Car Accident Compensation Calculator UK
Estimate the value of an injury claim following a car accident in England or Wales. Select your injury type, choose a medically relevant severity category, and add any financial losses. Our car accident injury claim calculator uses statutory whiplash tariffs and selected 2026 injury compensation guideline ranges.
Calculate Your Compensation ↓Calculate Your Car Accident Compensation
Complete the five-stage assessment to see an indicative compensation range for your main car accident injury.
Your Accident Details
Step 1 of 5Step 1 — Car Accident Details
The date can affect the statutory whiplash tariff.
Step 2 — Select Your Injury
What was your main injury?Choose the main diagnosed injury. If you have multiple injuries, this calculator does not add overlapping general damages.
Step 3 — Injury Severity
Select the Relevant Injury CategoryChoose the option best supported by your medical evidence.
Step 4 — Financial Losses (Optional)
Enter documented losses caused by the accident, or skip this stage. You do not need to provide personal contact details.
Step 5 — Your Compensation Result
Your indicative car accident compensation reference is displayed in the results panel. It includes the selected general damages category and any financial losses you entered.
How to Use Our Car Accident Compensation Calculator
Our free car accident compensation calculator helps drivers and passengers explore the possible value of a personal injury after a road collision. The calculator provides an injury-related reference based on the selected category, rather than assigning a generic payout to every car accident.
To begin, choose whether you were driving or travelling as a passenger. Enter the date and location of the accident, then select your main injury. Next, choose the description that most closely matches your medical evidence and recovery.
For a potentially qualifying whiplash injury, the car accident claim calculator selects a statutory tariff based on the accident date and duration of symptoms. For other injuries, it displays selected Judicial College Guidelines reference ranges. You can then include documented lost earnings, treatment, travel and care expenses.
What information should you prepare?
- The accident date and location.
- Whether you were the driver or passenger.
- Your main injury diagnosis.
- Medical prognosis and recovery information.
- Evidence of lost earnings and necessary expenses.
You can use the calculator without entering your name, phone number or other contact details. The calculation runs in your browser and does not submit the answers to a server through this widget.
How Is Car Accident Compensation Calculated?
Car accident injury compensation can involve two different categories: general damages and special damages. Understanding the difference makes the estimated result easier to interpret.
General Damages: Pain, Suffering and Loss of Amenity
General damages compensate for the injury itself and its effect on daily life. Relevant considerations include the diagnosis, severity, pain, treatment, recovery duration, ongoing symptoms and any long-term loss of function.
The Judicial College Guidelines provide reference brackets for many injury types. These brackets are not automatic awards. Two people with similar diagnoses may receive different valuations because their injuries and consequences differ.
Special Damages: Financial Losses
Special damages concern financial consequences caused by the accident. Depending on the circumstances, recoverable losses may include past lost earnings, medical treatment, rehabilitation, reasonable travel expenses and care costs.
Receipts, wage records, invoices and other documents can help support these losses. The calculator adds entered figures arithmetically for illustration, but this does not confirm that each expense will be legally recoverable.
How the Calculation Works
General damages reference + entered financial losses = indicative combined reference.
If the selected injury falls into a guideline range, the same entered financial losses are added to both ends of that range. This is not a prediction of the final settlement.
Car Accident Compensation Amounts in the UK (2026)
The following examples illustrate selected general damages reference bands associated with injuries that may occur in car accidents. They are broad guideline categories, not amounts payable simply because a collision took place.
| Injury Category | Indicative Reference |
|---|---|
| Minor head / brain injury | £2,920–£16,870 |
| Minor back injury | £3,240–£16,520 |
| Moderate back injury | £16,520–£51,230 |
| Moderate neck injury | £10,420–£50,850 |
| Moderate shoulder injury | £10,420–£16,870 |
| Simple forearm fracture | £8,730–£25,370 |
| Less serious leg fracture | £12,040–£36,680 |
| Moderate PTSD | £10,810–£30,580 |
These values are selected summaries of the 18th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines, published in April 2026. They should not be used to identify the appropriate bracket without considering the full medical description.
Whiplash Compensation After a Car Accident
Whiplash is one of the injuries commonly associated with road collisions. It may involve pain or reduced movement in the neck, back or shoulder region. Not every neck or back injury is legally classified as whiplash.
In England and Wales, the statutory whiplash tariff applies to qualifying road traffic whiplash injuries lasting no more than two years. The fixed amount is determined by the medically assessed duration and whether an associated minor psychological injury is included.
2025 Whiplash Tariff for Car Accidents
The updated tariff applies to qualifying accidents occurring on or after 31 May 2025.
| Recovery Duration | Whiplash Only | With Minor Psychological Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 3 months | £275 | £300 |
| Over 3–6 months | £565 | £595 |
| Over 6–9 months | £965 | £1,025 |
| Over 9–12 months | £1,510 | £1,595 |
| Over 12–15 months | £2,335 | £2,435 |
| Over 15–18 months | £3,445 | £3,550 |
| Over 18–24 months | £4,830 | £4,975 |
What About Car Accidents Before May 2025?
For qualifying accidents between 31 May 2021 and 30 May 2025, the original statutory tariff applies. For example, whiplash lasting more than three but not more than six months has a whiplash-only tariff of £495 for that period, compared with £565 under the amended tariff.
Accidents before the statutory reforms and injuries outside the tariff rules require a different valuation approach. A legal professional may need to consider the appropriate guideline category.
Common Types of Car Accident Injuries
Neck and Back Injuries
Sudden acceleration, braking or impact may cause neck strains, back pain or more serious spinal injuries. A minor soft tissue injury generally differs substantially from a disc injury with continuing neurological symptoms. The correct medical diagnosis matters more than whether the collision appeared minor or severe.
Head and Brain Injuries
Head injuries may range from relatively minor trauma to serious cognitive and functional impairment. A concussion, persistent symptoms and major brain damage should not be grouped into one generic amount. Ongoing concentration problems, memory changes and daily care requirements can affect the applicable injury category.
Arm, Shoulder and Leg Injuries
Broken bones, dislocations, ligament damage and serious soft tissue injuries may occur when occupants strike interior surfaces or experience severe forces during a collision. Treatment, surgery, healing, reduced movement and lasting disability are all relevant to the injury-specific reference.
Psychological Injuries After a Collision
Some people experience travel anxiety, disturbed sleep or medically diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder after a road accident. A minor psychological injury accompanying tariff whiplash is treated differently from a distinct psychiatric condition requiring its own assessment.
What Factors Affect Car Accident Compensation?
A car accident compensation claim is not valued solely by the collision type or vehicle damage. Important considerations include:
- Injury diagnosis: The medically established condition.
- Severity: Pain, impairment, treatment and impact on everyday activities.
- Recovery: Expected and actual duration of symptoms.
- Long-term effects: Continuing disability, complications or restrictions.
- Liability: Whether another party was legally responsible and whether any fault is shared.
- Financial losses: Earnings and necessary expenses supported by evidence.
Can a Car Passenger Claim Compensation?
A passenger may be able to pursue compensation when another party's negligence caused their injury. The responsible person might be the driver of the passenger's vehicle or someone involved in another vehicle.
Passenger status does not automatically guarantee an award. Liability, the accident circumstances and the nature of the injury still matter. The calculator allows users to choose driver or passenger because both groups may seek an initial injury compensation reference.
Can You Claim if the Other Driver Was Uninsured?
Victims of uninsured or untraced drivers may have a route to compensation through the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), depending on the circumstances. A hit-and-run incident may also involve the MIB.
These are different claim procedures, not separate injury compensation bands. The amount related to an injury remains dependent on its consequences and the applicable legal rules.
See the official GOV.UK guidance for uninsured and hit-and-run drivers for further information.
How Long Do You Have to Make a Car Accident Claim?
In England and Wales, the ordinary limitation period for many personal injury claims is three years from the date the cause of action accrued, or from the later relevant date of knowledge. Important exceptions and special rules may apply.
For children, the limitation rules generally provide a different starting point, and claims may be brought on their behalf before adulthood. Other exceptions can apply in cases involving reduced mental capacity or particular circumstances.
Do not use the calculator to decide whether a legal deadline has passed. The rules and evidence should be reviewed promptly when there is uncertainty.
Car Accident Compensation Calculation Examples
A hypothetical adult car driver is injured in England on 10 June 2025. Their medical prognosis identifies whiplash lasting more than three but not more than six months, with no associated minor psychological injury.
Statutory whiplash tariff: £565. If £350 of financial losses is entered, the illustrative arithmetic total is £915, before legal adjustments or recoverability checks.
A hypothetical passenger experiences a medically supported minor head injury. The selected 2026 reference category is £2,920–£16,870.
Adding £800 in documented financial losses produces an arithmetic reference of £3,720–£17,670. It does not establish where within that injury bracket an actual award would fall.
A hypothetical driver has a medically supported moderate back injury, with a selected reference range of £16,520–£51,230.
Adding £1,500 in entered financial losses produces an illustrative range of £18,020–£52,730. The correct bracket and the recoverability of losses must still be established.
What Should You Do After a Car Accident?
Safety and medical needs come first after any collision. If someone is seriously injured or there is immediate danger, contact the emergency services. Seek medical advice if you have symptoms or concerns after the accident.
When safe and appropriate, record the accident details, exchange relevant driver information, report the collision where required and notify your insurer. Keep medical documents, photographs, correspondence and receipts that may later support the facts of the incident or financial losses.
Official information about reporting accidents and exchanging details is available from GOV.UK vehicle insurance guidance .
Car Accident Compensation Calculator FAQs
How much compensation can I get for a car accident in the UK?
There is no single fixed car accident compensation amount. A qualifying whiplash injury may use a statutory tariff, while other injuries are assessed using appropriate evidence and guideline references. Financial losses may also affect the claim.
Is this car accident compensation calculator free?
Yes. The calculator is free to use and does not ask you to submit contact details. It provides indicative reference calculations.
Can I use the calculator if I was a passenger?
Yes. Select Car Passenger in the first step. The valuation reference relates to your injury rather than your seating position. Whether you can recover compensation depends on the legal facts.
Can I claim if the car accident was partly my fault?
Shared responsibility may affect the compensation recovered. The calculator does not estimate or apply a percentage reduction for contributory negligence.
What is the difference between whiplash and a general neck injury?
Certain road traffic whiplash injuries fall within a statutory tariff. Other neck conditions, more serious injuries and cases outside the statutory rules may require assessment under different compensation references.
Does a minor car accident always mean low compensation?
No. Vehicle damage does not by itself determine the severity of a personal injury. Medical evidence and actual consequences are important.
Can I include physiotherapy costs and lost wages?
Yes. Enter documented treatment costs and lost earnings in Step 4. Whether these items are recoverable depends on the circumstances and supporting evidence.
Can the calculator estimate compensation for multiple injuries?
This version calculates one main injury reference. Multiple-injury claims require consideration of overlapping pain and suffering, so separate general damages amounts should not simply be added together.
Does the calculator use 2026 compensation guidelines?
Yes. The non-tariff calculation uses selected published summaries from the Judicial College Guidelines 18th edition. Whiplash uses the relevant statutory tariff tables.
Is the estimate my guaranteed settlement amount?
No. The displayed amount is an indicative calculation. Actual compensation depends on medical evidence, liability, losses, applicable law and the individual claim.
Official Sources and Methodology
This tool separates statutory whiplash tariffs from selected general damages guideline reference ranges. Whiplash amounts come from the Whiplash Injury Regulations, as amended in 2025. The other selected ranges reflect published summaries of the Judicial College Guidelines 18th edition.
The calculation is intended as an educational reference. It does not determine whether a claim succeeds, whether an injury fits the selected category or what a court or insurer will ultimately pay.