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When it comes to claiming personal injury compensation, it’s important to be aware of your legal rights and the steps you need to take to help you succeed.
At Accident Claims, we offer free advice on a range of topics relating to personal injury claims. This advice comes in the form of our guides, the links to which you can read below.
We can also provide you with advice on your case if you:
A personal injury is any type of injury that you may suffer in an accident. This could be a fall at work, a slip in a supermarket or a car accident.
When it comes to making a compensation claim, the accident needs to have been caused by a negligent third party.
However, you can also make a personal injury claim if you were partially at fault for what happened.
In order to be eligible to make a personal injury compensation claim, it’s necessary to prove negligence. This is achieved by satisfying three criteria:
In cases involving accidents at work and road traffic accidents, proving duty of care is quite straightforward. That’s because all employers owe their employees a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Likewise, all road users owe each other a duty of care when on the roads.
The point of contention is often proving a breach of duty occurred. This is because the duty of care owed is only a reasonable one, not an absolute one.
So, for example, your employer is expected to do all they reasonably can to keep you safe at work. If they can prove that they’ve taken all possible steps but an accident still occurred, they may escape liability.
In addition to proving negligence occurred, you must start the legal process within the personal injury claim time limit. This is typically three years from the date of the accident that caused your injuries.
However, for certain personal injury compensation claims, there are exceptions to this limitation period. This includes:
If you have any questions about the time limits for personal injury claims, get in touch with one of our advisors using the contact details at the top of the page.
Settlements for successful personal injury claims could include general and special damages.
General damages compensate you for the pain and suffering you have endured due to your injury. When valuing your claim, a legal professional may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document that lists guideline compensation brackets for various types of injuries. In our table below, we’ve included some of the figures stated in the 16th edition of the JCG.
Please only use this table as a guide.
| Injury | Notes | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Leg Injuries (b) Very Serious (ii) | Found within this bracket are injuries that lead to permanent mobility problems, multiple fractures that take years to heal and require extensive treatment and where arthritis has developed making further surgical treatment likely. | £54,830 to £87,890 |
| Severe Neck Injury (iii) | The award will consider the duration of the most serious symptoms, the extent of the required treatment and the prognosis. Injuries in this bracket include those that cause chronic conditions and a significant permanent disability, such as fractures, dislocations and severe soft tissue damage. | £45,470 to £55,990 |
| Less Severe Brain Damage | The award will consider the severity of the initial injury, any continuing disability and personality changes as well as depression. | £15,320 to £43,060 |
| Moderate Pelvis and Hip Injury (i) | Claimants have experienced a significant injury to the pelvis or hips, but permanent disability is not major. | £26,590 to £39,170 |
| Less Severe Arm Injury | The claimant has suffered from significant disabilities, but a substantial degree of recovery has occurred or is expected. | £19,200 to £39,170 |
| Moderate Back Injury (ii) | The award depends on the severity of the original injury, pain levels, the extent of any required treatment, lifestyle impact and prognosis. | £12,510 to £27,760 |
| Moderate Shoulder Injury | In this bracket, the claimant suffers from a frozen shoulder that causes movement limitations and discomfort with symptoms lasting around two years. Also included in this bracket are soft tissue injuries with non-minimal symptoms lasting beyond this time. | £7,890 to £12,770 |
| Wrist Injury (d) | In this bracket, the claimant takes longer than 12 months to recover from a fracture or soft tissue injury, save for minor symptoms. | £6,080 to £10,350 |
| Moderate Toe Injuries | Injuries found within this bracket include relatively straightforward fractures or exacerbation of a pre-existing degenerative condition or laceration injuries. | Up to £9,600 |
| Nose or Nasal Complex Fractures (iii) | In this bracket, the claimant has suffered da displaced fracture that has required nothing more than manipulation. | £2,520 to £3,150 |
You might also be awarded special damages as part of your personal injury compensation. This compensates you for any expenses you incurred due to your injury. However, to be able to claim special damages, you will need to submit evidence regarding your financial losses, such as bank statements or receipts.
Examples of losses you might be able to recover under special damages include:
If you have any questions about how compensation is awarded in personal injury claims, please get in touch with one of our advisors.
To give you an idea of the types of personal injury claims that could justify compensation, we thought we’d share some real-life examples from cases handled by our solicitors:
In order to make a successful personal injury claim, it’s necessary to prove that your injuries were caused by the defendant. This is done with evidence.
There are lots of pieces of evidence that you can get. However, the more you can provide your personal injury solicitor, the greater the chance you have of succeeding.
Some examples of the best types of evidence you can get include:
This is not a complete list, so if you have any questions about evidence and how to get it, speak with us today.
It’s possible to claim compensation on behalf of your child if they suffered an injury which was caused by someone else.
A child cannot represent themselves in a claim, so they must be represented by a relative or guardian. They would be referred to as a litigation friend.
If compensation is awarded, it will be held in a trust which is monitored by the court. When your child turns they’ll be able to access these funds, though applications can be made to access the money sooner.
Should you choose not to make a personal injury claim on behalf of your child, they can make a claim themselves when they turn 18. They will have until their 21st birthday to issue court proceedings in the case. If they don’t, they may be prevented from claiming altogether.
Below, you can find more of our guides on personal injury compensation claims:
