A personal injury claim is a legal case you can open if you have been injured with the aim of recovering compensation from the person at fault. Most personal injury claims are handled by solicitors on a no win no fee basis, meaning that you have no upfront legal costs, and you will pay nothing if your claim is unsuccessful.
Generally, you can make a personal injury claim if:
- You or a loved one were injured in the last three years
- The injury made you suffer both physically and financially
- The injury was caused at least partly by someone else
Which types of personal injuries can I claim for?
Unfortunately, our bodies can be harmed in a vast number of ways.Rather than list every possible injury that could happen, personal injury claims are typically separated into different situational types. These types reflect the fact that the person at fault for an injury depends to a large extent upon the context in which it happened.
For example, falling down your staircase and breaking a leg in your own home due to some loose carpet would be an innocent, if painful, accident. It’s your own responsibility to keep your house safe, so no one else could be said to be at fault for causing the accident that broke your leg.
This would be a very different story, however, if the same accident happened in a restaurant. In this case, it’s the restaurant owner’s responsibility to ensure the safety of their premises. Therefore, the restaurant owner is at fault for your accident and you would be able to make a personal injury claim against them to recover compensation.
At The Law Superstore, we can help you to find quotes for common personal injury claims, including:
- Road traffic accidents
- Accidents at work
- Accidents in a public place
- Medical negligence
- Industrial disease
Road traffic accidents
Being involved in a car accident that isn’t your fault can harm both your health and your finances.Painful injuries may need expensive treatment and make it difficult for you to work, leading to a loss of earnings. Even if you come out of the accident relatively unharmed, the psychological toll left behind can make going about your ordinary life more stressful than before.
A personal injury claim can recover compensation for any loss of earnings, pain and suffering caused by the accident.
Get help making a Road Traffic Accident personal injury claim with The Law Superstore’s quick quote form.
Accidents at work
Ensuring the safety of the workplace is the responsibility of your employer. If you suffer an injury at work that wasn’t your fault, you may have a personal injury case.While some roles always carry a degree of risk, it’s the legal duty of your employer to make your workplace and the tasks you perform as safe as possible. If your injury happened because you were not given effective personal protective equipment (PPE) or because of a lack of training for the task, you can probably make a personal injury claim.
Bear in mind that an accident at work doesn’t necessarily have to happen in the workplace. With many of us working from home due to Covid-19, an accident at work personal injury claim could cover any injury picked up while carrying out the tasks of your job.
Get help making an accident at work personal injury claim with The Law Superstore’s quick quote form.
Medical negligence
Medical negligence covers any kind of medical or dental treatment that was substandard or inappropriate for your health issue.You may be able to make a medical negligence claim if you have had any of the following experiences:
- A medical diagnosis that’s overlooked, delayed or misattributed to something else that results in the worsening of your condition
- An injury or worsening of an existing condition caused by a surgical mistake
- A prescription error where you’re given medication that harms you or results in your health issue being made worse or left untreated
Accidents in a public place
Owners of properties that are open to the public have a responsibility to ensure that they’re free of hazards. If the owner failed to make a safe environment for you, your accident was caused by negligence and could have been prevented.Common places where accidents happen in public include:
- Supermarkets
- Shopping centres
- Residential roads and highstreets
- Bars, restaurants, and other hospitality venues
Get help making an accident in a public place personal injury claim with The Law Superstore’s quick quote form.
Industrial disease
Industrial diseases are health problems caused by workplace conditions and inadequate protection given to workers while carrying out tasks. These health problems can lead to a significant reduction in your quality of life.You might have an industrial disease personal injury case if you have any of the following health conditions:
- Industrial deafness or tinnitus
- Asbestos related diseases such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung cancer and pleural thickening
- Vibration white finger
Find out more about making an industrial disease personal injury claim on The Law Superstore.
How do I pay for my personal injury claim?
Solicitor fees and court costs can be incredibly expensive. And there’s no guarantee that you will win your case. This can make people with solid personal injury claims reluctant to seek justice.Fortunately, most personal injury claims can be made on no win no fee terms.
No win no fee is a contractual agreement with your personal injury solicitor that allows you to make your personal injury claim without paying any upfront costs. And you have legal protection insurance in place that covers your legal costs if your claim is unsuccessful.
Making a no win no fee personal injury claim is a completely risk-free way of pursuing justice for your accident. Crucially, you won’t pay anything if you lose your case.
It’s only if your claim is successful that your solicitor will pay themselves by deducting a certain amount from the compensation that you are awarded. Typically, this will include a ‘success fee’ for winning your claim, as well as the cost of the insurance you needed to keep your claim risk-free.
How much compensation might my personal injury claim be worth?
The amount of compensation you could win in your personal injury claim depends on the individual circumstances of your case. Your personal injury solicitor will assess how your injury or illness has affected your life to calculate how much compensation you should be awarded.Personal injury compensation is made up of two different types of damages:
- General damages – compensation for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries and how they have impacted your life
- Special damages – compensation for any financial losses directly caused by your injuries
What you could receive in general damages – compensation for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries – can vary widely depending on the nature and severity of your injuries. But you can expect to be awarded more compensation if your injuries have had a profound impact on your life.
Special damages – reimbursement for financial losses caused by your injuries – are in some ways easier to think about generally but will still rely on your individual circumstances.
Many of the special damages you could be awarded involve things that have an identifiable financial value, such as:
- Lost earnings from time off work
- Any loss to your future earnings
- Any impact on your ability to work
- Any modifications you may have needed to make to your house or car to accommodate your injuries
- Any medical care, treatment and other expenses necessary in the course of treating your injuries, such as accommodation and travel
- Any rehabilitation programmes prescribed to you to treat your injuries
- Any extra daily expenses cause by your injuries
Nevertheless, the amount of compensation you could be awarded will always be a judgment call and unique to your individual circumstances.
After an initial consultation with your personal injury solicitor, they will be able to give you a rough estimate of how much compensation you could expect based on your situation and the evidence of your injuries.
How long does a personal injury claim take?
Again, there’s no way of saying exactly how long your no win no fee personal injury claim might take without knowing the full details of your case.The length of your case will depend upon the circumstances of your accident, the severity of your injuries and how they have impacted your life, as well whether the other side admits, disputes or denies responsibility for causing the accident.
A good rule of thumb is that the more complex your case is, the longer it will take to be resolved.
It’s easy to dismiss injuries caused by an accident that wasn’t your fault as ‘just one of those things’. If you are unsure about whether you have a personal injury case, a personal injury solicitor will be able to tell you.
Find personal injury solicitors on The Law Superstore who can help you to get your personal injury claim started.