Making a Personal Injury Claim

Your first step is to meet with a member of our personal injury team. This can take place at any of our office, online or via telephone appointment. During this meeting, we’ll gather the details of your accident and provide initial advice on whether you have a valid claim.

If your injuries prevent you from attending in person, we can arrange a home visit. We’ll also explain the different funding options available for your claim.

Starting Your Claim

Once you instruct us to proceed, we’ll identify the responsible party (the Defendant) and their insurer. We’ll then submit a detailed letter of claim. For cases valued up to £25,000, we use the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Portal, a secure website designed for communication with insurers.

Whether we use the MOJ Portal or a formal letter of claim, the Court Rules require the Defendant or their insurer to respond within a set timeframe, either admitting or denying liability.

Medical Assessment

If liability is admitted, we’ll arrange for you to be assessed by a medical expert, such as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon for back, neck, or fracture injuries. The expert will produce a detailed report outlining your injuries, treatment received, current condition, and future prognosis.

This report may be sufficient to settle your claim. If so, we’ll also prepare a Schedule of Loss, which includes:

• Loss of earnings
• Voluntary care and assistance from family/friends
• Medical and travel expenses
• Other out-of-pocket costs

We’ll then send the report and Schedule of Loss to the insurer and begin settlement negotiations. We’ll advise you on any offers received and won’t accept or counter any offer without your explicit instructions.

Types of Compensation

Your claim will typically include:

• General Damages: Compensation for pain, suffering, and loss of amenity
• Special Damages: Financial losses such as earnings, care, medical costs, and travel expenses

Ongoing Treatment

If your symptoms persist or further treatment/surgery is needed, we may delay settlement until a clearer prognosis is available. In such cases, we’ll seek an interim payment to cover private treatment and any related loss of earnings.

If Liability Is Denied

Should the Defendant or insurer deny liability, they must provide a detailed explanation and disclose relevant documents (e.g., accident reports, health and safety records, risk assessments). We’ll review this evidence and advise you on the strength of your claim.
If the denial appears unjustified, we may persuade the insurer to reconsider. If not, we’ll guide you through issuing court proceedings.

Court Proceedings

It’s important to note that fewer than 1% of cases go to trial, over 99% settle beforehand.