How To Claim Compensation For An Accident Or Injury

By Cat Mulligan. Last Updated 11th October 2023. You may already know that if you are injured by the negligent actions of a party that owes you a duty of care you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim. The claim could cover any long-term or short-term pain and suffering, any illness, mental harm and financial losses too.

When making a personal injury claim, it is important to consider all of these aspects as you can only make a single claim. Therefore, in this guide, we’ll show you how to claim personal injury compensation.

Importantly, the process we’ll explain could be used to support accident at work claims, car accident claims, claims against the council or any other type of personal injury claim.

As well as explaining how to claim for your injuries, we’ll explain what level of compensation could be awarded.

To help you make a claim, our team can review your case for free. After your initial consultation, you’ll be given free legal advice about your options. If there appear to be grounds to make a claim, we could refer you to a personal injury lawyer from our panel. Importantly, any claim they accept will be processed on a No Win No Fee basis. That will make everything a lot less stressful if you do decide to proceed.

If you’re already in the position to begin a claim, please call our team on 0800 408 7825 right away. Alternatively, you’ll find all the information you’ll need on how to make a claim in the rest of this guide.

How to claim compensation for injury

How to claim compensation for accident or injury guide

Select A Section

How Do You Claim Compensation For A Personal Injury?

When personal injury solicitors take on claims, they have to check that they have a reasonable chance of success. To do this, they will check whether:

  • You were owed a duty of care; and
  • The defendant’s negligence breached that duty and caused an accident; and
  • As a result, you were injured or made ill.

While some injuries are short-lived, others can have a dramatic impact on your ability to work, your hobbies, your social life and your relationships. Therefore, whatever amount of suffering you’ve endured, you may wish to consider seeking damages.

Claims can sometimes be tricky and will often involve proving to an insurance company why their client was liable for your injuries. Where you’re not able to do this, you could lose out on any compensation you may be entitled to. Therefore, we would always advise having specialist legal representation. As we continue, we’ll explain what the solicitors from our panel will do during the claims process to try and secure the maximum compensation for you. We’ll also review how long personal injury claims take and the time limits that apply.

Once you’ve finished this guide on how to claim for personal injuries, please feel free to call if you have any questions or once you’re ready to begin.

What Steps Should You Take If You Want To Claim Compensation?

As we mentioned earlier, securing compensation can be difficult. To make a successful claim, you will require evidence to show how the accident took place, who caused it and what injuries you sustained. Therefore, if you are injured in an accident, we’d suggest that you:

  • Report the accident. When you do, ask for a copy of the accident report. Most businesses and employers will be obliged to record incidents in an accident report book or similar.
  • Take pictures. A photograph of the accident scene can make it a lot easier to show what happened.
  • Talk to witnesses. If anybody else saw your accident, ask for their contact details. Your solicitor could use a statement from them later on if required.
  • Get medical treatment. Rather than relying on first aid, you should get professional treatment at A&E or a minor injuries unit. Later on, medical records could help prove the extent of your injuries.
  • Request camera footage. Where an accident is captured on dashcam or CCTV cameras, the footage can be very useful during the claims process.

Our team can review your evidence and explain how to claim if you call our advice centre today.

What Does The Process Of Claiming Compensation Involve?

If you meet the eligibility criteria to claim compensation for an injury, you may be wondering what steps are involved in the claiming process. If you decide to work with a solicitor on your case, they could help guide you through the process of making a personal injury compensation claim. This could include:

  • Helping you gather evidence to help support your case, such as collecting statements from any eyewitnesses to your accident.
  • Investigating your claim.
  • Organising an independent medical assessment for your injuries.
  • Presenting your case to the defendant.
  • Negotiating a fair compensation settlement for you.

For more information on how to claim compensation for your injuries, or to see if you could be eligible to work with a solicitor on our panel for your case, you can contact our advisors.

Is There A Time Limit For Personal Injury Claims?

All personal injury claims are bound by time limits. The normal limitation period is 3-years. This will either start from the date of your accident or from when your injuries were connected with negligence (your date of knowledge).

We’re often asked how to claim for cases involving children. The process is similar to other claims, but an adult will need to represent them. They will request to act as a litigation friend. In these cases, the time limit will not apply if the claim is made before the child’s 18th birthday.

If no claim is made by a litigation friend before the child turns 18 they will then have 3 years to pursue their own claim.

It is a similar procedure when claiming for an injury for an adult who doesn’t have the mental capacity to represent themselves. The 3-year time limit is suspended. If they recover the 3-year time limit will commence. However, in the meantime, a litigation friend could act on their behalf.

If you would like advice on how to claim or how long you have to do so, please call today.

How Long Could It Take To Make A Claim?

Personal injury claim protocols exist to make sure both sides of the process work to certain dates and deadlines. However, even with these protocols in place, no two claims are the same. Therefore, it can be tricky to determine how long the claim will take to be processed.

Essentially, if the defendant admits liability for the accident and your injuries quickly, the claim could be finalised within 6 to 9-months. However, where negotiation is required, the process could take longer than a year. In our experience, a very small number of cases require court hearings before they can be settled.

How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth?

Compensation for accident and injury claims can consist of two heads: general damages, and special damages. These two heads come together to form your final award. The first head of claim, general damages, covers your injuries and the pain and suffering they cause you. When calculating this head of your injury compensation claim, solicitors can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) for reference. This is because the JCG provides guideline compensation amounts for different injuries and illnesses. You can find some examples of these settlement amounts below.

Edit
Type Of Injury Severity Compensation Bracket Extra Information
Face Fracture (a) £23,810 to £36,740 Covers Le Fort fractures of the frontal facial bones.
Face Disfigurement (b) £17,960 to £48,420 Less severe scarring but still substantial and will cause significant psychological harm.
Shoulder Serious (b) £12,770 to £19,200 Covers dislocated shoulder injuries along with damage to the brachial plexus that results in pain in the shoulder and neck.
Back Moderate (i) £24,990 to
£38,490
An example here is where the lumbar vertebrae are crushed or compressed and substantially increases the risk of osteoarthritis.
Arm Amputation (bii) £109,650 to £130,930 An above the elbow amputation of one arm.
Hand Less Serious (g) £14,450 to £29,000 Covers crush injuries that significantly reduce function.
Ankle Severe (b) £31,310 to £50,060 Ankle injuries that require a long time in plaster or extensive treatment including using plates or pins and where there is residual disability.
Achilles Tendon Moderate (c) £12,590 to £21,070 Significant injuries or those involving partial rupture of the tendon.
Foot Serious (e) £23,460 to £36,790 Injuries that result in ongoing pain from arthritis, prolonged treatment or the risk of fusion surgery.

If you claim compensation for an accident, your award might also include the second head of claim, special damages. This head offers compensation for the ways in which your injuries have affected you financially. For example, if you require a wheelchair following your accident, special damages could cover the cost of mobility aids, as well as any adjustments that have to be made to your home.

Special damages can also cover:

  • Medical bills
  • Prescriptions
  • Travel costs
  • Loss of earnings

For more information on claiming compensation for a personal injury, contact our team of advisors. They can evaluate your claim for free and potentially put you in contact with a solicitor from our panel.

Find Out How To Claim Compensation With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

If you are thinking of making a personal injury claim you may want the help of a solicitor to help you. But are you worried about the costs you may have to pay upfront? Why not use a solicitor that offers their services on a No Win No Fee basis?

This means no fees to pay upfront or while the case is in progress. And no fees to your solicitor if the case loses. If the case succeeds and you are awarded compensation you pay a success fee which is capped to cover your solicitor’s fees.

You are nearly at the end of this guide on how to claim for a personal injury. If you are interested in starting a claim and would like our help, you can:

  • Call our advisors on 0800 408 7825.
  • Ask for advice on how to claim via live chat.
  • Use our contact form to arrange a callback.

Remember, we could provide free legal advice on how to claim for various types of claims including car accidents, public park accidents and slips, trips and falls.

Read More About Making A Claim

In the final section of our guide on how to claim damages for personal injuries, we’ve linked to some additional guides and resources.

You’ve reached the end of our guide on how to claim compensation for personal injuries.

We also have some other guides you may find useful:

If you need any more advice on how to claim compensation, please get in touch.