How we check this content

These FAQ guides are written from established primary sources — legislation for England & Wales, the Civil Procedure Rules, government guidance and HM Courts & Tribunals Service — and checked for accuracy against those sources before publishing.

Our approach

Each question is answered in plain English, based on the current statutory framework and well-established legal principles for England & Wales. Where a figure, threshold, or procedural rule could change over time (such as a statutory cap or a court's name), we check it directly against the relevant official source — legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK, the Civil Procedure Rules on justice.gov.uk, or the Judicial College Guidelines — rather than relying on general knowledge alone.

Compensation figures

The compensation calculator's general-damages figures are based on the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), 18th edition, published 9 April 2026. We cross-check the figures used against published comparison tables from law firms who track each edition's changes in detail — including DAC Beachcroft's 18th-vs-17th-edition comparison table, used to verify the back injury and brain/head injury brackets. As the JCG's own introduction puts it, "no two injuries are the same in their effect" — these figures are a starting range, not a fixed formula, and a qualified solicitor is needed to value any individual case.

Keeping it current

Legal frameworks are periodically reviewed and updated. See our recent changes page for a log of updates made to this content.

Since October 2026 the official pages behind the questions and answers on each guide are also checked automatically. Every night a small program re-reads a few of the 26 pages we rely on, on a rota: the GOV.UK personal injury discount rate page, the CICA claim page and GOV.UK’s money-claim guidance about once a week; the whiplash tariff regulations, Civil Liability Act 2018, CPR Parts 26, 36, 44 and 45, the personal injury, low-value RTA and clinical disputes pre-action protocols, Limitation Act 1980 ss. 11, 14 and 33, the Fatal Accidents Act bereavement award, the Conditional Fee Agreements Order, the Judicial College page, HSE RIDDOR, the MIB, NHS complaints and NHS Resolution pages about once a month. If a page has changed in a way that affects an answer, a suggested rewrite is put in front of the editor. Nothing is published automatically: only wording the editor has approved appears on a guide, marked “Updated” with the date, and each guide shows when its pages were last checked.

Limitations

This content is general legal information, not legal advice, and doesn't consider your individual circumstances. It's not a substitute for advice from a qualified solicitor, who can properly assess your specific situation.