What happens in a personal injury claim?
If you have never taken legal action before, starting a personal injury claim can seem daunting. In fact, often, people come to our Personal Injury team for help who have never even spoken to a lawyer before.
While the personal injury claims process can be complex, this is not something that you, as a claimant, need to worry about. This is why lawyers have the qualifications and years of training to handle the process for you, leaving you to focus on your recovery.
In this blog, our personal injury lawyers explain what happens in a personal injury claim, including what the process is, who you can expect to be involved and what happens if it goes to court.
How do I know if I can claim for personal injury?
Before you make that initial enquiry, it’s important to understand whether your claim is likely to be taken on and/or succeed. There are several myths and misconceptions about how and when you can make a personal injury claim, which we debunk here. However, typically, you can make a personal injury claim if you can show these three things:
- Someone else owed you a duty of care
- That the 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 instruct our team of personal injury lawyers, your injury needs to be more than minor or trivial, as we must be satisfied the injury element of the claim is valued at more than £1,500 to be able to help you with your claim.
Do I have to pay to make a personal injury claim?
Costs should never be a barrier to claiming compensation for an injury that wasn’t your fault. We can advise you on funding options, but we can normally offer a ‘no win, no fee’ arrangement, also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), with associated after-the-event insurance. This means that if your claim is not successful, you won’t usually be liable for our costs. If you ‘win’ your claim, the defendant will pay a proportion of your legal costs and expenses.
We are transparent and upfront about our funding arrangements and therefore are happy to answer any questions regarding how you fund your personal injury claim.
What are the stages of a personal injury claim?
Our personal injury solicitors will guide you through every step of the claims process, including advising you on any opportunities to conclude your claim at an early stage or whether it is likely to go to court. However, here is a brief overview of the personal injury claims process:
1. Speak to our friendly team
When you first speak to our personal injury lawyers, we will listen to what happened and take some brief notes. We understand this may be difficult for you, so please take your time. We will then provide an initial honest view of whether we think your claim merits further investigation. If it is, we will triage it to a team member. If it isn’t, we may provide details of another firm or organisation that can help.
During your initial call, we can also go over the various options for funding your personal injury claim.
2. Your initial appointment
If, after triaging your initial enquiry to our team, we think that you may have grounds to claim compensation, you will be invited to an initial appointment. This can be in person or on Teams and will be with a Paralegal, Solicitor, Associate, Senior Associate or Partner.
During this meeting, we will discuss with you what happened, going into extra detail and asking further questions. This is so we have all the facts to take the next step, which is notifying the defendant (the person or organisation responsible for your injury).
We will also discuss the funding arrangements and sort these for you before we move on to the next stage of the claim.
3. Notifying the defendant of the claim
Once you and our team are happy to proceed with the claim, we will notify the defendant. Here, we will set out the details of your claim and what we allege they did wrong.
4. The defendant’s response
The defendant is required to respond to your claim, even if they are denying responsibility. This can take up to four months, but in some cases, it can be as quick as two weeks.
In their response, the defendant will usually either admit full or partial liability (blame) or deny responsibility for any wrongdoing. It is very common for the defendant to deny liability, so please do not worry if this happens.
Our personal injury lawyers will talk you through your options at this stage and advise you on how best to proceed.
5. Building your case
It is important that we gather appropriate evidence and witness statements to build your case. We need the right evidence to prove the facts of the case, including exactly what happened, how this negatively impacted you and how it continues to impact you. This evidence could include:
- Photographic evidence
- Video evidence, including CCTV and dash cam footage
- Witness statements
- Medical reports
- Financial loss evidence, e.g. receipts
6. Valuing the claim (compensation)
A personal injury claim is valued based on two elements: General Damages (the injury element) and Special Damages (the financial loss element.
For the injury element, we will obtain a medical expert’s report (maybe more than one) to help us consider how the injuries affect you now and in the future, and what compensation is most appropriate. Special damages are designed to put you back in the financial position you would be in if the accident had never occurred. You should keep any receipts and invoices wherever possible to prove these losses.
Read more about how personal injury claims are valued.
7. Issuing court proceedings
It is rare that a personal injury claim goes to court, so normally, there are several ‘rounds’ of negotiation between the defendant’s legal team and us before court proceedings are deemed necessary.
If negotiations fail and/or it is appropriate to take the matter further, our personal injury lawyers will start court proceedings by submitting a ‘Particulars of Claim’ to the court, which includes details of your case. The defendant has 28 days to respond to this. After that, the court will set the timetable for the litigation, including a trial date for a judge to hear your case. This is typically around 18-24 months from when the defendant responds to your claim.
At this stage, it is common for claims to be resolved through pre-trial negotiations, rather than going all the way to court proceedings.
8. Pre-trial negotiations
Pre-trial negotiations may involve direct negotiations (between the defendant’s legal team and us), as well as alternate dispute resolution methods, such as mediation. Our team has a strong track record of achieving positive outcomes during pre-trial negotiations. This saves you time, money and the stress of attending a hearing.
9. Trial by a judge
If pre-trial negotiations fail, your case will be heard by a judge in court.
Personal injury claim hearings are not as you may have seen on TV; they are heard in front of a judge and without a jury.
10. Payment of compensation
If your claim is successful, you will receive compensation. Compensation is paid by recovering our costs from the defendant/their insurer. If you have a no-win, no-fee agreement, we may take a percentage to cover our legal costs.
We will pay your compensation to you, unless you or your family has arranged for it to go into a Personal Injury Trust, where it will be accessible by your trustee/Deputy. This is common in cases involving a head or brain injury, or children.
What happens if my personal injury claim goes to court?
If pre-trial negotiations are not successful and a settlement cannot be agreed, court proceedings may become necessary. We will ensure you have the very best possible representation for your hearing, including instructing a barrister who specialises in your type of claim. They will advise on the strategy for the hearing and present your case on the day.
Who is involved in my claim?
Many people presume that personal injury claims are dealt with by one lawyer. The reality is that personal injury claims involve numerous people and experts who are there to support you and give your claim the best possible chance of succeeding.
At Barcan and Kirby, the team around you is likely to include:
- At least two members of our Personal Injury team, including your nominated lawyer and a Legal Secretary and/or Paralegal
- A Costs Lawyer (to advise on the legal costs, e.g. barristers’ fees)
- A barrister
- Medical experts, e.g. orthopaedic consultants, psychiatrists, etc.
- Treatment providers (so that you can access treatment to help your recovery quicker than on the NHS)
- Non-medical experts, e.g. property consultants to advise on modifying your home post-injury and recovery, a pension loss specialist, or a forensic accountant to assess your loss of earnings claim
- An Independent Financial Adviser (to advise on how to manage your compensation)
- Charities and organisations such as Headway
- A professional Deputy or trustee if your injury means you no longer have the mental capacity to manage your compensation and/or make decisions for yourself
It is also important to understand that the Defendant and their legal team (plus experts) also play a role in your case.
I’m ready to make a claim. Where do I start?
The first step will be to get in touch to discuss your case. Our Personal Injury team will take details and let you know if we can take on your claim. If it is, we will arrange a meeting to discuss it further.
Click here for more details on how to make a personal injury claim.
Contact our personal injury lawyers
Making a personal injury claim can feel complicated and stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Our expert personal injury lawyers have the experience and specialist knowledge to ensure your claim is handled professionally and effectively, while giving you the support you need after your accident.
For an initial chat with a member of our team, call 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form.
