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If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, our personal injury solicitors act for clients across the UK on a no win, no fee basis, with a free first conversation and no obligation to proceed.
Being injured through someone else’s fault has consequences that go well beyond the injury itself. You may be unable to work, facing treatment you are waiting for, and dealing with costs you had not planned for, all while trying to recover.
A personal injury claim is how you recover those losses. It is intended to put you back, as far as money can, in the position you would have been in had the accident not happened: compensation for the injury itself, and for the financial consequences that follow from it.
Our team of personal injury solicitors acts for clients throughout the UK, from straightforward claims to catastrophic and fatal injury cases. Most claims are funded on a no win, no fee basis, and the first conversation is free with no obligation to take things further. Call 01689 887887 or request a callback, and our team will get back to you.
Do I have a personal injury claim?
You may have a claim if three things are true: someone else owed you a duty of care, they fell short of it, and you were injured as a result.
That covers a wide range of situations. An employer who did not assess a risk or provide the right training. A driver who was not paying attention. An occupier who left a hazard in place. A manufacturer whose equipment was defective. In each case the question is not whether the other party meant harm, but whether they took the care the law required.
A claim is brought in negligence, for breach of the duty of care owed to you. Where the claim is against an employer, health and safety regulations are the measure of what a reasonable employer should have done, and a breach of them is central evidence. Where the breach of duty happened on or after 1 October 2013, though, most health and safety regulations no longer found a civil claim in their own right.
Two further points matter in practice. You do not need to be certain who was at fault before you speak to a solicitor, because establishing that is our job. And a claim is not prevented simply because you were partly responsible yourself; where responsibility is shared, compensation is adjusted to reflect it rather than refused.
How our personal injury solicitors can help
Accident at work claims
Claims against employers who failed to provide safe systems of work, adequate training, suitable equipment or proper supervision.
Back injury at work claims
Injuries from lifting, handling and repeated strain, as well as from single incidents such as a fall.
Road traffic accident claims
Claims for drivers, passengers, motorcyclists and pedestrians, including claims against uninsured and untraced drivers.
Cycling accident claims
Claims for cyclists injured by drivers, by road defects or by dangerous road layouts.
Brain injury claims
Claims involving traumatic and acquired brain injury, where the effects are often long-term and not fully apparent at first.
Slip, trip and fall claims
Claims arising in the workplace, in shops and public buildings, and on pavements and highways.
Accidents in public places
Claims against local authorities, retailers, leisure operators and other occupiers.
Industrial and occupational disease claims
Claims for conditions caused by exposure at work, including noise-induced hearing loss and respiratory disease, often many years after the exposure.
Fall from height, falling object and defective equipment claims
Claims arising from the specific failures that cause most serious workplace injuries: unsafe access, unsecured loads and machinery that was not maintained.
Serious and catastrophic injury claims
Spinal injury, amputation, multiple trauma and other injuries requiring lifelong care, rehabilitation and adapted accommodation.
Fatal accident claims
Claims for bereaved families, including dependency claims and support through an inquest.
Where the harm was caused by treatment rather than by an accident, our team of medical negligence solicitors handles the claim.
How much compensation could I claim?
Compensation in a personal injury claim is made up of two distinct parts, and understanding the difference explains why no one can put a figure on a claim at the first conversation.
General damages compensate for the injury itself: the pain, the suffering and the loss of amenity, meaning the things you can no longer do. This is assessed from medical evidence, by reference to the guidelines the courts use and to awards made in comparable cases.
Special damages compensate for the financial consequences, known as the heads of loss. They cover loss of earnings to date and into the future, treatment and rehabilitation, care and assistance including care provided unpaid by family, travel, aids and equipment, and adaptations to your home. In a serious case they are usually the larger part of an award.
What this means in practice is that the value of a claim depends on medical evidence about your recovery and on evidence of your losses, neither of which is available at the outset. What we can do early on is tell you which heads of loss are likely to apply in your case, and make sure they are all evidenced. If you want a rough sense of scale in the meantime, our personal injury claim calculator gives broad ranges, though it cannot account for your own medical evidence or losses.
How a personal injury claim works
A first conversation. Free, confidential and without obligation. We will ask what happened, how it has affected you, and whether anyone else has already been in contact, an insurer for example.
Investigation and evidence. We obtain the accident report, medical records, CCTV where it exists, witness evidence and, where relevant, the risk assessments and training records the other party should have had.
Medical evidence. We instruct an independent expert of the right discipline to report on your injury, your treatment and your prognosis. In serious cases more than one expert will be needed.
Rehabilitation and interim payments. Where liability is admitted or largely accepted, it is often possible to obtain treatment and interim payments before the claim concludes, rather than waiting for the end.
Negotiation and settlement. We look for a settlement without court proceedings where that produces a fair result, because it is usually faster, cheaper and less stressful. Most claims are resolved this way.
Court proceedings, if needed. If a fair settlement cannot be reached, we issue proceedings and take the case to trial if necessary. Issuing does not mean the case will be tried; most issued claims are still settled.
Time limits for personal injury claims
Under the Limitation Act 1980, the limit for most personal injury claims is three years, running from the date of the accident or, if later, the date you first knew you had a significant injury and that it was attributable to someone else’s act or omission. The second date matters most in disease and delayed-onset cases.
There are important exceptions:
If the injured person was under 18, the three years does not begin until their eighteenth birthday, so a claim can be brought until they are 21. A parent or guardian can bring it earlier on their behalf.
If the injured person lacks the mental capacity to conduct proceedings, time does not run while that continues.
Where someone has died, a claim is generally brought within three years of the date of death, or of the personal representative’s date of knowledge if later.
The court has a discretion to allow a claim outside the limit, but it is exercised sparingly and should not be relied on. If you may be close to a deadline, contact us straight away.
No win, no fee: how funding a personal injury claim works
Most of our personal injury claims are funded by a conditional fee agreement, commonly called no win, no fee. There is nothing to pay upfront, and if the claim does not succeed you do not pay our fees.
If the claim succeeds, most of our costs are recovered from the other side. A success fee is also payable, and this comes out of your compensation. By law that success fee cannot exceed 25% of your damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity and your past financial losses, after any benefits repayable to the Compensation Recovery Unit have been taken off. That cap applies however the claim ends, and the fee is never taken from compensation for future losses such as future care or future loss of earnings. You would also be responsible for disbursements such as expert and court fees, and for any costs order made against you. We will give you the percentage before you sign anything and show you what it means in cash terms as the claim develops.
Two alternatives are worth checking before you assume a conditional fee agreement is the answer:
Legal expenses insurance, often included as an add-on to home or motor insurance. It is easy to have this cover without realising, so check your policy schedule. If you do have it, it may cover your legal costs, and using it can mean no deduction from your damages at all.
Trade union funding, where your union provides legal assistance to members.
After the event insurance covers certain disbursements and the risk of some costs if the claim does not succeed. We will explain what is and is not covered before it is taken out.
Managing compensation and protecting your benefits
Receiving a lump sum can affect entitlement to means-tested benefits and to local authority funded care if it is not handled correctly. Where that is a risk, a personal injury trust can ring-fence the compensation so that it is not treated as capital for means-testing. We advise on this as part of the claim rather than leaving it until after settlement, because the timing matters.
Why choose CWJ for a personal injury claim
Our personal injury team is led by Alex Wormald, a partner who originally qualified as a barrister before cross-qualifying as a solicitor, and who has specialised in accident claims for individuals throughout the UK for more than 17 years. He is ranked by Chambers and Partners for personal injury work.
We have acted in claims ranging from modest injuries to million-pound awards in catastrophic and fatal injury cases. The team is also ranked in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500, and is listed in the Headway Head Injury Solicitors Directory. Our solicitors are on the panel of Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA).
Practically, what clients tell us matters most is that the same solicitor handles their case throughout, that they can reach that person, and that they are told what is happening without having to ask.
Frequently asked questions about personal injury claims
Am I eligible to make a personal injury claim?
If you were injured because someone else failed to take reasonable care, you may well be. The time limit is usually three years, but it does not always run from the accident. The clearest way to find out is a free first conversation. We will tell you whether we think a claim is viable rather than taking on a case that is not.
How long will my personal injury claim take?
A straightforward claim where liability is admitted may conclude in nine to eighteen months. A serious injury claim takes considerably longer, often several years, because the claim should not be settled until the medical and financial evidence is complete. Settling too early in a serious case is one of the few mistakes that cannot be corrected afterwards.
Will I have to go to court?
Very probably not. Most claims settle by negotiation without proceedings being issued, and most of those that are issued settle before trial. If a hearing is necessary, we prepare you for it thoroughly.
What if the accident was partly my fault?
You may still claim. Where responsibility is shared, the award is reduced to reflect your share rather than being refused. It is worth taking advice even where you think you were mostly to blame, because how responsibility is divided depends on the facts and is often less clear-cut than it looks.
Will making a claim affect my job?
The claim is usually handled by your employer’s insurer, not your employer, because employers’ liability insurance is compulsory under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. If you are worried about your job, raise it at the first conversation.
Can I claim if the driver was uninsured or drove off?
Yes. Claims for injuries caused by uninsured and untraced drivers can be pursued through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau. The procedure and the deadlines differ from an ordinary claim, so take advice early.
Can I claim on behalf of someone else?
Yes. A parent or guardian can claim for a child, and a litigation friend can act for an adult who lacks the capacity to conduct proceedings. A personal representative can bring a claim on behalf of someone who has died.
More questions are answered on our personal injury FAQs page.
Speak to our personal injury solicitors
Tell us what happened and we will tell you, without obligation, whether we think you have a claim, how it would be funded and what the next step would be.
Call 01689 887887 or request a callback. The first conversation is free and confidential, and there is no pressure to take things further.