Personal Injury Claims

In this guide, we’ll be looking at personal injury claims, and when you may be able to make a successful claim after being injured due to third-party negligence.

In a variety of different scenarios, someone will owe you a duty of care. This could be in a public place, whilst using the road, or whilst in the workplace.

Personal injury claims

Personal injury claims guide

We’ll discuss what this duty of care is further in this guide, but it’s important to note that when this duty of care is breached, resulting in you being harmed as a result, you might be entitled to claim.

If you’d like to discuss the validity of your personal injury claim further, or you’d simply like to find out more about how to sue for negligence, then you can do so by using the contact details below and talking with our team of advisors. In just one call, you could get an understanding of how much compensation you could be due following a successful claim. Furthermore, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

You can contact us by:

  • Calling us on 0800 408 7827
  • Filling out your details in the contact us section of our website
  • Chatting with one of our advisors by using the live advice feature in the corner of our website.

Choose A Section

  1. What Are Personal Injury Claims?
  2. Personal Injury Claims – What Are The Time Limits?
  3. How Much You Could Get For A Personal Injury Claim
  4. What’s Involved In The Process Of Making A Claim?
  5. No Win No Fee Solicitors – How Can They Help You?
  6. Find Out More About Personal Injury Claims

What Are Personal Injury Claims?

It’s important to note that just sustaining an injury won’t automatically mean that you fit the relevant eligibility criteria that are necessary in order to make a claim. This is because the injury needs to have been sustained due to the negligence of someone who owed you a duty of care.

A person’s duty of care can change depending on the different circumstances that a person finds themselves in. We’ll discuss examples of this below.

Examples of an accident at work

An employer has a duty of care that’s clearly set out in the Health and Safety At Work Act etc.1974. This states that an employer has a responsibility to take reasonable steps to prevent injury to their employees.

If this duty of care is breached, this could cause an accidental injury. A breach of duty that causes someone to be injured is called employer negligence. Below are some examples of when an accident at work claim could be valid:

  •  An employer fails to provide you with the knife training you need to do your job safely. You’re injured as a result.
  • An employer failed to provide you with the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) you need to work on a building site safely.

Road traffic accident claims

Whilst using the road, all road users have a duty of care to one another. When this is breached, causing an accident that results in injury, a road traffic accident claim could be made.

The Highway Code discusses the rules and guidelines that road users should follow as a part of their duty of care to one another. Furthermore, the Road Traffic Act 1988 sets out the duty of care on the road.

Examples of road traffic accidents that could form the basis of a claim include:

  • You are hit by a driver who was under the influence of illegal drugs, which caused an accident in which you’re injured.
  • A driver being distracted or showing a lack of attention whilst at the wheel, meaning that they hit the back of your vehicle.

Adult drivers or passengers making an injury claim valued at £5,000 or less may need to make their claim in a different way. For advice on this, you can call our team by using the information provided above.

Sustaining an injury in a public place

You are also owed a duty of care in public places, such as bars, restaurants and gyms. The person or body responsible for the safety of the area is the one who owes you a duty of care. This duty of care is outlined clearly in the Occupiers Liability Act 1957.

Examples of potential grounds for public injury claims include:

  • A wet floor not being clearly marked in a reasonable time after a spill, resulting in you slipping and falling on the surface and breaking a bone.
  • A faulty handrail not being replaced or the hazard signposte, resulting in a person falling whilst leaning on it.

Personal Injury Claims – What Are The Time Limits?

You’ll generally have three years to begin your personal injury claim. This is set out in the Limitation Act 1980.

There are exceptions to this rule though. For example, if a claimant is under the age of eighteen, or lacks the mental capacity to make a personal injury claim, then the courts can appoint a litigation friend to make a claim on their behalf, and the time limit for doing so is suspended. If the injured person becomes capable of claiming themselves, then the three-year time limit for doing so runs from the date thic happens.

To learn more about this, you can contact us using the information provided above.

How Much You Could Get For A Personal Injury Claim

If you make a successful personal injury claim, you could be eligible to receive two separate heads of claim; the first of these that we’ll discuss is general damages.

This head of claim aims to compensate claimants for any pain or suffering that their injuries have caused them. The figures in the table below have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, which are used by solicitors to assign a value to the general damages part of personal injury claims.

Guideline Compensation Brackets

InjurySeverityCompensation
Injury Resulting from Brain DamageVery Severe (a)£282,010 to £403,990
Neck InjuriesSevere (a) (i)In the region of £148,330
Back InjuriesSevere (a) (i)£91,090 to £160,980
Back InjuriesModerate (b) (i)£27,760 to £38,780
Injuries to the Pelvis and HipsSevere (a) (i)£78,400 to £130,930
Leg InjuriesVery Serious (ii)£54,830 to £87,890
Chest Injuries(c)£31,310 to £54,830
Knee InjuriesModerate (b) (i)£14,840 to £26,190
Ankle InjuriesModerate (c)£13,740 to £26,590
Arm InjuriesSimple fractures of the forearm£6,610 to £19,200

Note that these figures cannot be guaranteed due to the many different variables that have to be considered when determining general damages compensation.

Special Damages Compensation

Special damages are another potential head of claim that aims to reimburse you for any financial losses you have experienced as a result of your injuries. This can include (but isn’t limited to):

  • Cost of care
  • Loss of earnings
  • Cost of medication
  • Cost of renovations to a home in aid of recovery

You’ll have to provide evidence to receive special damages compensation, which can come in the form of invoices, bank statements or receipts.

What’s Involved In The Process Of Making A Claim

When making a personal injury claim, the claims process will involve:

  • Inform the person/body that you intend to make a claim against
  • Seek legal help – whilst this isn’t a legal requirement, this can prove to be a beneficial step you can take to support your claim
  • Gather evidence to prove your personal injury claim

The evidence you could provide in support of a personal injury claim could include:

  • CCTV footage or photographs
  • Witness contact details
  • Copies of any medical records produced
  • A diary of your symptoms and any treatment you’ve needed

No Win No Fee Solicitors – How They Could Help You

If you’d like to make a claim with legal representation, then our solicitors work under a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Under this agreement, you typically won’t be expected to provide any upfront or ongoing payments for your legal representation whilst your claim is ongoing. As well as this, if you’re unsuccessful in your claim, you won’t have to pay anything for your solicitor’s services.

However, if you’re successful in your personal injury claim, you’ll have to pay a success fee. This is a legally capped amount, which is discussed between you and your solicitor before you begin..

You can contact us by:

  • Calling us on 0800 408 7827
  • Filling out your details in the contact us section of our website
  • Chatting with one of our advisors by using the live advice feature in the corner of our website.

Find Out More About Personal Injury Claims

If you’d like to learn more about personal injury claims, you can do so by reading more of our guides below:

Alternatively, you can follow the below links to learn more: