Your Questions

Can I claim compensation?

There are three principal factors establishing your eligibility for compensation in England and Wales:

• The accident must be due chiefly to someone else's negligence.
• Your injury must have been sustained directly as a result of that negligence.
• You must start court proceedings within three years of the incident and injury.

Do I need a solicitor to make a claim?

There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor to make a claim, and if compensation is likely to be under £1,000 the small claims court facilitates managing your own claim. However, there is far more to gaining appropriate compensation than winning an argument over blame.

An experienced solicitor will be in a much stronger position when it comes to negotiating a settlement before even going to court. He will also have considerable knowledge of what exactly can be claimed and aspects of the impact of the injury you may not have considered. Perhaps most importantly in anything but the simplest case, he will have instant access to a range of medical experts willing to examine you and testify in court if necessary. Tracing and persuading consultants to appear for you would be a very protracted, difficult and costly process if you do it yourself.

Will my claim succeed?

Unfortunately, there is sometimes a considerable difference between "knowing" that someone else was to blame, and satisfying a judge that your opponent was sufficiently negligent to warrant an award of compensation against them. Only a solicitor who specialises in personal injury will be able to accurately assess your chance of winning. We will make such an assessment at the very beginning, and advise you on whether it would be worthwhile to proceed.

How much will I get?

Damages for personal injury are awarded under two aspects. The most immediately obvious effects of your injury are covered by "General Damages". This part of your personal injury claim covers "pain and suffering" and "loss of amenity". That is, physical pain, emotional distress and inability to live your life in the way you did before the injury. The amount is determined by considering the range and degree of effects of the injury, and making a comparative judgment according to the precedent set by previous case history. These precedents are published in the Judicial Studies Board Guidelines and certain law journals. Specimen amounts are given on the pages detailing specific injuries on this site.

"Special Damages" is awarded according to financial loss or additional costs resulting from the injury. This includes loss of earnings if you are unable to work, costs of nursing care and changes to accommodation or equipment (e.g. cars) to allow you to live as normal a life as possible.

How long will it take to settle my claim

Settling a claim can reasonably be divided into two phases.

• Investigation. Your solicitor will determine, with medical specialists, the extent of your injuries.
• Settlement. Negotiating with your opponent and making the case in court, if necessary.

The length of time taken will, of course, depend on the extent of your injuries, whether they are liable to progress with time, and how willing your opponent is to accept blame and settle. As an indication, a simple injury resulting from a road accident will typically take a year or so. Most personal injury claims take 2-3 years.

How much will it cost me?

If your opponent is insured, our solicitors will generally work on a "No Win, No Fee", or "" basis. Under these terms, you may be asked to take out litigation insurance before the case proceeds to cover costs in the event that you lose.

• If you win:
  Our fees will be paid by your opponent's insurer. We will not touch your compensation so you will receive every penny awarded to you.
• If you lose:
  You are legally liable to pay your opponent's costs as well as your own. These costs will, however, be met in full by the insurance policy you took out, so you will not end up out of pocket.

If your opponent is not insured, or you cannot obtain litigation insurance, we may still be able to work on the "No Win, No Fee" basis but if not, will discuss alternative means of financing your claim.

The above refers to solicitor's legal fees. There will also be other costs, called disbursements. These are the payments your solicitor has to make to obtain medical records, book court time and so on. We will ask you to meet these costs unless you cannot afford to do so. Once the case is settled, we will recover these costs from your opponent if you win.

Will you deduct anything from my compensation if I win?

As a general rule, we will not take a penny from your compensation, leaving you 100% of the amount awarded to you.

There is, however, a small minority of occasions when we may have to negotiate with you over additional fees. For example, if the case is extremely unusual, or will take an abnormally long time to settle, or we are taking over a case which has already been started by another solicitor. In all cases we will discuss the matter fully with you before we accept your instructions.