benefits that you can claim to help support you during your illness or injury are means tested. This means if you have savings, a second home or an additional income then the money from there may affect how much benefit income you could receive.
Compensation can be considered an extra income, because not everybody can receive it. However, we can help you protect your income from assessment by helping you set up a personal injury trust.
Personal injury trusts
A personal injury trust is a legally binding arrangement where your compensation is held in the protection of trustees for the benefit of yourself, or whoever the compensation claim was made for.
Quite simply, this means your compensation is placed into a trust, and can only be accessed when all the trustees agree. These trustees are usually you and one other person, such as close relative or friend.
By putting your compensation into a personal injury trust, you prevent it from being assessed in your benefit entitlement. And placing your compensation into a personal injury trust does not affect how or when you can spend your compensation.
This may sound complicated, but if you're interested in setting up a personal injury trust, or our solicitors believe you may lose benefits because of your compensation, they will help you through the process during your claim.
Charitable grants and support
You may be looking to connect with others who have similar experiences to you, or with charities that might be able to provide advice, counselling or respite support.
We realise that suffering a life-changing injury is exactly that, life-changing. That's why we've created our Serious Injury Support Centre, which lists charities around the UK who support people who've suffered from a serious or life-changing injury.
Compensation following a life-changing injury
If you're still recovering from a life-changing injury or are watching a loved one take their first steps to recovery, then we're sorry.
We know from our years working with people who have suffered personal injuries that recovering mentally and physically can be a lengthy process. We're proud to say that we can help you. Just as we've helped others like you.
We can give you free, confidential advice about making a claim; we can help you understand if you have a claim and what your next steps are; and we can support you along the way.
We understand that you may feel nervous or reluctant to talk about your accident, injury and experience. But we'll listen to everything you have to say and will only ask the questions we need to so that we can understand your situation and how we can help.
Our telephone number is . Or we can call you, just enter your details into one of our forms for a free call back.