Personal injury claims in the UK: A step-by-step guide

Starting your personal injury claim: what actually happens?

Suffering an injury in a road traffic accident or in a public place that wasn’t your fault can be both physically painful and emotionally overwhelming. Beyond the immediate impact, more serious injuries can disrupt every aspect of daily life – affecting your ability to work, maintain independence, and carry on with the activities you once took for granted.

With this in mind, it’s only natural to want to seek a compensation settlement to help mitigate the effects of your injury such as lost earnings and the overall impact it's had on your life. Even a minor injury can severely affect day-to-day life if only temporarily.

If you decide to make a personal injury claim, it’s important to seek legal advice from specialist personal injury solicitors as soon as possible. Here at Rudlings, we can work with you to make sure the process is handled with sensitivity, while also being straightforward and thorough, ensuring the best outcome for you.

In this article, we are going to outline the legal process of making a personal injury claim, and the steps to take before the legal process begins, so that you are fully prepared and know what to expect.

Understand what a personal injury claim is

In the context of making a personal injury compensation claim, a personal injury is any physical or psychological harm suffered by an individual due to someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional actions.

Under UK personal injury law, a valid personal injury claim usually rests on three key elements:

1. Duty of care – the person or organisation (for example, an employer, driver, or business) had a legal responsibility to keep you reasonably safe.

2. Breach of that duty – they failed in that responsibility – through action or inaction (e.g. unsafe working conditions, careless driving, poor maintenance).

3. Causation and harm – that breach directly caused your injury, which can include:

• Physical injuries (e.g. broken bones, burns, whiplash)

• Psychological injuries (e.g. anxiety, PTSD)

• Illnesses or conditions linked to the incident.

A personal injury claim seeks compensation to cover any financial losses and essentially helps to restore the claimant to their pre-accident position.

Report the accident and keep a record

If you've been injured either at work, in a public place or in a road traffic accident, it's important to report the accident as soon as possible.

Make sure you keep records of when the incident occurred, when you reported it, any witnesses, and medical attention you sought – this is key when it comes to gathering evidence for a personal injury claim, which we'll look at in more detail a little later.

Check whether you are eligible to make a claim

As outlined above, in order to make a successful claim, you need to be able to show that you suffered harm as the result of a duty of care breach.

Timing is critical if you want to claim compensation: you need to start your claims process within three years of the accident, so it's important to seek advice from a solicitor as soon as possible. Exemptions from this timescale include children or individuals lacking mental capacity.

Gather evidence to support your claim

It's crucial to supply as much documentation relating to the claim as possible, as the evidence provided will build you a strong claim. The types of evidence include:

• Medical records: If you had a medical assessment following the accident, you'll need to supply records of medical appointments or a medical report that documents the injury and the treatment provided.

• Accident report: If you were involved in a road traffic accident then there will be a police report. If you were injured at work, it's likely that the incident was recorded in an employer accident book.

• Visual evidence: Provide evidence such as any photos of the site of the incident, and of the injury itself.

• Witness details: Provide the contact details of anyone who saw the incident take place.

Further evidence can also include

• CCTV footage: It's worth finding out if there's any CCTV in the immediate area which may have captured the incident. For a road accident, there may be dash-cam footage.

• Financial documents: Provide any financial statements or receipts from medical expenses, travel expenses, proof of loss of earnings or any other costs you have had to pay because of the accident.

Speak to a solicitor about the strength of your claim

If you haven't already, now is the time to contact personal injury solicitors such as ourselves to progress the compensation claim.

We'll work with you to assess whether your personal injury claim is viable, estimate how much compensation you could receive, and communicate with the other party. Many people use solicitors that offer a conditional fee agreement, commonly known as 'no win, no fee'. This means you don't pay any legal fees if your claim is unsuccessful.

Here at Rudlings we offer a free initial meeting so that we can discuss the potential claim and we will then be able to confirm if we are able to offer a Conditional Fee Agreement

Start the personal injury claims process

The claims process can be lengthy. We'll work to get you a compensation amount that you're happy with, but there are several steps to go through first.

1. The first step is to work out who is at fault, or establishing liability, as this is who we'll be making the claim against. It might not be the person or company directly involved, for example if you were injured at work, it could be a manufacturer of faulty equipment, not the employer themselves.

2. We will send a 'letter of claim' to the responsible party outlining the reason for the claim, the injury and why they are at fault. The insurance company then has 21 days to acknowledge the letter and up to three months to investigate the claim.

3. We will then build your case based on the evidence you've provided, as well as obtaining additional evidence, such as witness statements, health and safety assessments and expert opinions. As part of this, it's likely that you'll have an independent medical assessment. This is so we can demonstrate the seriousness of the injury, how long it will take to heal and how it's affected your day-to-day life. If you've suffered life changing injuries then the medical assessment will help us to know what level of future support and medical care you're likely to need. This is vital for valuing your claim.

4. Once your personal injury claim evidence and documentation has been exchanged with the other party, we will look to value your claim. Compensation is usually split into two parts:

   - General damages: which refers to the pain and suffering caused by the injury

   - Special damages: which refers to any financial losses as a result of the injury.

We work out how much compensation we believe you are owed based on the evidence you've provided as well as legal guidelines. We'll take into account any financial losses that you've already suffered as well as any that you may face in the future – for things like rehabilitation and care, and home adaptations.

5. The next step is to agree a final settlement with the side you are claiming against. We will negotiate with the other party's insurance company to reach an outcome that you are happy with. It may be that offers are made by both sides before a final settlement is reached. We will be with you every step of the way to provide our advice and support, and we won't accept an offer unless you're happy.

6. Once an offer has been accepted, we let the other party know, and arrangements are made for you to receive the sum agreed.

FAQs

How much do you normally receive from a personal injury claim?

Compensation payouts can vary significantly based on how severe the injury or illness is, and the impact on the claimant's quality of life.

What happens if a settlement can't be reached?

Claims are generally settled through negotiation with the insurers of the involved parties, and this is why having a specialist personal injury lawyer is so important, because they will handle negotiations on your behalf to ensure the outcome you want.

If a case is particularly complex, the other party doesn't admit liability or both parties are unwilling to negotiate, then it's likely that we will start court proceedings. Even after proceedings begin, settlement is still an option, and negotiations continue. However, if no agreement is reached, then the case goes before a judge to decide the outcome.

What percentage of personal injury claims go to court?

Most claims – around 95 percent – don't require court proceedings, as they reach an agreement before it gets to that point.

Does a personal injury payment impact the benefits I receive?

Yes, depending on the amount you received, it could affect the benefits you're entitled to. If the amount is above certain thresholds it could be counted as 'savings', therefore reducing or stopping means-tested benefits like Universal Credit or Housing Benefits. Further guidance on compensation and benefits can be found on the Government website.

It is possible to protect compensation money by placing it in a Personal Injury Trust, which prevents it from being taken into account when benefits are assessed.

Want to find out if you have a personal injury case?

If you or a family member have suffered a personal injury as a result of an accident that wasn't your fault, speak to us to find out if you could make a claim.

We're here to listen whenever you're ready.