If someone else’s negligence causes you to experience a physical or psychological injury, you are perfectly entitled to seek legal compensation for your suffering.
If you receive a significant ‘lump sum’ compensation payment as part of a personal injury claim, then this can affect your entitlement in the future to receive certain means-tested state benefits.
Means-tested benefits consider your income, savings and capital assets to assess your eligibility to claim. Some means-tested benefits currently include:
Suppose the value of your injury compensation settlement, combined with your savings and assets, falls within a specific financial bracket. In that case, it may impact the amount of benefits you can claim from the government.
Here we outline how compensation affects your benefits and explain what you can do to safeguard your entitlement.
The means-tested benefits that could be affected currently include:
Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits are not means-tested benefits and would not be affected.
You must seek professional advice by speaking to our expert team, who will happily answer any question you may have and advise on the best way forward.