How to make a personal injury claim
After you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, starting a personal injury claim may be the last thing on your mind. However, claiming compensation can help fund rehabilitation to help ease the pain suffered, cover financial losses and support any future treatment that may relate to the accident.
In this blog, our expert personal injury solicitors explain how the claims process works and what to expect.
Do I have a valid claim?
To bring a successful personal injury claim, you generally need to be able to show three things:
- Someone else owed you a duty of care (for example, an employer, a driver, or a landowner such as the council)
- That this person or organisation breached that duty, meaning they acted negligently or failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent your injury
- That this breach of duty caused your injury and losses
To make a personal injury claim, your injury needs to be more than minor or trivial. While there is no fixed threshold, your claim is unlikely to succeed if the injury is short-lived.
If you’re unsure whether you are eligible to make a personal injury claim, the best first step is to speak to a solicitor. Our personal injury lawyers will give you an honest assessment of whether your claim has reasonable prospects of success.
What is classed as a personal injury?
Personal injury relates to an accident or negligent event that has caused injury to an individual, either physically or psychologically.
This covers a range of circumstances, from road traffic collisions, including cycling accidents, to slips, trips and falls, accidents at work, beauty treatment claims and industrial diseases. Pursuing a claim involves a Claimant, the person injured (or someone acting on their behalf), and a Defendant, the person or organisation who is potentially responsible.
How long do I have to start a personal injury claim?
In most circumstances, you will have three years from the date of the incident to make a compensation claim.
This three-year limitation period might be extended in some cases, for example:
- Where the injured person lacks mental capacity, the three-year limit will begin once they regain capacity. If the Claimant does not regain capacity, a claim can be brought at any time by their loved one. If you are making a claim once you have regained capacity or on behalf of someone else, you must seek advice from a personal injury solicitor as soon as possible, whilst the memory of what happened is still fresh.
- Claims involving children: if the person injured is under 18 at the time of the accident, the three-year time limit begins on their 18th birthday, meaning they have until their 21st birthday to start a claim.
- Claims where the injured person has died: the three-year time limit begins from the date of death or the date the death was linked to the accident. Whoever manages the deceased’s estate can bring a claim on their behalf.
Read more about time limits for personal injury claims here.
Not all injuries are immediately obvious, however, which is where the ‘date of knowledge’ rule comes in.
The ‘date of knowledge’ rule
Some conditions, particularly industrial disease-related claims such as asbestosis and RSI, take time to develop or be diagnosed. In these cases, the law recognises that you can’t necessarily start a claim within the three-year time limit.
The ‘date of knowledge’ rule means the three-year limitation period starts from the date you knew (or reasonably should have known) that you had suffered a significant injury, that the injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, and that the person was identifiable.
Exceptions to the three-year limitation period
There are some cases where the three-year time limit does not necessarily apply, including:
- Claims involving children who were under 18 at the time of their injury
- Claims involving someone who lacked mental capacity at the time of the incident
- Claims following a fatal injury
- Criminal (CICA) injuries (you only have two years)
- Injuries on ships and international flights (you only have two years)
How do I make a personal injury claim?
Once you have decided to start a personal injury claim, the first step will be to arrange a meeting with a personal injury lawyer to discuss your potential claim and your options going forward.
Notifying the Defendant of the claim
Once you have met with one of our solicitors, we will write to the Defendant to state why we consider them to be at fault. The Defendant is required to respond, and this can take as little as 15 working days, although it may be up to four months. Our team will always take action to ensure this process is moved along as swiftly as possible.
Liability
If liability (fault) is denied, the Defendant’s response will be assessed, and further evidence and documentation may be obtained, such as witness statements and medical records. This will determine whether your solicitor can continue with the claim.
If liability is admitted, the next step is to value the claim.
Valuing the claim
The value of the claim is divided into two elements: the injury element and the financial loss element.
To assess the injury element of the claim, we obtain copies of your medical records and commission an injury report carried out by an independent medical expert with the appropriate expertise for your injuries. This will involve an examination, and it may be that you need to see more than one expert, depending on the injuries you have suffered.
In respect of the financial loss element of the claim, you will need evidence of any financial losses and any other relevant materials, such as photos and invoices, will also be beneficial to your case.
Once the value of the claim has been finalised, settlement negotiations will begin, followed by the settlement. If an agreement isn’t reached, your case may proceed to court, but this is often unlikely. Personal injury claims tend to settle out of court, but if it does not, our personal injury lawyers have the experience and expertise to support you through the court process and ensure you have the most positive and fair outcome.
Watch our short video about the personal injury claims process here.
Do I need a solicitor?
There is no legal requirement to instruct a solicitor to handle your claim, but having a specialist personal injury lawyer on your side makes a significant difference in providing a better chance of successfully claiming compensation. An experienced solicitor will be familiar with the claims process and will work to successfully conclude your claim at an early stage without compromising your interests. They will also have the expertise to help you achieve a fair outcome at the appropriate value.
An experienced solicitor will be familiar with the claims process and will work to successfully conclude your claim at an early stage without compromising your interests. A lawyer will also understand the procedural rules and limitation periods, which, if missed, can dismiss a claim entirely. They will also have the expertise to help you achieve a fair outcome.
Another benefit of claiming for personal injury using a solicitor is that they will be able to help you to get access to specialist rehabilitation and treatment during or after the claim.
How is compensation calculated?
Each incident that leads to a personal injury claim has its own unique circumstances, and a range of evidence will be taken into account to determine financial compensation. This includes:
- Evidence of injuries, the pain suffered as a result and the longevity of the injuries
- Cost of any medical treatment, therapy or rehabilitation
- Loss of income from time off work or a change of job
- Adaptive equipment, such as mobility aids or prosthetics
- Adaptions to the home or the cost of moving to an accessible home
- Items damaged in the accident, such as a car, bike or clothing
Compensation covers two forms of damages:
- General Damages: this relates to any physical or mental injury suffered as a result of the accident; and
- Special Damages: compensation to support you in getting back into the financial position you would be in if the accident had never occurred.
How can I fund my personal injury claim?
You may be wondering how expensive a personal injury claim might be and whether it is worth the cost. The most common funding arrangement is a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), also known as ‘no win, no fee’, but there are other options available depending on your circumstances. Our personal injury solicitors will talk you through the various funding options available from the outset, and you can rest assured that we will find a solution that works for you.
There are four main options for funding your claim:
Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs)
Depending on the nature and complexity of your personal injury claim, we usually offer a Conditional Fee Agreement, also known as ‘no win, no fee’. This means that if your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t be liable to pay for our time, and it means there are no upfront costs. We can also help you access insurance that protects you against paying expenses and/or the Defendant’s costs.
If you win your case, the Defendant will contribute towards your legal costs and expenses, and only at that point will you be required to make a payment of costs from your final compensation amount.
Our personal injury lawyers are keen to be open and transparent about the costs in your case and will discuss this fully with you at the initial meeting and throughout the claim.
Legal expenses insurance
This is a common benefit or optional add-on to home or vehicle insurance policies, and it usually provides cover, to a certain limit, for legal fees and expenses, regardless of the outcome of your case.
Legal expenses insurers often have a preferred panel of solicitors they refer to, which usually limits your freedom to choose your own lawyer under the policy’s terms. Their instruction is dictated by the terms of your policy.
Trade union funding
If you’re a trade union member or entitled to trade union benefits, they may be able to cover some or all of your legal costs for a personal injury claim.
Trade unions also tend to have a preferred panel of solicitors, which can limit your freedom to choose your own lawyer under the terms of the policy. The specific rules regarding legal assistance are often contained in your Union Handbook.
Private funding
If, on first evaluation, your case is not deemed strong enough for a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement, we can continue investigating your case on a private funding basis. If this process is positive, we may be able to take on the case on a CFA basis at a later date.
Our personal injury solicitors will always provide fee estimates in advance so there are no surprises.
How we can help
If you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, our expert solicitors can help you make a personal injury claim. We offer a no-obligation consultation with a member of our expert Personal Injury team, which enables us to talk about your options and how best to fund your claim.
To speak to our personal injury lawyers about starting a claim, call 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form.
