This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) article will help you learn more about the process of claiming personal injury compensation. To start, we lay out the criteria you must meet to show you are eligible to make a personal injury claim. If you’re wondering how a personal injury claim starts and if there is a time limit for getting your claim underway, you’ll also find answers here.
As the guide progresses, we look at personal injury claims for road traffic accidents, criminal injury, accidents at work and more. Additionally, if you are wondering how much compensation you might receive, we look at how a payout could cover more than just your injuries.
Furthermore, we focus on how a No Win No Fee personal injury claim works and how solicitors from our expert panel help claimants seek the personal injury compensation they deserve.
You can find out if your claim could be handled by one of our panel’s specialist personal injury solicitors by making a free call to our advisors today. To get guidance and a potential claim evaluation with no cost and no obligation, choose any of these options:
- Call us on 0161 696 9685.
- Contact us through our web form.
- Try the live chat function below.
Select A Section
- Am I Eligible To Claim Personal Injury Compensation?
- How Do I Make A Personal Injury Claim?
- Are There Time Limits On Personal Injury Claims?
- What Personal Injury Claims Could You Make?
- What Could Your Personal Injury Compensation Payout Be?
- What Are No Win No Fee Personal Injury Compensation Claims?
- Why Choose Legal Helpline?
- Where Can You Learn More About Personal Injury Claims?
Am I Eligible To Claim Personal Injury Compensation?
Later in the guide, we cover the different kinds of personal injury claims that can be made. However, regardless of which type of claim you pursue, you must be able to satisfy particular eligibility requirements to seek personal injury compensation.
To prove a personal injury claim, you need to show that:
- A third party owed you a duty of care.
- They breached their duty.
- This breach led to you suffering physical and/or psychological injuries.
How Do I Make A Personal Injury Claim?
If you meet the above eligibility criteria, you may be able to start a personal injury claim. Collecting as much supporting evidence as possible could be one of the first steps you take in the personal injury claims process.
Evidence is pivotal in any personal injury compensation claim, so collect medical records, CCTV footage or anything else that proves the causes and effects of your injuries.
What happens next depends on whether the defendant admits or denies liability. Either way, negotiations of some sort will follow between the parties or their solicitors, if they have chosen to get legal representation.
If you have any further questions about the personal injury claims process, please just give us a call. Our advisors can explain what you need to do and if you could instruct a personal injury solicitor from our panel.
Are There Time Limits On Personal Injury Claims?
The Limitation Act 1980 sets out a general three-year time limit for starting a personal injury claim, but the limitation period might vary in certain cases.
For example, a person aged under 18 when the accident occurred cannot start their own claim until they turn 18. This means their time limit runs from that point until the day they turn 21. However, a trusted litigation friend could instead begin a compensation claim on the young person’s behalf while they are a minor.
An exception could also be made for someone judged not to have the mental capacity to claim. Their time limit is typically paused indefinitely, though it would restart with the normal three-year deadline if they recover. A litigation friend could step in during the indefinite pause to seek personal injury compensation on the person’s behalf.
These examples are not the only cases where the time limit could differ. To learn more, and see how long you would have to get your personal injury claim started, simply call the number above.
What Personal Injury Claims Could You Make?
While all personal injury claims have some elements in common, the exact nature of a claim depends on where the incident took place and who is liable. Below, we look at the key examples of claims for personal injury compensation.
Road Traffic Accident Claims
When you’re using the road, you owe other road users a duty of care. This means you should navigate the roads in a safe manner to avoid causing injury or damage to yourself and others. Fulfilling this duty means complying with the the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. A road user who doesn’t navigate roadways in a manner that keeps themselves and others safe is liable if they cause an accident.
You could make a road traffic accident compensation claim against a fault road user after a collision, if, for example, a road user went through red traffic lights at a junction and crashed into your vehicle.
Accident At Work Claims
An employee could claim against an employer whose failure to take reasonably practicable steps to maintain safety, a duty of care imposed by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, led to a harmful accident.
An accident at work claim could be made if, for example, an employer’s failure to provide adequate workplace training leads to an employee suffering a serious brain injury and being unable to come back to work. The right to claim applies to part-time as well as full-time workers.
Public Place Injury Claims
Perhaps you were injured in a public place such as a supermarket, library or public road. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 applies those running these public spaces with a duty to keep visitors reasonably safe on the premises. Therefore, if an injury happened through their failure to provide appropriate protection against an accident, you may have the right to claim personal injury compensation.
Known as a public liability claim, you might seek compensation for, as an example, a broken leg from tripping in a pothole that the local council failed to fill in after public reports.
Can I Claim For Criminal Injuries?
It is possible to claim criminal injuries compensation if you were physically or mentally harmed as a direct result of a violent crime. A personal injury claim can be made directly against the person responsible, or against a vicariously liable third party.
If neither is possible, compensation could be sought through a different route. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority CICA, a government funded body tasked with providing victims of violent crime with compensation when no other avenue is available, could provide you with compensation.
Have you been injured in any of the above ways? Through a free conversation with an advisor, you can get all the information you need about seeking personal injury compensation. Furthermore, the advisor can check your claim to see if a personal injury solicitor from our panel could help you sue the third party responsible for your injuries. If you want to know more, you can reach us through the contact details at the start of this guide.
What Could Your Personal Injury Compensation Payout Be?
One of our panel’s solicitors could help you win your claim and receive personal injury compensation. The payout for successful personal injury claims can be formed of up to two parts, known as heads of claim.
One is general damages, which compensates for the bodily pain and psychological damage, such as anxiety or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, caused by your injuries. Medical evidence might contribute to general damages calculations, and those responsible for figuring out compensation for injuries may also look at the guideline personal injury compensation amounts found in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG.)
In some cases, special damages can join general damages in a personal injury payout. This potential second head of the claim allows the claimant to be compensated for financial losses. You could claim compensation for, among other things:
- A loss of earnings if you cannot work while injured.
- Travel fees.
- Medical expenses such as prescription charges.
If you have any questions about personal injury claims and the compensation you could receive, please call and chat with an advisor. Below, you can find a table using JCG guideline figures for an idea of what injuries general damages compensation can be awarded for.
Guideline Table
Please note that this table of guideline JCG brackets is only intended as a guide. The top entry cannot be found in the JCG.
| INJURY | SEVERITY | COMPENSATION | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries And Special Damages | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ | Compensation awarded for numerous severe injuries, as well as financial losses such as home adaptation expenses. |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia | £324,600 to £403,990 | Paralysis of the upper and lower body, also known as quadriplegia. The presence of physical pain will put the award at the top end of the bracket. |
| Head | Very Severe | £282,010 to £403,990 | The level of award is affected by factors such as the injured party's life expectancy and the extent of physical or sensory impairments. |
| Injuries Affecting the Senses | Total Blindness and Deafness | In the region of £403,990 | Cases are considered as ranking alongside the most devastating injuries. |
| Leg | Below-Knee Amputation of Both Legs | £201,490 to £270,100 | An award at the top of the bracket applies when both legs are amputated just below the knee. |
| Neck | Severe (i) | In the region of £148,330 | Injuries linked to incomplete paraplegia, permanent spastic quadriparesis or little or no movement despite constant use of a collar. |
| Arm | Severe Injuries | £96,160 to £130,930 | The injured person is little better off than if their arm had been amputated. |
| Chest | Traumatic Injury | £65,740 to £100,670 | Injury to the chest, lung(s) and/or heart, leading to effects including reduced life expectancy. |
| Skeleton Injuries | Fractures of Jaws (i) | £30,490 to £45,540 | Very serious multiple fractures. Prolonged treatment and permanent consequences like severe pain follow. |
| Facial Disfigurement (a) | Very Severe Scarring | £29,780 to £97,330 | Very severe scarring affecting young claimants. The psychological effect is severe and scarring is very cosmetically disfiguring. |
What Are No Win No Fee Personal Injury Compensation Claims?
Depending on who you choose to work with, solicitors will offer certain terms when taking on your personal injury compensation claim. Our panel’s personal injury solicitors represent claimants through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), working on a No Win No Fee basis.
You may have heard of No Win No Fee before. As the name suggests, you don’t pay for the solicitor’s work if the case loses. Under a CFA, you also won’t be charged a personal injury solicitor fee in advance or during the case.
Winning the claim means you receive compensation, with a percentage of that payout deducted as the solicitor’s success fee.
If you’re wondering what percentage No Win No Fee solicitors take, there is no definite answer. Our panel’s personal injury solicitors will discuss this before the case starts so you can agree on what proportion of your compensation would go to them. Thanks to The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, there is a strict legal cap on the percentage, so you are guaranteed to keep the clear majority of the payout regardless of the success fee you agree with your personal injury solicitor.
Why Choose Legal Helpline?
Having the dedicated No Win No Fee support of an experienced solicitor with an in-depth knowledge of personal injury law is just one of the perks of choosing to work with a solicitor from our panel. By calling us today, you’ll have access to free advice and answers to any personal injury compensation questions you might have. You can also ask for your potential claim to be assessed in an initial consultation.
If you have a valid claim, you could be connected to one of our panel’s personal injury specialists right away. Furthermore, all of this can be done with no obligation, so even if a solicitor from our panel offers to take your case, the final choice is yours alone.
There are no hidden fees whatsoever and it’s easy to reach us, so choose any of these contact routes today for more support:
- Call 0161 696 9685.
- Go online to contact us and we’ll call you.
- Speak to an advisor through the live chat pop-up.
Where Can You Learn More About Personal Injury Claims?
Here are some further personal injury claim guides you might find useful:
- Tips on how to get more money from a personal injury claim and how we can help.
- Fault does not always have to be on one side. This guide looks at split liability road traffic accident personal injury claims.
- What can a personal injury claim interim payment help you with during your compensation claim?
These trusted resources also contain useful guidance:
- Health and Safety statistics from the Health and Safety Executive, Britain’s workplace health and safety regulator.
- The NHS gives an A-Z of health conditions.
- Government information on claiming Statutory Sick Pay from your employer.
We hope this FAQ guide has answered your questions about claiming personal injury compensation. For more support and to get your potential claim evaluated, please give us a call any time.