Quantum calculator
General damages uplift calculator
The Simmons v Castle 10 per cent uplift, the RPI top-up, and the Scotland adjustment on a general damages figure. You declare the source of the figure and each adjustment is applied or withheld with its explicit reason in the working, preventing the common error of applying the uplift to a figure that already includes it.
Rules current to 1 April 2013. Read how these calculators work on the quantum methodology page.
The double-counting error
Simmons v Castle [2012] EWCA Civ 1039 and [2012] EWCA Civ 1288 declared a 10 per cent uplift on non-pecuniary general damages for judgments given on or after 1 April 2013, in tort and contract, across six categories. Pain and suffering. Loss of amenity. Physical inconvenience and discomfort. Social discredit. Mental distress. Loss of society of relatives.
The Judicial College Guidelines 17th edition (April 2024) figures already include that uplift, baked in since the 13th edition. Applying the 10 per cent a second time to a 17th edition bracket figure is a real and common error. This calculator asks where your figure came from and applies or withholds each adjustment with the reason shown in the working, so a withheld adjustment is as visible as an applied one.
The 17th edition also instructs ongoing RPI uprating from its August 2023 base month to the date of award or settlement (Blair v Jaber; Dee v Welsh Ambulance). The top-up multiplier is the award-month index divided by the base-month index. The ONS RPI index series is not yet loaded into the rate store, so the two index values are explicit inputs which you read from the Office for National Statistics series, and every result that uses them says so.
The uplift is withheld where the claimant falls within s.44(6) LASPO 2012, a CFA entered before 1 April 2013 with a success fee still recoverable from the defendant. Otherwise there is no judicial discretion to withhold it (Summers v Bundy [2016] EWCA Civ 62), and it extends to disrepair claims (Khan v Mehmood [2022] EWCA Civ 791). For Scottish valuations the England and Wales only uplift is stripped with the 100/110 adjustment, dividing by 1.1 exactly.
What this calculator does not do. It contains no Judicial College Guidelines bracket figures or ranges, which are proprietary OUP-published content, so it never suggests a bracket and you must enter your own figure. Within-bracket point selection is judgmental, turning on severity, age, and prognosis (Scarcliffe v Brampton Valley), and is never computed. Whiplash tariff injuries are governed by the fixed tariff rather than the Guidelines; use the whiplash compensation calculator for those.
Primary sources
- Simmons v Castle [2012] EWCA Civ 1039 and [2012] EWCA Civ 1288, the 10 per cent uplift for judgments on or after 1 April 2013.
- Summers v Bundy [2016] EWCA Civ 62, no judicial discretion to withhold the uplift outside the s.44(6) exception.
- Khan v Mehmood [2022] EWCA Civ 791, the uplift extended to disrepair claims.
- Blair v Jaber and Dee v Welsh Ambulance, applying the 17th edition RPI uprating instruction.
- Judgments can be verified by neutral citation on the National Archives Find Case Law service. Direct judgment links are not yet loaded and remain to be verified at source.
- Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases, 17th edition (April 2024, Oxford University Press). The bracket figures are proprietary and are not reproduced here.
- Office for National Statistics RPI monthly index, the source for the user-supplied index values in the RPI top-up.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Simmons v Castle 10 per cent uplift?
In Simmons v Castle [2012] EWCA Civ 1039 and [2012] EWCA Civ 1288 the Court of Appeal declared a 10 per cent uplift on non-pecuniary general damages for judgments given on or after 1 April 2013, in tort and contract, across six categories. Pain and suffering. Loss of amenity. Physical inconvenience and discomfort. Social discredit. Mental distress. Loss of society of relatives.
Do Judicial College Guidelines 17th edition figures already include the uplift?
Yes. The JCG 17th edition (April 2024) figures already include the Simmons 10 per cent uplift, baked in since the 13th edition. Applying the uplift again to a 17th edition bracket figure double counts it, which is the error this calculator prevents. The 17th edition figures were also increased 22 per cent against the 16th edition for RPI September 2021 to August 2023.
When is the uplift withheld?
The uplift is withheld where the claimant falls within s.44(6) LASPO 2012, that is a CFA entered before 1 April 2013 with a success fee still recoverable from the defendant. Otherwise there is no judicial discretion to withhold it (Summers v Bundy [2016] EWCA Civ 62). The uplift was extended to disrepair claims (Khan v Mehmood [2022] EWCA Civ 791).
What is the RPI top-up?
The JCG 17th edition instructs ongoing RPI uprating from its August 2023 base month to the date of award or settlement (Blair v Jaber; Dee v Welsh Ambulance). The top-up multiplier is the award-month index divided by the August 2023 base-month index, and it applies only to figures declared as JCG 17th edition figures. The ONS RPI index series is not yet loaded, so the index values are explicit user inputs verified against the Office for National Statistics series.
How does the Scotland adjustment work?
Scotland strips the England and Wales only uplift with a 100/110 adjustment, dividing the figure by 1.1 exactly. It runs last in the fixed order of adjustments and is flagged in the working as the 100/110 strip-out.
What does this calculator not do?
It does not contain any Judicial College Guidelines bracket figures or ranges, which are proprietary OUP-published content, so it never suggests a bracket. Within-bracket point selection is judgmental, turning on severity, age, and prognosis (Scarcliffe v Brampton Valley), and is never computed. Whiplash tariff injuries are governed by the fixed tariff, not the Guidelines.