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Steps to make a personal injury claim

We know that an injury can cause a wide range of problems, above and beyond coping with your pain and discomfort. If your injury is the result of someone else’s negligence, you are entitled to seek compensation. Below we highlight the key things you need to know for an injury claim, including a step-by-step guide to the process and information on how compensation is calculated.

The first step is to take advantage of our Free Initial Assessment service to find out how whether we can help you and the likely level of compensation you’ll receive if you decide to use us to bring your case. One of our personal injury lawyers will ask you about the injury you suffered, including treatment already received and that you may still need. They will also run through what happened to cause the injuries, in particular who was to blame (whether it was completely their fault or only partly) and how the incident could have been avoided.

If you decide to bring a case, we will work with you to gather all the evidence needed to prove your claim to help you gain full compensation. There are three main areas of information gathering outlined below.

1. Injury

We will ask you about:

  • The pain and suffering you have been through
  • Any treatment already received and any that is still needed
  • Any relevant past medical problems (that have perhaps been made worse)
  • The impact of your injury on your family, including any extra support needed as a result
  • Anything else relevant to your claim

2. Losses and expenses

We will find out about all areas of loss and expense caused by your injury. Our aim is to recover compensation to put you back in the financial position you would have been in if the incident had not occurred.

We will cover everything, including:

  • Lost income (including base salary, any lost overtime or bonuses, and predicted future losses)
  • Future expenses (including how your future expenses may increase with inflation over the coming years)
  • Damaged property and possessions
  • Travel costs
  • Treatment and medical expenses

3. Blame

We will collect the evidence needed to prove who was to blame for causing the incident, even if they were only partly to blame. This is called proving liability.

Each case is different, but examples of evidence include:

  • Photos and plans
  • Details of witnesses (including witness’ statements)
  • Internal investigations and records (where a company may be to blame)
  • Official reports (such as a police investigation report or health and safety executive report)

Usually blame can be shown in a common-sense way, that someone did something foolish (such as bad driving) or failed to do something sensible (like provide safety equipment for employees) – had they thought about it, they would have realised that someone might get hurt.

Sometimes we will also need to instruct an independent expert to report on what has happened to support the claim. .

The next step is for us to lodge an official notification of your claim. There are strict rules that have to be followed, including time limits.

In most cases, you have a maximum of three years from the date of the incident to make a personal injury claim, either through direct negotiations or by issuing court proceedings. This deadline applies for physical and psychological injuries. Shorter deadlines may apply to injuries incurred at sea or travelling by plane or overseas. However, injured children often have until their 21st birthday.

Your lawyer will present your claim in the best possible way. To speed up the process, we will use the Ministry of Justice’s electronic portal wherever this is available. Once we lodge the claim, there will be further time limits for both us and your opponent’s insurers to comply with.

The insurers of the person or company who we consider to be to blame for causing the incident usually deal with the official notification. Your opponent will have to respond to the notification, stating whether they accept full blame, part of the blame or if they deny all responsibility for what happened to you (rejecting your claim).

Whichever happens, your lawyer will know how best to deal with their response to protect your interests. Where necessary, it may mean we will need to gather additional evidence to support your case.

The next step is for us to arrange (at no cost to you) for you to have an independent medical examination by an approved expert doctor. Sometimes more than one report is permitted and may be valuable evidence to support your claim.

The report is important as the doctor will assess to what extent your injuries were caused by the incident and predict how long the suffering caused by the incident will last.

Once we have received the report, we will use it to place a financial value on your injury compensation to cover your pain, suffering and inconvenience.

If there are aspects of the report you are not happy with then, where the rules allow, we may be able to go back to the doctor or even get a second opinion. However, even where allowed, there will be consequences and your lawyer will be able to offer you the best tactical advice.

Injury compensation valuation

Our lawyers will undertake a review of the awards made in similar previous cases (that were assessed by the courts) to attribute an accurate value to your injury compensation.

This will reflect:

  • Your level of pain and suffering due to the incident, including any psychological impact
  • If you were already unwell – how much the incident made those problems worse
  • Any immediate and ongoing treatments needed
  • How long the worst symptoms lasted
  • How long your recovery took, is likely to take, or if you will never fully recover
  • If there is any visible scarring
  • How your injuries affected your work, home life and your family, social life and hobbies

Armed with all the evidence we’ve gathered, the next step is for us to present your full case to your opponent’s representatives, in what is often called a settlement pack. Although the format may vary, this will include:

We will present the evidence in the best way to maximise recovery in accordance with the rules.

Offer to settle claim

We will have gone through all of the information with you and advised how much we think a court would award you based on all the evidence. With your agreement we will put forward the pre-agreed figure you would accept as a fair compensation.

The insurers representing your opponent may either agree, or respond with a lower offer based on their own evidence. This is the process of settlement negotiations.

Any settlement offers the opponent makes will be reviewed with you, with the aim of negotiating an amount that is based on what we believe a court would award based on the evidence. We will discuss the evidence, along with the strengths and weaknesses of your case and the opponent’s. We will give you our view about what would happen at court. Our role is to provide clear advice in plain English – not legal jargon. That way you are able to make an informed decision on what you want to do next.

If you wish to accept the compensation negotiated then it is important you understand that if you accept it, it will be a full and final settlement. It will be binding on you and your opponent. You would not be able to claim more in the future (even if your medical condition deteriorates or your level of losses turns out to be more than predicted).

This out of court settlement is what happens in the majority of cases, so usually the next stage is compensation (see step 6).

  • The medical report
  • Our injury compensation valuation
  • Full calculations of losses caused by your injury (including future losses)
  • Evidence such as receipts, tickets and other proof of your costs
  • Any evidence we have gathered to prove liability (if the opponent has not already accepted they were to blame)

Occasionally, after we have tried negotiations, an insurer (representing the opponent) will only offer a level of compensation we consider too low.

If you decide to reject their offer, we can prepare for issue of court proceedings. This means starting the court process by notifying the court of the dispute. We’ll discuss the tactics of this approach to ensure we get the best outcome for you. Court is not needed very often to get fair compensation, but if it is, we will support you through the process.

We will complete the official claim form and file the papers at the court, paying an issue fee.

Issuing proceedings will trigger a deadline for the opponent to respond. The judge will then set a timetable of steps aimed at both sides reaching agreement. Most cases still do not go to a trial and the court process tries to help both sides reach a negotiated settlement.

Sometimes, just the issue of court proceedings can be enough to secure an increased offer from your opponent. Realistically it will take at least a further six months before the court assessment.

The court assessment can take different forms, depending on which parts of your case the insurers do not accept:

  • It can be a judge simply reviewing the paperwork and making an award
  • It can be an informal meeting at court where we get a chance to explain your case
  • If the insurers do not accept blame for what happened on behalf of your opponent, then it can be a full trial with witnesses giving evidence

Whichever form it takes, after considering the evidence we prepared to prove your claim, the judge will make a decision regarding how much compensation the insurers must pay you.

The final step at the end of a successful claim will be receiving your compensation payment. The insurance company representing your opponent usually pays this. This will be either the compensation:

  • Agreed by negotiation with your opponent’s representatives; or
  • Awarded by the judge at court.

Each case is different, but in most cases your compensation will cover:

  • Your pain, suffering and inconvenience (already suffered and predicted for the future)
  • Losses and expenses (such as lost income, medical treatment costs and travel)
  • Recovery, care and rehabilitation expenses
  • Future losses and expenses (where it is predicted you will need long-term support)

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