Last Updated 29th May 2025. If you have suffered an injury in an accident that was not your fault, you might be able to start a claim for personal injury compensation. In addition to compensation for your injuries, you may also recover damages for financial losses and out of pocket expenses.
There are various ways you could become injured and be owed compensation, and this guide will explain what you need to know to make a successful injury claim.
We will tell you what a personal injury claim is, how to be successful when claiming and how to do so on a No Win No Fee basis.
Our solicitors have years of dedicated experience handling all types of personal injury claims, and you can reach our advisors at any point for a free case assessment by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804.
- Contacting us and claim online.
- Using the live chat box on the screen.
Browse Our Guide
- What Is A Personal Injury Claim?
- How Do I Make A Successful Injury Claim?
- How Long Does A Successful Personal Injury Claim Take To Settle?
- How Do I Make A Successful Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Read More About Claiming For Personal Injuries
What Is A Personal Injury Claim
A personal injury claim is a case to recover compensation after you were injured by someone else. The criteria to make a claim are:
- There is a duty of care owed to you by a third party
- This duty is breached
- This breach results in injury
Many different types of accidents can result in a personal injury claim. Let’s look at some examples:
- Car accident claims. Road users owe other road users a duty of care. They must drive in a way that avoids causing harm, and to do this, they should follow the rules in the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. For example, a drunk driver might veer into oncoming traffic, causing a head on collision and a significant brain injury.
- Accident at work claims. Your employer owes you a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure you are safe at work under the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974. This can include performing risk assessments, providing training and maintaining machinery or equipment. For example, you are given a known faulty ladder by your boss, and it breaks when you use it. You suffer a back injury when you land heavily.
- Accidents in a public place (public liability claim). Those who control public spaces owe visitors a duty to take steps to keep them reasonably safe under The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. For example, management at a restaurant fails to have a defective handrail fixed, and this causes a visitor to fall down the stairs.
Why not call us for a free, no obligation, case assessment to see if you might have a valid claim?
How Do I Make A Successful Injury Claim?
To be successful with your claim for personal injury, you will have to prove your case. This can be done in various ways.
Collecting Evidence
There are many types of evidence that can be used to build your case, for example:
- Photographic evidence e.g., of the location of the accident, images of your injuries, images of any faulty equipment.
- Any CCTV footage that captured your accident (this can include things like dashcam footage).
- Copies of relevant documents such as risk assessments or an accident book entry.
- Relevant reports, for example, a police report if one was filled in after a road traffic accident.
- Medical records.
There are many forms of evidence, and our expert personal injury solicitors can assist you every step of the way which will hopefully lead to a successful injury claim.
Getting witness statements
Whilst not every case will have a witness they can be very useful. It is important to keep the contact details of anyone who potentially witnessed your accident so that a statement can be taken from them at a later time if required.
Getting your injuries assessed
As part of a personal injury claim, you may be invited to an independent medical assessment. This will be at a time and location convenient to you. After the appointment, a medical report is produced, and this can be used to assess the severity of your injuries and also give a prognosis for the future.
This can be a key document to help calculate the value of the compensation for your injuries, which are called general damages.
Assessing Your Financial Losses
In addition to damages for your injuries, you may be able to claim financial losses known as special damages. If your injuries caused the financial loss and you can provide some supporting evidence, these losses could be claimed.
Common special damage items include:
- Past loss of earnings
- Loss of earnings for the future
- Reduced pension entitlement
- Lack of opportunity in the open labour market
- Care costs (friends and family or private providers)
- Rehabilitation costs such as physiotherapy.
- Travel expenses
If you can hang on to supporting documents such as wage slips, invoices or receipts and provide them to your solicitor, then you will increase your chances of recovering special damages. This is not a full list, and there could be other financial losses that could be part of your claim.
To discuss any aspect of starting the claims process, you can reach out to a friendly advisor today.
How Long Does A Successful Personal Injury Claim Take To Settle?
The amount of time it could take to settle a successful injury claim depends on the unique circumstances of your case. Each personal injury claim must be assessed on an individual basis so that the compensation value adequately reflects the impact that the claimant has experienced. For example, a workplace accident resulting in an amputated leg may be completely different from a road traffic accident claim that resulted in whiplash.
The factors that may influence how long it takes to settle your claim include:
- Whether liability for the accident is disputed
- Whether the claim needs to go to court (this may apply in more complicated cases where a decision cannot be reached outside of court)
- The availability of the court schedule
- The severity of your injuries (if you have not fully recovered, legal professionals may need to asses how your injuries will impact you in future)
- The amount and type of evidence you provide (if you need an independent medical assessment to support your case, it may take some time for the medical professionals to come to their conclusions)
If you would like to discuss how long it can take to settle a claim or how to successfully claim for a personal injury, our advisory team is available 24/7. They can explain anything you are unsure of and let you know if your case is eligible for the representation of one of our excellent No Win No Fee solicitors.
How Do I Make A Successful Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
If your case is strong enough to be accepted, our solicitors could offer to work for you under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a form of No Win No Fee contract and has several important advantages to consider:
- If your case is unsuccessful, there will not be any fees to pay in relation to your solicitor’s work
- You do need to pay in advance for any solicitor fees before your case can start
- You will not be asked to pay solicitor fees as the case progresses
At the end of the case, and only if you win, will you pay a success fee. This is a percentage deduction from the compensation. It has a legal cap for the percentage, meaning you will keep the bulk of the compensation. This fee is agreed upon before your case is underway, so you know where you stand at all times.
Why not see if you can work with one of our experienced solicitors by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Contacting us to claim online
- Using our live chat feature
Read More About Claiming For Personal Injuries
Internal links to help with a personal injury claim:
- How much compensation can be awarded for a slip, trip and fall at work?
- Learn when you can make a food poisoning claim.
- Here are the common causes of manual handling injuries
Further resources below:
- Do you know when you can receive Statutory Sick Pay
- Learn some information about first aid with this helpful NHS resource.
- If you are suffering mentally after an accident, you could consider visiting Mind.org which is a mental health charity
Thank you for considering our guide about making a successful injury claim.
