Compensation in Scotland after a motorcycle accident is calculated under two heads: solatium (pain, suffering, loss of amenity — including any psychological injury) and patrimonial loss (financial). On a serious case, patrimonial loss can be 70–90% of the total. Most riders only ever see the solatium figure quoted online — and undervalue their case by hundreds of thousands.
Solatium — the headline number
Solatium compensates the injury itself: physical pain, psychological suffering, and loss of amenity (your inability to do the things you used to). Scottish courts use the Judicial College Guidelines (with Scottish-law adjustments) and case-law precedent to value solatium.
Indicative ranges for motorcycle injuries:
- Whiplash and minor soft tissue: £2,500 – £8,500
- Wrist or ankle fracture, simple recovery: £8,500 – £18,000
- Significant orthopaedic with permanent loss: £30,000 – £85,000
- Mild TBI: £20,000 – £55,000 (often higher with cognitive deficit)
- Severe TBI: £180,000 – £450,000+
- Incomplete paraplegia: £230,000 – £350,000
- Complete paraplegia: £270,000 – £400,000+
Patrimonial loss — what actually matters
Patrimonial loss covers everything financial: lost wages past and future, pension, care costs, aids and equipment, accommodation, medical treatment, loss of services. On a serious case, patrimonial loss can typically be the largest part of the settlement.
The big drivers in motorcycle cases:
- Past wage loss — calculated to date of settlement
- Future wage loss — Ogden tables, multiplicand × multiplier
- Pension loss — often forgotten by inexperienced solicitors
- Care costs — commercial rates plus gratuitous family care uplift
- Aids, equipment, prosthetics — full lifetime cost
- Accommodation adaptation — Roberts v Johnstone calculation where home is unsuitable
- Loss of services — household tasks, childcare, gardening, maintenance
- Future medical — psychological, orthopaedic, neurological as required
Kit, helmet and bike damage
Riding kit, helmet, gloves, boots and the bike itself are recovered separately as property damage. We always recover replacement values — not insurer 'depreciated' figures.
Helmet replacement is mandatory after any impact, even visually undamaged. We claim it every time.
You don't wait until settlement to see money
Interim payments are routine in Scottish personal injury cases once liability is admitted. We've secured six-figure interim payments to fund private rehabilitation, lost income, and accommodation adaptation, well before final settlement.
Money in your hand while the case runs is part of how we work — not an exception.