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The personal injury claim process in the UK is a legal route that allows a claimant to pursue compensation for an injury directly caused by the negligent actions of a third party. The specific steps in the personal injury claim process involve seeking medical attention, instructing a solicitor, investigating and gathering evidence, signalling you wish to pursue a claim in official writing, negotiating, and finally, settling the claim. This is a diluted version of what the process entails; however, it will give you a blueprint of the basic legal steps to secure personal injury compensation. Don’t worry, we can help answer all the FAQs regarding the personal injury claim process.
Here at Advice, at this early stage, our advisors can assist you on several fronts regarding the personal injury claim process. Some illustrations of the help our advisors can offer are assessing the eligibility of your claim, providing compensation estimates and guiding you through the initial stage of securing a solicitor. Our solicitors here at Advice will offer their legal services to eligible claimants on a No Win No Fee basis. This ensures that you will have financial transparency throughout, allowing you to claim with confidence and without delay. If you are interested in working with one of our solicitors, we actively encourage you to get in touch using the contact details below:
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- Call us for free on 0161 509 2856
- Contact us online
- For a more convenient option, send us a text using our live chat.
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What Is The Personal Injury Claim Process?
- Seeking Expert Medical Attention For Injuries
- Seeking Legal Advice From A Personal Injury Solicitor
- Working Out Who Is Liable For The Accident
- Gathering The Initial Information For The Claim
- Calculating The Value Of Your Personal Injury Compensation
- Getting You The Help You Need With Recovery
- Negotiation And Finalising The Claim
- Receiving Your Compensation After Your Injuries
- Claiming For A Personal Injury With Advice
- Learn More
Seeking Expert Medical Attention For Injuries
Seeking expert medical attention for injuries is a very important part of the personal injury claim process. What seeking a professional opinion on your injuries secures for you is an official document in the form of an expert medical assessment.
The reason why a medical assessment written up by an expert is so effective is that it converts subjective complaints of harm into objective and measurable pain and suffering that the claimant experiences on a day-to-day basis. The assessment will also establish:
- Causation by connecting the injury to the accident itself
- Determine future prognosis and care needs in relation to compensation value
- Assess impact on daily life
- Provides a separate perspective from the vantage point of an unbiased expert
Do you want to know more about the benefits of securing an expert medical report? Ring us for free or text us using our live chat to secure your free initial consultation.
Seeking Legal Advice From A Personal Injury Solicitor
We want to use the opportunity to stress the importance of securing professional legal help before beginning the personal injury claim process. The reason why it is so important is that law is a complex sector, and it requires the right expertise to protect your rights and maximise both the likelihood of success as well as the amount of personal injury compensation you walk away with.
While it is indeed possible to navigate the personal injury claim process independently, a solicitor will make sure that vital elements of your claim are fortified. Examples of these elements include:
- Gathering sufficient evidence that is both relevant and robust
- Meeting deadlines promptly and ensuring all complex instructions are followed and met
- Assessing the extent of harm caused and fighting to ensure compensation reflects the severity
Please note that the above examples are not an exhaustive list. A solicitor’s expertise can drastically minimise the stress and burden the personal injury claim process can cause, especially when a claimant is already vulnerable due to navigating an injury.
To find out how our solicitors can help you secure the personal injury compensation you deserve, please connect with an advisor over the phone or online. We’re always happy to help.
Working Out Who Is Liable For The Accident
Determining liability for the accident involves identifying who is legally responsible for causing the accident and the subsequent injury. Importantly, this is done by proving, via strong evidence, that the accident happened because the third party responsible was negligent and this directly caused an individual to get hurt.
More specifically, this process requires establishing that the at-fault party owed you a duty of care, breached that duty through their actions or omissions, and directly caused your injuries or damages. Just so you have complete clarity, a duty of care requires a person, business, or organisation to take reasonable and proactive steps to ensure your health and safety are protected. In other words, if a relevant third party failed to take these steps and it directly resulted in you getting hurt, they may have breached their duty of care towards you, and you may have a valid personal injury claim.
We understand that you may have questions regarding liability, especially if you are not familiar with the principle. To ensure complete clarity, call an advisor today so we can assess your claim’s eligibility during a free consultation.
Gathering The Initial Information For The Claim
When it comes to gathering the initial information for the claim, you should gather as much evidence as you can, such as your medical records and photographs of the accident scene that prove that a third party’s negligent actions directly caused you to suffer an injury.
Please find below all the evidence you can utilise to build a successful personal injury claim:
- Photographs and video footage of any visible injuries
- CCTV footage
- Dashcam footage if you were injured in a road traffic accident
- The contact and insurance details of any drivers involved, including registration numbers
- Official incident reports, for example, your workplace accident logbook or police report
- Contact details of those who saw the incident, so witness statements can be written up by your solicitor at a later date
- Personal diary entries of the pain and suffering you have experienced, including any psychological distress or medical treatment received
If you need assistance in gathering the initial information at the beginning of the personal injury claim process and beyond, please reach out to an advisor today.
Calculating The Value Of Your Personal Injury Compensation
When it comes to calculating the value of your personal injury compensation, several factors can influence the amount you receive. The starting point of your personal injury claim is a head of claim called general damages. This covers any pain and suffering you have encountered as a direct result of your injury. Please note that this head of claim takes into account both the physical and psychological effects of your injury. In other words, if you have suffered from anxiety, depression or PTSD as a direct result of your injury, this will be considered in relation to compensation during the personal injury claim process.
Please find below the specific factors that may influence the amount you receive in general damages:
- How severe your injury is
- The impact it has had on your quality of life
- The presence of any psychological injury
- Whether you have sustained disfigurement or deformity
- Any lasting effects, for example, mobility issues or disability of a permanent nature
Judicial College Guidelines
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a document used by solicitors for calculating general damages for their clients. The reason for this is that the JCG provides a comprehensive list of injuries by severity level as well as suggested compensation brackets.
Are you wondering how much compensation you might receive if you were to go through the personal injury claim process? Call us today to find out more about an out of court settlement.
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Getting You The Help You Need With Recovery
You can also get compensated for other losses that can be compensated via personal injury compensation, including any financial costs, such as medical expenses, and these will be compensated under a head of claim known as special damages.
We’ve provided some examples of different financial losses below that can be recovered under special damages:
- Travel expenses
- Loss of earnings
- Loss of future earnings (including things like missed bonuses or promotional opportunities)
- Adaptations to your home or car (if your injury is particularly serious)
- Gratuitous and professional care costs
Can Early Compensation Payouts Be Awarded?
Yes, early compensation payouts can be awarded in the form of interim payments.
An interim payment is a partial, early payment of compensation made to the claimant before a final settlement is reached. More specifically, interim payments help cover immediate financial needs, such as medical care and living expenses, rather than the claimant suffering through financial disadvantages by waiting for the claim to conclude.
Moreover, interim payments are often required in serious injury claims due to the significant financial losses that can mount from the need for private medical care, specialised equipment, and car and home adaptations.
If you believe you would be entitled to interim payments during the personal injury claim process, please get in touch with an advisor who can help you.
Negotiation And Finalising The Claim
When it comes to negotiating and finalising a personal injury claim, litigation will begin. This is the process of taking a dispute through the official channels and relevant procedures before proceeding to court.
Notably, if the parties involved can’t agree between themselves regarding the dispute, for example, can’t agree on who is liable or don’t come to an agreement regarding the compensation amount, then the dispute may have to be presented in court in order to secure a resolution.
Will A Personal Injury Claim End Up In Court?
It is very unlikely that a personal injury claim will end up in court; in fact, the majority of personal injury claims are settled without the need for a judge’s intervention. Court proceedings are only necessary in specific circumstances.
How Long Until A Compensation Claim Is Settled?
The length of time until a compensation claim is settled is dependent on specific influential factors, such as if the defendant will accept liability or deny liability, as well as the complexity of the personal injury claim in question.
The main thing we want to emphasise here is that every personal injury claim is different, and the time each takes to settle will be influenced by the unique features of the claim itself.
To find out how long it takes for a claim to settle, please ring an advisor at a time that suits you.
Receiving Your Compensation After Your Injuries
Personal injury compensation is typically paid within 2 to 4 weeks after a settlement is reached. Moreover, this is usually transferred from the defendant’s insurer to your solicitor’s client account. At this point, it will be released to you. Notably, payments are made either as a lump-sum transaction or through a periodical payment order (PPO) for any long-term care required for particularly severe injuries, such as brain damage or paralysis.
To find out more about when and how you receive your compensation during the personal injury claim process, connect with an advisor today.
Claiming For A Personal Injury With Advice
Claiming for a personal injury with Advice allows you to enjoy the benefits of a No Win No Fee contract as well as a robust range of support services. You can find out more about these benefits below:
Why Choose Advice’s Solicitors?
Choosing Advice’s solicitors will provide you with immediate access to a comprehensive list of meticulously tailored support services. These services are specifically designed to make the personal injury claims process easier for clients to navigate while recovering from an injury.
To help give you a better understanding of how we support our clients, we have provided several examples of the services we offer. We will:
- Make sure that the compensation settlement you receive accurately reflects all damages and losses
- Access your taxi account to establish any financial losses you have incurred in travel expenses
- Negotiate with the defendants’ solicitors and keep you in the loop at all times, so you know how your claim is progressing
- Explain how legislation works and how it relates to your own claim
- Collect strong pieces of evidence to fortify your claim, to set it up for the best chance of success
Claiming With Advice On A No Win No Fee Basis
You can claim with Advice on a No Win No Fee basis with our solicitors through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This translates as:
- You pay nothing towards the solicitors’ service fees throughout the entire claims process
- You won’t have to pay anything up front for your solicitor’s service fees
- If the claim fails, you still pay nothing in service fees
If the personal injury claim is successful, you will pay something called a success fee, which is a small amount paid directly from your personal injury compensation. More specifically, it will be kept at a capped percentage, as per the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. We want to reassure you that this means you will take home the largest share.
Here at Advice, we care deeply about our clients and the outcome of their claims. Backed by decades worth of collective experience across our No Win No Fee solicitors, your personal injury claim will be in safe hands. If Advice sounds like a good fit for you, please get in touch using the contact details below:
Contact Our Solicitors To Begin
- Call us free of charge on 0161 509 2856
- Contact us online
- Speak to us using our live chat feature. Simply send us a text to speak to an advisor!
Learn More
Some more guides by us:
- Read our guide on the personal injury claims time limit.
- Take a look at our guide on serious injury claims.
- Have a read of our guide on how to claim.
We hope you find these external resources useful:
- Request CCTV footage of yourself from GOV.UK.
- Learn how to give first aid from this NHS resource.
- Check your eligibility for Statutory Sick Pay from GOV.UK.
Thank you for taking the time to read our guide on the personal injury claim process.
