Have you been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault? Are you unsure as to whether you may be able to claim compensation? Our guide will explore the most common types of personal injury claims, as well as who may be liable for your injury and how one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you with claiming compensation.
We understand that it can be difficult to know what to do after suffering a personal injury, and our helpful advisors are available to discuss your next steps with you. This could include discussing rehabilitation and recovery, or examining whether you may have an eligible claim for compensation.
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If you have any questions about your potential personal injury claim, please contact us.
- Call us on 0800 073 8804.
- Fill out our contact us form.
- Use our built-in live chat.
Select A Section
- Are There Different Types Of Personal Injury Claims?
- Road Traffic Accident Claims
- Claiming For Accidents At Work
- What Are Public Liability Claims?
- Fatal Accident Claims
- Legal Expert’s No Win No Fee Personal Injury Solicitors
- Learn More
Are There Different Types Of Personal Injury Claims?
There are different types of personal injury claims. Accidents can take place in a range of different situations and places, and all of these scenarios become different types of personal injury claims. In any case of personal injury, three factors must be established in order for the claim to be deemed valid:
- Somebody owed you a duty of care.
- The person who owed you this duty has breached it.
- The breach led to your personal injury.
If all three components are present, this will amount to negligence. All cases of personal injury must show that negligence occurred.
A personal injury could happen as an accident at work, a public liability accident or a road traffic accident. Below, we discuss how these types of personal injury claims can happen.
Road Traffic Accident Claims
Road traffic accidents are a common way for personal injury to occur; you may have been involved in a car accident, or even as a cyclist or pedestrian. The Department for Transport reports that in 2024, there were an estimated 128,920 casualties of all severities from road collisions.
Whilst on the roads, all users, including pedestrians, drivers and cyclists, are owed a duty of care by all other road users and in turn also owe this duty of care. Per their duty of care, they need to use the roads in a way that avoids causing harm or damage. They also need to abide by the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.
Some examples of when you may be able to make a road traffic accident claim include:
- You are cycling on the road. As you indicate to turn left, a car fails to notice as they were distracted by their phone and knocks you off your bike. You hit the floor and fracture your arm as a result.
- You are in a taxi as a passenger. Your taxi driver is exceeding the speed limit, causing them to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a bollard. You suffer a whiplash and a back injury from the impact.
- You are using the road as a motorcyclist, and a car pulls in front of you abruptly as it fails to check whether it was safe to merge. You drive into the back of the car and come off your bike, sustaining a broken leg as a result.
The New Whiplash Regulations 2021
The Whiplash Reform Programme changed the way claims for whiplash are made in England and Wales. Per this, if your claim meets the following requirements, it will now need to be made via a different route:
- Have been 18 or over at the time of the accident.
- Have injuries valued at £5000 or less.
- Have been injured as a passenger or driver of a vehicle.
Please note that any person claiming whiplash must satisfy the requirements of negligence as well as the above criteria in order to have a successful claim.
The Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 have also made adjustments to the way that whiplash is calculated. All claims are calculated on a fixed tariff basis.
To learn whether you may need to make your claim via the new aveanue, you can contact our advisors.
Claiming For Accidents At Work
Personal injury can result from an accident at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that 61,663 non-fatal employee injuries were reported by employers under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).
Whilst at work, the duty of care owed to you is established in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This outlines that employers owe all employees a duty of care to take all reasonable steps to ensure the health, safety and well-being of their employees.
Some examples of when you may be able to make an accident at work claim include:
- You might have been walking from your desk to another area in the office when you tripped on a losse computer wire that had not been tidied away or secured down, causing you to suffer a leg and an arm injury.
- You may have been painting on a ladder when you fall from a height due to the ladder having a known defect, causing you to suffer a head injury.
- You might have been operating machinery when your finger gets stuck due to the machine malfunctioning, as it had not been regularly maintained. This causes your figner to become crushed and later require an amputation.
If you have had an accident at work, contact us today to see how our solicitors could help you.
What Are Public Liability Claims?
Public liability claims are a type of personal injury claim made following an accident that happened in a public place.
In line with the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, an occupier (the person in control) of a public space must take steps to ensure visitors are reasonably safe whilst on the premises.
Some examples of when you may be able to make a public liability claim include:
- You are in the supermarket, and slip and fall on a spillage. There was no wet floor sign, and the spillage was left unattended. You suffered a back injury as a result of your slip.
- You were in the gym, using a piece of faulty equipment that had not been signposted, warning members to not use this piece of machinery. It malfunctions and you suffer a rib fracture and arm injury.
- The railing in the stairwell of a hotel was faulty, causing you to fall down the stairs and suffer a back and head injury.
If your personal injury happened in a public place, call us today to see how our advisors can help you start your claim.
Fatal Accident Claims
Fatal accident claims can be made where the victim has unfortunately died as a result of their injury. This could have occurred in a road traffic accident, an accident at work, or a public liability incident.
The same eligibility requirements must be met when making a fatal accident claim.
Some examples of when a fatal accident claim could be made include:
- A driver suffered a fatal head injury at the were hit by a drunk driver.
- Scaffolding on a construction site was not erected properly, causing a construction worker to fall from a height and suffer multiple fatal injuries.
- The chandelier in a hotel was not installed correctly, causing it to fall, and a customer suffered a fatal crush injury to the chest.
In regard to who can make this type of claim, under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934, the estate of the deceased is the only party that can make a claim within the first 6 months of death. They can make a claim for the deceased’s pain and suffering as well as their financial losses caused by their fatal injury. They can also make a claim on behalf of the deceased’s dependents.
If no claim has been made on their behalf within these 6 months, the dependents can make a claim for the impact the death has had on them, per the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
If you have any questions about the different types of personal injury claims that could be made or how we could help you, please contact us today.
Legal Expert’s No Win No Fee Personal Injury Solicitors
Our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you with your personal injury claim. Our team have years of experience working on various types of personal injury claims. Additionally, by offering their services to you under a Conditional Fee Agreement, you could experience the following benefits:
- Not having to pay anything for your solicitor to begin working on your claims.
- You will not have to pay for your solicitor’s fees during the claim process.
- If unsuccessful, you would not have to pay for the work your solicitor provided.
A success fee would be deducted from your compensation at the end of your claim if it is a success. The percentage of this fee is capped in line with the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
In additiona to working on your claim on a No Win No Fee basis, one of our solicitors could help you with:
- Ensure your claim is started within the time limit set by the Limitation Act 1980. (This is generally 3 years).
- Explain legal jargon.
- Advise you on the best course of action.
- Advocate on your behalf to get the best settlement.
- Gather evidence on your behalf to support your case.
- Organise an independent medical assessment.
- Arrange rehabilitation for you and your injuries.
Contact Us
We hope that our guide on the different types of personal injury claims that we could help you with has been useful. If you are wondering how our solicitors could help you or would like to discuss your specific case with one of our advisors, contact us today:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804.
- Fill out our contact us form.
- Use our built-in live chat.
Learn More
Read our other guides on:
- How to claim for a burn injury.
- How to claim if you have had an accident in a bar or pub.
- How to claim if you have had an accident in a theme park.
Useful external resources:
- How to obtain CCTV of yourself from Gov.UK
- The Health and Safety Executive’s advice on when to report a workplace incident.
- Learn when to call 999 from the NHS.
Thank you for reading this guide on the types of personal injury claims we could help you with.
