Could I Use Serious Injury Solicitors To Claim Compensation?

Welcome to our guide on serious injury solicitors. This article will address the subject of what can constitute a serious injury and whether or not you could be owed compensation. You could sustain a serious injury in a number of different scenarios.

A guide to serious injury solicitors claim

Some of the most common are:

  • Road traffic accidents
  • Accidents in the workplace
  • Accidents in public places

One of the most important factors in determining compensation eligibility is whether or not your injuries were the result of someone else’s negligence. We will explore what this means in more detail over the course of this article. Read on for more information.

Below, you’ll find our contact details. Our advisors are available at any time of the day to answer your questions. You can:

  • Call us on the number at the top of this page
  • Claim online through our website
  • Use the live chat feature in the corner 

Select A Section:

  1. When Could I Use Serious Injury Solicitors?
  2. What Must I Prove For My Personal Injury Claim To Be Valid?
  3. Accidents That Could Require Serious Injury Solicitors
  4. What Evidence Can Support My Personal Injury Claim?
  5. How Will Serious Injury Solicitors Calculate My Compensation Settlement?
  6. Serious Injury Solicitors And No Win No Fee Agreements

When Could I Use Serious Injury Solicitors?

Not only is it important to know which claims fall under the definition of “personal injury claims”, but it’s also important to be aware of when an injury can be categorised as serious. 

Serious injuries could consist of any long term injury or life-changing injury. On the other hand, something like a dislocated joint is less likely to have a lasting effect on your life and overall health. Therefore, it’s unlikely to be classified as a serious injury. An injury like a badly broken limb or even paralysis in some extreme circumstances will affect your life on a much larger scale. Therefore, they are more likely to be described as serious.

Serious injury solicitors work on helping claimants to seek the maximum amount of compensation relevant to their circumstances. They also assist in establishing who was negligent and whether that led to your injuries.

What Must I Prove For My Personal Injury Claim To Be Valid?

In order to make a claim, there are 3 criteria that need to be met. This section focuses on them.

  1. Was there a duty of care? Was there a duty of care owed to you? In other words, was there someone who was responsible for your safety whilst carrying out a task? In a workplace accident, this could be your employer. For road traffic accident claims, this is relevant to all other road users.
  2. Was this duty of care breached? This is when the party responsible for your wellbeing breaches their duty of care and causes an accident. Blameless accidents can still happen, however. If someone has taken all reasonable steps to reduce the risk of injury, then it’s less likely they can be said to have acted negligently if an accident still takes place.
  3. Were you injured as a result? Personal injury claims can only be made if you were injured as a result. If you have not sustained an injury then you cannot claim personal injury compensation. However, it is not just physical injuries can you can be compensated for. Some psychological injuries such as severe PTSD can qualify.

Additionally, claims will generally need to begin within 3 years of the date of the accident. This time limit is stated in the Limitation Act 1980. If this time limit expires, then you could find it more difficult to make a claim. Sometimes, it will no longer be possible.

However, there are some circumstances in which the time limit can work differently.

Date Of Knowledge

Although the time limit is intended to begin from the date of your accident, this is under the assumption that you are aware of your injuries being sustained on the same day. Sometimes you can be injured but the symptoms don’t reveal themselves until a later date.

If you can back up your delayed diagnosis with medical evidence, you could use this alternative date as the start of your 3-year time limit. 

Child Claims

If the injured party is under 18 then they cannot make their own claim. Due to this, their time limit is suspended until their 18th birthday. Then, they will have until their 21st birthday to start their claim if it hasn’t already been started for them.

Before the claimant turns 18, a trusted adult can be appointed to make a claim on their behalf. They are known as a litigation friend. For example, this could be a parent, guardian, family friend, or even a solicitor.

Claims On Behalf Of Those With A Reduced Mental Capacity

Some injuries and conditions can affect someone’s mental capacity to make a claim themselves. Like with cases of child accident claims, their time limit is also suspended. It will only begin if and when their mental capacity returns.

However, a litigation friend can make a claim on their behalf before they recover mental capacity.

Criminal Injury Claims

This would only be relevant if you have been the victim of a violent crime such as a physical attack or sexual assault, for example. These claims are generally made in a different way from other personal injury claims if the defendant is unknown or doesn’t have the means to compensate you.

You would need to make a claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The time limit for a claim of this nature is generally 2 years. However, there can be exceptions made in certain circumstances.

If you’re unsure as to whether your time limit has expired, get in touch with us today.

Accidents That Could Require Serious Injury Solicitors

Although negligence is important to establish following a serious injury, solicitors can also assist you with the claims process generally.

Different pieces of legislation exist for accidents in various scenarios. For example, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 lays out the duty of care that an employer has towards their employees. Therefore, it means they have a legal duty to make sure the workplace for which they are responsible is kept as safe as reasonably possible.

Serious injuries can also occur as a result of an accident in a public place such as a shop or a restaurant. The legislation that details the person’s or organisation’s responsibility for the safety of the area is called the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This is also relevant for personal property such as your own house.

If a road traffic accident were to take place due to damage to the road’s surface, this could be a violation of the Highways Act 1980. The party in control of the road could be a body such as the local council.

What Evidence Can Support My Personal Injury Claim?

Serious injury solicitors can offer you advice and guidance regarding what evidence is needed for a personal injury claim. You will need proof that your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence.

Some examples include:

  • CCTV footage – if your accident has been captured by CCTV cameras, then this could prove very useful.
  • Witness statements – there may have been people who saw your accident firsthand. They could submit a written statement to corroborate your story.
  • Independent medical assessment – this will need to be carried out as a part of your claim. We can help organise this for you at a medical facility near you.

For more examples of evidence that you could present during your claim, get in touch.

The Latest Statistics For Accidents Requiring Serious Injury Solicitors

The statistics below are for reported road accidents in the year ending June 2021 in Great Britain. As you can see, slight accidents were the most common. Then, it was serious accidents. Fatal accidents were the least common.

Serious injury solicitors statistics graph
Serious injury solicitors statistics graph

How Will Serious Injury Solicitors Calculate My Compensation Settlement?

In this section, we have included some illustrative figures regarding what could be awarded to you for your potential general damages payment. This figure is to account for the pain and suffering endured due to your injuries.

The amounts have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication is used by legal professionals to assist in calculating a general damages payment.

InjuryDescriptionAmount
Paraplegia(b) depending factors will be those such as the level of pain and effect on mental health£205,580 to £266,740
Mental anguish(E) when you expect to die or have your lifespan reduced£4,380
Brain/head(B) Epilepsy - established grand mal£95,710 to £140,870
Psychiatric damage(a) Severe£51,460 to £108,620
Sight(d) Complete loss of 1 eye£51,460 to £61,690
Chest(a) Total removal of a lung, for example£94,470 to £140,870
Reproductive organs(a) (i) - Male: total lossIn excess of £144,420
Kidney(c) Loss of only one kidney an no damage to the other £28,880 to £42,110
Shoulder(a) Severe - often associated with neck injuries£18,020 to £45,070
Elbow(G) (a)Severely disabling£36,770 to £51,460

Claiming Special Damages For Financial Losses

Serious injury lawyers can also assist you in claiming for special damages. These are costs and expenditures that have arisen due to your injuries. For example, a loss of earnings due to you being unable to work could be recovered under special damages.

Get in touch for more information or for our advisors to value your claim for free.  

Serious Injury Solicitors And No Win No Fee Agreements

The serious injury claims lawyers on our panel work on a No Win No Fee basis. The benefits of this include:

  • Only being required to pay your lawyer their fee if your claim is successful
  • No hidden lawyer fees
  • Experienced legal assistance
  • Reduced financial risk regarding making a claim with the support of a lawyer

If you are awarded a settlement, your lawyer will take a small percentage of the final amount as their success fee. The percentage is capped by law. 

Making a claim with a lawyer but without a No Win No Fee arrangement in place could result in you still being required to pay your lawyer’s fee even if your claim is unsuccessful.

Speak To Us About Making A Serious Injury Claim

So, get in touch with us today. Our advisors are standing by and ready to help. There’s more than one way to get in touch with us.

  • Call us on the number at the top of this page
  • Contact us through our website
  • Use the live chat feature in the corner

More Information On Personal Injury Compensation Claims

We have included some additional links that may be of use to you.

  1. How to know if you’ve broken a bone.
  2. NHS information on paralysis.
  3. Another NHS article on amputation.

Why not check out more of our personal injury claims guides below:

If you have any more queries about how serious injury solicitors could help you, get in touch today.

Written by BIB

Published by VIC