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Personal Injury Claims

A personal injury claim needs three things: someone else at fault, an injury caused by that fault, and a claim brought in time. The time limit is generally three years from the accident, or from when you first knew the injury was significant and attributable to someone else. Miss it and the claim is usually gone regardless of merit. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

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Three years from the accident or from the date of knowledge. Children have until three years after their eighteenth birthday, and there is no limit while someone lacks mental capacity. Fatal accident claims run three years from the death or from the date of knowledge.

Personal Injury Claims at a glance

Three years

The general limitation period for personal injury in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Children get longer

The clock starts at 18, so a claim can be brought until they are 21

Fault must be proved

Someone must have owed you a duty, breached it, and caused the injury

Two kinds of compensation

General damages for the injury itself, and special damages for actual financial loss

No win no fee has a price

A success fee is deducted from your damages if you win — capped, but real

What compensation actually covers

General damages compensate for the injury itself — the pain, the suffering and the loss of amenity — and are assessed against published guidelines and comparable cases, supported by a medical report. Special damages cover money you have actually lost or will lose: earnings to date and into the future, treatment and rehabilitation, care provided even by family members, travel, equipment and adaptations. In serious cases the future losses dwarf the injury award, which is why the medical and expert evidence matters far more than the initial figure anyone quotes you on the phone. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

How no win no fee really works

Under a conditional fee agreement you pay nothing if you lose, and if you win the other side pays most of your legal costs — but your solicitor also takes a success fee, deducted from your damages and capped as a percentage of them. You will usually also need after-the-event insurance to cover the other side's costs if you lose, and the premium may come out of your damages too. Before signing, check three things: the success fee percentage, what happens if you stop the case, and whether any existing legal expenses cover on your home or motor insurance would fund the claim more cheaply. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

How a claim runs

Claims follow pre-action protocols: a letter of claim, an investigation period during which the other side admits or denies liability, medical evidence obtained from an agreed expert, and then negotiation. Low-value road traffic and employers' liability claims run through streamlined online portals with fixed costs, and the smallest whiplash claims are handled under a separate tariff scheme designed for litigants in person. Most claims settle without a hearing. Keep everything from the start: photographs, the accident book entry, witness details, medical appointments, receipts and a diary of how the injury has actually affected your daily life. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Making a personal injury claim, step by step

Get medical attention and make sure it is recordedThe medical record is the backbone of the claim.

Preserve the evidence immediatelyPhotographs, witnesses, the accident book, and a diary of the effects.

Check your existing insurance before signing anythingLegal expenses cover may fund it without a success fee. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

Personal Injury Claims — your questions answered

How long do I have to make a claim?

Generally three years from the accident, or from the date you first knew the injury was significant and someone else's fault — which matters in disease and delayed-onset cases. If the injured person was under 18 the three years runs from their eighteenth birthday, and there is no limit while someone lacks mental capacity. Courts have a discretion to extend, but it is exercised sparingly and should never be relied on.

What does no win no fee actually cost me?

Nothing if you lose. If you win, the other side pays most of your legal costs, but your solicitor deducts a success fee from your damages, capped as a percentage, and any insurance premium may come out of them too. So a headline of no win no fee still means a real deduction from your compensation. Ask for the percentage in writing before you sign, and check whether your home or car insurance already includes legal expenses cover — many people are covered and never look.

The accident was partly my fault. Can I still claim?

Yes. Contributory negligence reduces compensation rather than defeating the claim — the court apportions responsibility and cuts the award by your share, so being found 25 per cent responsible means recovering 75 per cent. Common examples are not wearing a seatbelt or ignoring safety equipment. Being partly at fault is a reason to get advice, not a reason to give up.