Home > ACCIDENTS AND INJURY > MAKING A PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

This fact sheet will give you some basic information about making a personal injury claim. You can also listen to it online or download it onto an MP3 player.

Please be aware that this is not legal advice and if you are concerned about any of the issues mentioned you should speak to a lawyer.

You can contact Russell Jones & Walker's solicitors at enquiries@rjw.co.uk or call our freephone number 0800 916 9065.

• What do you mean by personal injury?
• What do I need to do first?
• How do I get help with my injury?
• How do I claim compensation?
• How long do I have to make a claim?
• What can I claim compensation for?
• What should I do if I think I have a claim?

What do you mean by personal injury?

You can only claim compensation for an injury if a person or organisation is at least partly to blame for your injury. They must have been careless about the way something was done or not done when it should have been.

A personal injury can happen at work, in a road accident, because of a faulty product; because of a mistake during medical treatment or because you tripped on a paving stone or slipped on a wet floor in a shop. It can also include an illness or condition caused by your working environment, such as contact with asbestos.

An injury may be psychological as well as physical, so you may be able to get compensation for distress or upset after an accident as well as for the physical injury.

What do I need to do first?

You can only claim compensation for an injury if a person or organisation is at least partly to blame for your injury.

When you have been injured, you should collect evidence about the accident. For example, if you were injured after tripping on a damaged paving stone, you could take photos of the paving stone. Write down details as soon as you can, while they are still fresh in your mind. If anyone saw what happened to you, get their name and address.

If you visit a doctor for treatment, ask them to record the fact that you had an accident. For injuries that you can see, photographs of the injury will also be helpful.

If your accident happened at work you should tell your employer about the accident straight away. By law, they must keep a record of most types of accident, but if you think they aren�??t doing this, write to them giving brief details of the accident, and keep a copy. If you are self-employed, you must record the accident yourself.

If your accident was on the roads, you must tell the police and, if your car was involved, your insurance company.

How do I get help with my injury?

Your doctor will be able to advise you if you need treatment for your injury. This might be available on the NHS. However, you sometimes have to wait a long time for some kinds of NHS treatment, so you might be able to get help quicker through your compensation claim.

How do I claim compensation?

If you want to claim compensation, you can contact a solicitor to make your claim for you. Or you can contact a claims management company or your union who will arrange for a solicitor to deal with your claim on your behalf.

Consulting a solicitor does not necessarily mean you will be taking action in court. Most personal injury claims are settled through negotiation without a court hearing.

You cannot normally get legal aid to help pay the legal costs of a personal injury case. But there are other ways of helping to pay for your case which a solicitor or claims management company will discuss with you.

If you do not know a solicitor, claims management company or union that could help you, there are several organisations you can contact, including the Community Legal Service, the Law Society and Citizens Advice.

How long do I have to make a claim?

If you are thinking about making a claim for compensation, it is important to get legal advice as soon as you can. This is because there are time limits for starting a personal injury claim. You must normally start court proceedings within three years of when you were injured, or of when you first knew you were injured.

You should get legal advice before you contact the person or organisation you think caused the injury or before replying to any letters or offers to settle your claim.

What can I claim compensation for?

General damages are for the pain and suffering you have had to cope with after an injury. Special damages are for money you've had to pay or earnings you have lost because of an accident. If you need to spend money for things related to your accident or injury, try to keep all your receipts. This will make it easier to claim the money back as part of special damages.

You can also claim for loss of future earnings if, for example, your injury means you cannot carry on working in a job or profession you have been working in.

If a court decides you were partly to blame for your injuries, it may reduce the amount of compensation you get (for example, if you were not wearing a seat belt when you had a car accident).

What should I do if I think I have a claim?

You can contact Russell Jones & Walker's solicitors at enquiries@rjw.co.uk or call our freephone number 0800 916 9065.