Claiming home and nursing care costs
You now need paid or family help at home and want to know what that costs the claim.
Home and nursing care costs cover the value of help you need with daily living because of your injury, whether that help is paid or comes from family. This is assessed on what a specialist says you actually need, not a standard daily rate.[1] It can be short-term during recovery or ongoing where the injury is permanent.
Paid professional care
Where a professional caregiver, home nurse, or care agency is engaged, invoices and a care plan setting out the hours provided are the clearest evidence. A quotation for ongoing care, where needs continue, supports the future portion of the claim.
Care provided by family
Care from a spouse, parent or adult child does not need to be paid to have value in a claim. What matters is the medical and occupational therapy evidence of the actual help needed, which can then be reflected even though no invoice exists for it.
How the value of family care is generally approached
A court can generally place a value on family-provided care by reference to what professional care of the same kind would reasonably cost, rather than assuming it has no value simply because it was unpaid. This depends heavily on the specialist evidence describing exactly what help was given and how often.
What tends to strengthen this part of a claim
- A specific occupational therapy assessment of daily tasks affected.
- A simple diary or record of the help given, by whom, and how often.
- Invoices or a care agency’s quotation, where any paid care is involved.
- A clear statement of whether the need is expected to be short-term or ongoing.
What to do next
Claiming for future medical and care explains how this fits with other future needs, and the need for home care covers the daily-living side of this in more depth. Where equipment is also needed alongside care, aids and appliances covers that separately. Ask for an occupational therapy assessment as soon as your care needs become clear, rather than waiting for a settled picture.
Common questions
Do I need to hire a professional carer for this to count?
No. Care from a family member can still be reflected in the claim, based on the medical evidence of what is actually needed, even where the help was unpaid and informal.
How is unpaid family care actually given a value?
It is generally approached by reference to what equivalent professional care would reasonably cost, applied to the specific hours and tasks the specialist evidence shows were genuinely needed.
What if the amount of care I need changes over time?
This is normal and can be reflected by updating the evidence. An early assessment might show intensive short-term needs, while a later one reflects a more settled, long-term picture.
Does this include help with things like driving me to appointments?
Yes, transport and accompanying you to medical appointments can be part of the care picture, particularly where your injury means you cannot safely travel alone.
Sources
- Civil Law Act 1956, s.28A (Attorney General's Chambers) (accessed 2026-09-22)