If you’re reading this guide, you’re probably here to find out how to win a personal injury claim. Even if you’re in no doubt about who was to blame for your injuries, unless you have the evidence to prove it, the insurer is unlikely to payout. Therefore, we’ll show you how to build a strong case and what evidence you’ll need. We’ll also show how personal injury solicitors could help and what level of compensation might be awarded.
Accident Claims UK has a team of solicitors with over 30-years experience of handling personal injury claims. Our service starts with a no-obligation case review. We also provide free legal advice on your options. In cases where there is a reasonable chance of success, one of our solicitors could represent you. If they agree to, they’ll work on a No Win No Fee basis.
To speak with our team today about taking action right away, please call us on 0800 073 8801. If you’d like to know more about how personal injury claims work before calling, please read on.
Select A Section
- Our Guide About How To Win A Personal Injury Claim
- When Can You Claim Compensation For An Injury?
- Evaluating Your Claim
- Building A Strong Claim
- Establishing The Other Parties Negligence
- How Could Contributory Negligence Affect A Claim?
- Pre-Action Protocols Which Must Be Taken
- What Are The Most Common Injury And Accident Claims?
- How To Win A Personal Injury Claim After Three Years
- What Is The Average Payout By Injury?
- How To Win Special Damages In A Personal Injury Claim?
- No Win No Fee Agreements
- Why Choose Accident Claims UK To Win Your Personal Injury Claim
- Start Your Claim
- Useful Claims Guides
- How To Win A Personal Injury Claim FAQs
Our Guide About How To Win A Personal Injury Claim
The prospect of taking legal action may seem quite daunting. You may have questions about how much you’ll pay a solicitor or what evidence is needed for a personal injury claim. While the process can be quite complex for some claims, you needn’t worry too much. That’s because we have a team of experienced solicitors who have been helping clients for many years. They’ve dealt with claims relating to medical negligence, road traffic accidents, workplace injuries and many more besides.
Importantly, we only take on claims that we think can be won. We will review any case for free and explain whether taking action is likely to succeed or not. If you do decide to proceed, and we accept your claim, the process will be made easier because your solicitor will work for you on a No Win No Fee basis.
As we progress, we’ll look at what tasks need to be completed during the claims process and the time limits that apply. Additionally, we’ll look at what level of compensation can be awarded for a range of injuries.
Something we’d like to point out is that very few cases go to court. As few as 5% of claims need a court hearing.
When you have finished reading this guide, please get in touch if you have any questions or if you’d like to begin a claim.
When Can You Claim Compensation For An Injury?
Personal injury claims are possible if you can show that:
- Those you hold responsible for the harm you have suffered owed you a duty of care, this can be your employer, doctor, the local council, or another road user…
- This duty was breached through negligence.
- In turn, this resulted in you suffering an injury or illness that could have been avoided.
Finally, you must start your claim within the relevant time limit. This is usually three years. There are some exceptions to the time limit that we’ll look at later on. If you believe you have the grounds to proceed based on the statements above, why not call to discuss your options?
Evaluating Your Claim
Personal injury solicitors cannot accept every claim that is presented to them. However, they don’t just take on guaranteed wins either. Solicitors will risk assess the case before they agree to work with you. It is in everyone’s best interest that they are honest about the chance of your case succeeding. This will prevent time-wasting.
We offer all potential claimants a free no-obligation assessment of their case. Here you can ask as many questions as you need to and we will provide answers. Your evidence can also be reviewed. After the consultation, you will be told how confident we are that your case could be won.
To have your claim evaluated for free, please contact our specialist advisors today.
Building A Strong Claim
To help prove your case and to improve the chance of being compensated, there are several steps you can take. They include:
- Taking photographs of the accident scene. This will show the aftermath of the accident. Ideally, photos should be taken before the cause of the accident is moved or repaired.
- Reporting the accident. Businesses and employers must record the details of any reported accidents. You are allowed to be given a copy of any such report. This can be a useful way of proving the date, time and location of your accident.
- Seeking medical treatment. Rather than relying on first aid, we would suggest any injuries should be treated at the hospital or a minor injuries unit. Not only will your injuries be treated, but they will be recorded in your medical notes that could be used as evidence in your claim.
- Getting details of witnesses. If anybody else saw the accident happen, taking a note of their contact details could help. Should your case proceed, a solicitor may ask them for a statement later on.
- Keeping a record of any costs. Where you injuries mean you incur costs or losses, keep a diary along with receipts. These costs could be claimed back.
Finally, we believe you could improve your chances of receiving a fair level of compensation if you take on legal representation. Therefore, once you have as much evidence as possible, why not contact our free advice line? One call could be all it takes to start the ball rolling.
Establishing The Other Parties Negligence
To hold a valid personal injury claim you must be able to establish that the party you hold responsible acted in a negligent manner that resulted in you suffering harm that should have been avoided. Evidence here is key. The more evidence you have that can prove the third party is liable for your injury or illness will mean your case has more of a chance of succeeding. In some cases the third party may admit liability but you may still need evidence to prove how severe you are injured and any financial losses.
If one of our solicitors takes your case on, they will gather as much evidence as possible to support your case. They’ll then use their legal experience to deal with the claim on your behalf. If there are any objections regarding liability, they’ll fight your corner to try and counter them to try and ensure that you are compensated fully.
How Could Contributory Negligence Affect A Claim?
Liability for accidents is not always clear cut. In some cases, both parties might share the blame for either the accident or the level of injuries sustained. For example, if a driver pulls out in front of a cyclist, they could be liable for the accident. However, if the cyclist wasn’t wearing high visibility clothing and no lights were on their bicycle the driver could argue that they did not see them. It could be claimed that they were both partly responsible. A compensation claim could still proceed though.
In these cases, a percentage of blame will be calculated. In the example above, it might be agreed that the driver was 75% liable and the cyclist was 25% to blame. Therefore, the claim value would be calculated as normal and then reduced by the percentage before being paid.
If you’d like to discuss how your case might proceed, please get in touch with our team.
Pre-Action Protocols Which Must Be Taken
Pre-action protocols must be carried out before a case goes to court. These set out ways a case could be resolved before the last step, which is court. There are pre-action protocols for:
- Personal injury claims.
- Road traffic accident claims.
- The resolution of clinical disputes.
- Low-value personal injury claims relating to public liability and employers’ liability.
Where a case can’t be settled amicably, it could be referred to the courts. In these cases, it will be allocated to a specific process. This may be dependent on the value of the claim.
What Are The Most Common Injury And Accident Claims?
The number of injuries and accidents that could result in an injury claim means we couldn’t possibly list them all here. Instead, we’ve added a list of common injuries and accidents below.
Common Accident Claims
- Road traffic accident claims.
- Claims for medical or clinical negligence.
- Public place accident claims.
- Accident at work claims.
- Criminal injury claims.
Again, as well as showing how somebody else caused the accident, you’ll need to prove that you were injured as a result. Some of the most common injury claims are listed below.
Common Injury Claims
- Head injuries.
- Back injuries.
- Whiplash injuries.
- Broken bones.
- Birth injuries.
- Burn injuries.
How To Win A Personal Injury Claim After Three Years
As you might know already, most personal injury claims must be started within 3-years. This limitation period will usually begin on the date of the accident.
However, there are some exceptions to the rule. They are:
- Where a child is injured. In these cases, a responsible adult can claim on the child’s behalf at any time before their 18th If they don’t, the 3-year time limit will commence on the day the child turns 18 so they can make their own claim.
- For injuries that aren’t diagnosed right away. There are some injuries like industrial illnesses, that develop over a long time. In these cases, the 3-year time limit will start from the date of diagnosis.
- Where the claimant doesn’t have the mental capacity to claim. In these scenarios, the 3-year time limit will not apply unless mental capacity is regained. In the meantime, a friend or relative could act on the claimant’s behalf to make a claim.
What Is The Average Payout By Injury?
In this section, we’ll look at potential compensation figures. Below we have included a table that lists several injuries that could be claimed for along with compensation brackets. We have taken this information from the Judicial College Guidelines publication. This publication contains figures from past injury claims that have been settled in court. These figures should only ever be used as a guide as your case is unique to your circumstances.
Before we look at the table we should say that any successful personal injury claim can include two heads of damages. General and special damages. The table below looks solely at general damages, these are awarded to compensate for your pain and suffering.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Bracket | More Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eye | Minor (h) | £3,710 to £8,200 | This bracket is used for injuries such as exposure to smoke and fumes as well as being struck in the eye where there is some initial pain and disturbance to sight. |
| Neck | Moderate (i) | £23,460 to £36,120 | Used for injuries that cause severe immediate symptoms such as dislocations or fractures. |
| Back | Severe (iii) | £36,390 to £65,440 | Back injuries causing chronic conditions and remaining disabilities despite surgery. |
| Back | Minor (ii) | £2,300 to £7,410 | Soft tissue injuries of the back that recover without surgery in less than 2 years. |
| Shoulder | Moderate (c) | £7,410 to £11,980 | This bracket covers frozen shoulder injuries that result in limited movement along with discomfort for around 2 years. |
| Arm | Severe (a) | £90,250 to £122,860 | While amputation will not be required, the arm will be injured so badly that the effect will be the same. |
| Arm | Fracture (d) | £6,190 to £18,020 | Covers simple forearm fractures. |
| Knee | Moderate (i) | £13,920 to £24,580 | Covers injuries like a torn meniscus causing weakness, minor instability and future mild disability. |
You’ll notice that the compensation brackets are linked to the severity of your injuries. To help determine this, you’ll need a medical assessment as part of your claim. This is something that can usually be booked locally.
During your appointment, an independent medical specialist will review your medical notes, discuss the impact of your injuries and assess you. They’ll then use all of the information they gather to provide a report detailing your prognosis.
How To Win Special Damages In A Personal Injury Claim?
If you do win your personal injury claim, you may be able to claim for the financial impact of your injuries. This is known as a special damages claim. It can be used to ask for any costs, losses or expenses you’ve incurred to be paid back. It’s not a fine or penalty, though. Therefore, you can just say you want a set amount of money as special damages. Instead, you need to provide evidence of your losses.
While each claim will differ, the different elements of a special damages claim can include:
- Care costs. This might be claimed if a loved one or a professional carer needed to support you while you were recovering.
- Travel expenses. Travelling to hospitals and other establishments for treatment can be quite costly. Therefore, you could claim back public transport fees, parking costs and fuel costs in these cases.
- Medical costs. While you’ll be given free treatment on the NHS, you may incur some medical expenses. For example, prescription fees and the cost of services not available on the NHS could be claimed back.
- Home modifications. Should you be left with a disability following your accident, you might cope a little easier if you modify your home. If that’s the case, you could claim back the cost of any work.
- Lost earnings. You shouldn’t lose out financially if your injuries mean you have to take time off from work. Therefore, you could ask for any lost earnings to be paid back.
- Future lost income. Where your injuries will impact your ability to work for the long-term, you could ask for future lost earnings to be considered too. Your age, salary and job prospects are factors that will determine what level of award will be paid.
No Win No Fee Agreements
We pride ourselves in the fact that our solicitors provide a No Win No Fee service for all cases they take on. By doing so, they allow more people to benefit from their legal expertise. Before your case is taken on, it will be reviewed. If the solicitor decides to represent you, they’ll provide you with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
The CFA is your contract. It explains what must be achieved by your solicitor before you need to pay them. If your claim is won, the CFA will explain what success fee you’ll need to pay. This is listed as a fixed percentage of any compensation you receive. By law, the level of success fee that can be deducted from your compensation is capped.
Why not call today and let us check if a solicitor could represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Why Choose Accident Claims UK To Win Your Personal Injury Claim
So, the first question you might ask yourself when thinking about how to win a personal injury claim is which solicitor you should use. While a local search might find many law firms, you should ask yourself whether they:
- Work exclusively on personal injury claims.
- Provide a No Win No Fee service.
A simple phone call could be all it takes to start your claim with us. Our solicitors, who are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, provide a nationwide service. So that you don’t need to waste time visiting our offices, we can handle the claim over the phone, by email and online.
If your case is accepted, one of our specialist personal injury solicitors will do all they can to try and secure the maximum level of compensation for you. Please call today to see if we could help you claim.
Start Your Claim
If you’ve found this guide about how to win a personal injury claim helpful, why not get in touch to discuss your claim. To do, you could:
- Speak with a specialist advisor on 0800 073 8801.
- Ask an advisor for support on our live chat service.
- Request a call back at a convenient time using our online enquiry form.
- Sending an email to office@accidentclaims.co.uk setting out how you’ve been injured.
Our solicitors offer a No Win No Fee service for all claims they work on. Our claims line is open 24-hours a day, 7-days a week.
Useful Claims Guides
Hopefully, our guide has given you some ideas on how to win a personal injury claim. Therefore, in this section, we’ve linked to some resources that may prove useful if you decide to take action.
The Motor Insurers Bureau – If you’re injured in a car crash where the other driver is uninsured or if you’re involved in a hit and run accident, you could still be compensated.
ROSPA – The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
Minor Injury Units – This NHS service allows you to see what services are offered at Minor Injury Units near you.
Head Injury Claims – Advice on claiming if you’ve sustained a head injury during an accident caused by a breach in the duty of care owed to you.
Claiming For Loss Of Earnings – Here we explain when it may be possible to claim back any lost income.
Fatal Accident Claims – Advice on how you could claim if a loved one has been killed in an accident caused by a breach in the duty of care owed to them.
How To Win A Personal Injury Claim FAQs
This final section of our guide has some answers to common questions about how the personal injury claims process works.
What evidence do I need to win my claim?
Evidence in personal injury claims needs to prove how your accident occurred, who caused it and what injuries you sustained. To help do this you could supply photographs, CCTV or dashcam footage, medical reports, accident reports and witness statements.
When should I settle the claim?
It is probably a good idea to review any offer you receive before accepting it to make sure it fully covers the extent of your injuries.
How long will it take to get my payout?
The personal injury claims process varies in length. Settlements can only be paid once liability is agreed upon and the severity of any injuries has been assessed. Where that happens early, compensation payments could be paid as quickly as 6 to 9 months. If claims can’t be settled amicably, the process could go on longer than a year.
What percentage of claims are successfully settled?
It’s difficult to say exactly how many personal injury claims are won. However, solicitors will always check that there are grounds for claiming before taking on a case. That means they wouldn’t consider representing you if your case was likely to be lost.
Thank you for reading our guide on how to win a personal injury claim.