What Is The Personal Injury Claims Process?

The personal injury claims process can seem complex. This guide breaks down the steps that you need to take following an accident at work, in a public place or on the roads if you are making a claim for a personal injury. We also examine which parties owe a duty of care in each of these scenarios and how they could be liable for an accident by breaching their duty.

Proving liability is a key part of any personal injury claim. As such, you will see some examples of the evidence you could use to support your claim and show that a third party was responsible for your injuries.

In the final section of this guide, we have included a short overview of the advantages you can experience when starting your claim with an experienced personal injury solicitor from our expert panel, under the specific type of No Win No Fee contract they can offer.

Our advisory team can offer further guidance on making a personal injury claim. They can also assess your eligibility to start a claim free of charge. You can get in touch with us 24 hours a day using the following:

personal injury claims process

What Is The Personal Injury Claims Process?

Browse Our Guide

  1. What Is The Personal Injury Claims Process?
  2. Who Is Liable For My Personal Injury?
  3. What Evidence Could Help In A Personal Injury Claim?
  4. Can My Personal Injury Claim Go To Court?
  5. What Are The Benefits Of Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
  6. More Resources About The Personal Injury Claims Process

What Is The Personal Injury Claims Process?

The personal injury claims process follows the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims. These are the actions that need to be carried out before a case can be taken to court. They are in place to resolve matters without the case needing to go to court.

These actions are:

  • Send a Letter of Notification to the defendant informing them you are likely to begin a personal injury claim against them. 
  • All parties should consider whether you require medical care or Rehabilitation as quickly as possible.
  • The Letter of Claim formally outlines the facts you are issuing the claim upon. A Letter of Claim should also set out the injuries you sustained.
  • During Disclosure, the claimant and defendant exchange documents to help facilitate the resolution of the claim and provide additional relevant information.
  • Experts. You will require an independent medical assessment. This will produce an expert report outlining the injuries you sustained in the accident. 
  • Negotiations. During this stage, a Part 36 offer can be made allowing claimants and defendants to make settlement offers before proceedings.  
  • Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) is where the representatives of both claimant and defendant try to resolve the issue. This can done through means such as mediation or arbitration. 

A solicitor can conduct these actions on your behalf. Get in touch with our advisors today for an assessment of your eligibility to begin a claim. If our team decide your claim is valid, an experienced personal injury solicitor could take on your claim. You can reach our team 24 hours a day using the contact information given above.

Who Is Liable For My Personal Injury?

If a third party fails to uphold their duty of care, this can result in an accident that causes you to sustain injuries. We will go into the specific duties of care owed by various parties in this section, but the general eligibility criteria for starting the personal injury claims process are as follows:

  1. A third party owed you a duty of care.
  2. That third party failed to uphold this duty.
  3. This failure caused you to be injured.

Accidents At Work

Employers are bound by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their employees. How this is done will vary depending on the work being carried out, but some possible examples can include ensuring the working environment is clear of slip and trip hazards and making sure staff receive the correct training and supervision to carry out their work duties safely.

A failure to do so could lead to an accident at work in which you sustain harm. For instance, your employer had failed to provide the correct manual handling training. As a result of this, you attempted to lift a box that was well above the recommended carrying weight for your height causing you to sustain a back injury and serious hand injury.

Accidents In Public Places

The party in control of a public place, known as the occupier, must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of all visitors to the premises as set out in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. 

An occupier failing to uphold their duty of care could lead to a public place accident. For example, a wet floor sign isn’t displayed after someone spills coffee and the spill isn’t cleaned up in a reasonable time frame. Due to this, you slip on the wet floor, hitting your head on a table.

Road Traffic Accidents

There is a duty of care imposed on road users to do everything they reasonably can to avoid causing each other harm or damage. This means adhering to both the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.

As an example, a driver under the influence of a controlled substance ran through a red light at speed. You were crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing when this driver hit you, causing you to sustain a serious brain injury as well as damage to your legs and back.

There are many other scenarios where an accident could occur due to a third party failing to uphold their duty of care. If you are injured by a driver who is uninsured or untraced, then you may be able to submit a claim to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). Our advisors can provide a free assessment of your particular circumstances and advise you on your eligibility to start a claim. You can speak to our team 24/7 via the contact information given above.

Is There A Time Limit To Start The Personal Injury Claims Process?

In most cases, personal injury claims need to be brought within 3 years of the accident date. This deadline was established by the Limitation Act 1980. There can be exceptions to this.  For example, in cases where the injured person is a minor or lacks the mental capacity to pursue the claim themselves, the time limit can be extended.

In these scenarios, a suitable adult can apply to act as a litigation friend and pursue the claim on the injured person’s behalf. For more advice on the personal injury claims time limit, and to inquire further regarding any exceptions that may apply to your potential claim, contact our advisors today.

What Evidence Could Help In A Personal Injury Claim?

The evidence you collect in support of your claim will vary depending on where your accident took place. We have compiled a list of what evidence is needed as part of the personal injury claims process here:

  • You should always seek medical attention following an accident, and not simply for your own health. You have the right to request copies of medical records, for example, copies of any scans and test results, as evidence of the injuries you sustained.
  • Keeping a diary during your treatment is also a good way to highlight both your physical and mental state from the injuries sustained.
  • For an accident at work, you can get a copy of your incident report from the workplace accident book. 
  • You can also acquire other workplace documents to show that training was carried out incorrectly or not at all.
  • Request copies of CCTV or dashcam footage.
  • Take down the contact details of potential witnesses so they can give their statements later.
  • As part of your personal injury claim, you may be entitled to reimbursement for certain financial losses associated with your injuries. Retain copies of any documents (your payslips, invoices, receipts) as proof.

Please note that these examples are non-exhaustive. Other evidence may be available to you depending on your circumstances.

After your eligibility to start a claim has been assessed by our advisors, a solicitor from our panel could take on your case if our team decides you have valid grounds to begin a personal injury claim. A solicitor could not only provide support with collecting evidence but also make sure your claim is brought within the relevant time limit. Get your potential claim assessed today by calling the number given below. 

Can My Personal Injury Claim Go To Court?

Most personal injury claims do not end up in the courts. Court procedure is expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, it is in both the claimant’s and the defendant’s best interests to settle outside of court.

If the two parties cannot reach a agreement or a settlement, court proceedings will be initiated. Both the defendant and claimant will present their arguments before a judge who decides who is liable, if anyone, and if and what level of compensation will be awarded.

Out-of-court settlements can still be offered once a court date is set. If you accept such an offer, the court date will be cancelled. If you do not, the court proceedings will go ahead.

To get further guidance on the personal injury claims process, call the number below. You can get a free assessment of your eligibility to claim as well as more information on when a claim might go to court.

What Are The Benefits Of Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

Before you can start the personal injury claims process, the validity of your particular claim will need to be assessed. Contact our team today for a no-cost zero-obligation assessment of your eligibility to start a claim. If our team decides you have valid grounds to proceed, a specialist personal injury solicitor from our expert panel could offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

A CFA is a No Win No Fee contract that features a number of benefits when making a claim. In most cases, you will not have to pay upfront for the solicitor to start work on your claim. Nor will you be paying for this work during the actual claims process. Finally, if your claim fails, there will be no fee to pay for the services they provide.

If your claim is a success, you will receive personal injury compensation. The solicitor will take a percentage of your compensation as their success fee. You will get most of any compensation award because the maximum success fee percentage that can be charged is legally capped, 

Our advisory team can offer further guidance on making a personal injury claim. They can also assess your eligibility to start a claim free of charge. You can get in touch with us 24 hours a day using the following:

More Resources About The Personal Injury Claims Process

You can read some of our other guides relating to personal injury claims here:

We have also included these links to external pages that you may find useful:

Thank you for reading our guide on the personal injury claims process. Our advisory team can offer further information on how personal injury claims work. They can also offer a free assessment of when you could be eligible to start legal action. You can reach our team at any time via the contact details given above.