How To Pursue A Personal Injury Claim

As you may be aware, some accidents caused by others can lead to personal injury claims. But where do you begin if you want to claim compensation from someone else? In this guide, we’ll review some of the reasons why personal injury claims might be possible. Then we’ll look at the legal process for starting a personal injury claim.

Our advisors are happy to review your claim for free and offer legal advice about how to proceed. What’s more, if your claim seems to meet the personal injury claims criteria, one of our specialist solicitors may offer to provide legal representation on a No Win, No Fee basis.

There’s more information about how personal injury claims work throughout this guide so please read on. Alternatively, call us today on 0800 652 1345 for free legal advice about your claim.

What is the law of tort?

One of the phrases you might hear when researching personal injury claims is tort. Tort law is a branch of civil law that deals with civil wrongs or wrongful acts that cause harm to an individual or their property, resulting in legal liability for the person who committed the wrong. The purpose of tort law is to provide compensation to the injured party for the harm or loss they have suffered.

The most common form of tort linked to personal injury claims is negligence which leads to a breach of duty of care.

When can you claim compensation for a personal injury?

There has to be a definition which differentiates negligence and accidents. Not every accident can be attributed to negligence and therefore not every accident will attract compensation. So, what is the difference between negligence and an accident:-

An accident is often described as an “unfortunate happening”, which occurred unintentionally even though it resulted in harm, injury, damage or loss.

To pursue a personal injury claim, there are several elements that need to be proved to establish negligence including:

• Can you demonstrate that the person or entity you are holding responsible owed you a duty of care?
• Can you show that the responsible party breached their duty of care?
• Can you prove a connection between the breach of duty and your injury?
• Can you provide evidence of the actual harm or damages you have suffered as a result of the injury?

If you have looked into previous personal injury claims, you will no doubt have seen some accidents which were quite simply, accidental. Then there are others where various parties had a legal duty of care which they failed to fulfil. For example, let’s consider our slip accident while shopping again:

• You couldn’t make a personal injury claim If another customer spilt a drink right in front of you because the shop’s operator wouldn’t have had time to try and prevent your accident.
• You could be entitled to claim if a customer spilt a drink 10 minutes ago and you slipped on the spillage because the shop’s operator knew about it but had failed to clean up the mess (or cordon off the area) quickly enough.

If you’re not sure whether you’re entitled to pursue a compensation claim, you can call our team to have your case assessed for free.

How personal injury claims work

In this section, we’ve simplified the Pre-action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims. This is a set of rules created by the Ministry of Justice that sets the rules for how personal injury claims are dealt with.

If one of your solicitors takes on your claim, they will:

• Lodge the claim with the defendant. Evidence and information about your claim will be sent to the defendant. They or their representatives will have 21 days to respond and another 3 months to gather their own evidence.
  • If liability for the accident is accepted, your solicitor and the defendant will try to agree to an appropriate settlement amount. This will involve evidence such as independent medical reports to help prove your level of suffering.
  • If liability for the accident is refuted, your solicitor might send further evidence to try and prove your case. If liability is still not accepted, your solicitor might take the claim to court (though this is very rare).
• Negotiations regarding settlement amounts. Your solicitor will try to secure as much compensation as possible for you while the defendant’s insurers will try to reduce the amount you receive as much as possible. Usually, an amicable agreement can be achieved after some toing and froing. Again though, in a small number of cases where an agreement can’t be reached, a court might be asked to determine the appropriate compensation level.
• Interim payments. If liability has been accepted but the claim hasn’t been closed the defendant might make interim payments to help with the cost of rehabilitation or care.
• Compensation is paid. If your claim is successful, your compensation will be paid out by the defendant. Depending on the agreement reached, you might receive a one-off payment or a lump sum followed by annual payments if you’ll continue to suffer in the future.

This is just a summary of the personal injury claims process which can be much more complex in practice.

What kind of evidence will I need for a personal injury claim?

The more evidence you can provide to your personal injury claims solicitor the better. The evidence available and required will vary from case to case. However, these are some of the more common elements of evidence used to prove a personal injury claim:-

• Medical records.
• Details of medical treatment.
• Photographic evidence.
• Witness statements.
• Evidence of repeat offences.
• Lack of training.
• Lack of safety equipment.
• Badly maintained machinery.
• Timeline of events.
• Communication between parties.

This list is by no means exclusive, although it does give you an idea of the type of evidence more commonly used.

Is there a time limit on claiming compensation?

In the UK, personal injury claims need to be made within 3 years. This rule is defined by the Limitation Act 1980.  The start of the time limit will usually begin from either:

• The date when the accident happened; or
• When you were made aware of your injuries (date of knowledge).

Claims made outside of the 3-year time limit can be refused as legally they could become statute-barred. This would mean you wouldn’t receive any compensation at all for your injuries.

If you decide to take on legal representation to lodge a personal injury claim, you should contact a solicitor sooner rather than later. That’s because they will have a list of tasks relating to your claim that will need to be completed before it is filed with the defendant.

The personal injury claim limit for children is also 3 years. However, this begins on their 18^th birthday (as children can’t take legal action). As such, a parent or responsible adult could seek compensation on behalf of a child at any point before then.

What is the benefit of using a personal injury solicitor?

Taking on legal action can be quite tricky and you might find it difficult to navigate all of the rules and regulations. As such, you may decide to seek the support of a specialist solicitor when making a personal injury claim.

We believe this will mean you’ll find the claims process easier and less stressful. We also believe a personal injury solicitor could improve your chances of being fairly compensated.

Our solicitors offer a No Win, No Fee service for any claim they accept. If your claim is accepted, you:

• Don’t pay legal fees upfront.
• Won’t have to pay legal fees if the claim is lost.
• Will pay a success fee if your claim is won.

At the start of the claim, you’ll be sent a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) if your claim is taken on. After you’ve signed it, your solicitor will:

• Write to the defendant about your claim.
• Search for the evidence to prove how the accident occurred.
• Set up an independent medical assessment to help determine the extent of your injuries.
• Fight your corner if the defendant denies liability for the accident or your suffering.
• Try to secure the right level of compensation to cover your suffering.

Throughout the claims process, you’ll receive updates from your solicitor about how the claim is progressing.

Start a personal injury claim today

The process of seeking compensation is fairly simple in theory but often a lot more complicated in practice. This is why more and more people are now using personal injury claims solicitors to help prove negligence and secure maximum compensation. The UK legal system can be a minefield, especially for those with little or no experience, which is often where personal injury solicitors come into their own.

If you’ve decided that it’s time to pursue a personal injury claim and would like free advice on doing so, please call 0800 652 1345 or connect to our live chat service.

An advisor will guide you through the claims process, answer any questions and offer free legal advice. If your claim is strong enough to be accepted by one of our personal injury lawyers, you’ll receive No Win No Fee legal representation.