By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 02/07/2025. Have you suffered harm after someone failed to provide you with a duty of care? If so, you may have valid grounds to seek compensation. However, it’s important to be aware of all possible outcomes of a claim, both successful and unsuccessful. For that reason, our guide will explore the question: What happens if I lose my personal injury claim?
We understand that you may not have decided to put forward a claim yet for various reasons. For instance, you may have concerns about the costs of legal representation. Alternatively, you may feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the process and need further information before you proceed.
No matter what stage you’re up to, our guide could help. We want you to be prepared, so we’ll focus mainly on the contingencies you could put in place should your claim fail. However, we’ll also provide information on the process of making a claim.
If you have any questions whilst you’re reading this guide, you can contact our team at any time. They are available to talk you through any concerns or queries you may have. For more information, get in touch using the contact details below:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Send your inquiry using the contact form
- Chat with an advisor instantly using the live chat feature below
Select A Section
- A Guide On What Happens If I Lose My Personal Injury Claim
- What Is A Personal Injury Claim?
- Can You Lose A Personal Injury Claim?
- What Happens If I Lose My Personal Injury Claims? – The Process Of A Personal Injury Claim
- How To Prove Your Personal Injury Claim
- What Happens If I Lose A No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claim?
- Could I Claim Compensation With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
- Other Guides Related To Personal Injury Claims
A Guide On What Happens If I Lose My Personal Injury Claim
As you may be aware, there are various stages to making a personal injury claim. For instance, building up evidence to prove the accident happened and show the extent of your injuries. Our guide will explore the different evidence you may need to provide to support your case.
Additionally, evidence can help to value claims. This is often done using various forms of medical reports to assess the severity of your injuries. For that reason, it can be difficult to provide an average compensation amount.
Furthermore, when putting forward a claim, it can be helpful to have a solicitor representing you. For that reason, our guide will look at the option of a No Win No Fee agreement and how it could benefit you.
Remember, if you have any questions at any point, our team is available to help. Simply call us using the number at the top of the page, or read on to learn what happens if you lose your personal injury claim.
What Is A Personal Injury Claim?
A personal injury claim is when you claim against a party for the physical pain and mental suffering their negligence caused you.
There are various day-to-day situations in which you could be owed a duty of care. If a third party breaches this and you are injured as a result, you might be eligible to make a personal injury claim. Failing to adhere to the duty of care is known as negligence.
A duty of care is owed to you:
- In the workplace: Set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), which requires your employer to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees.
- While using the roads: Established by the Road Traffic Act 1988. Drivers must navigate the roads in a way that avoids injury or damage to themselves and others.
- In public places: Outlined by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Those in control of a public space must employ practical measures to ensure that you are kept reasonably safe while visiting.
As part of the personal injury claim process, you will be expected to prove that a third party’s negligence caused your injuries. For example, if you are injured in a car crash, you will need to prove that the other party breached the duty of care set out in the Road Traffic Act 1988. We look at evidence later in this guide.
You may want the support of a personal injury claim solicitor to help you navigate the claiming process. Later in this guide, we look at how a solicitor may support your claim under a No Win No Fee arrangement.
Call our advisors to discuss the stages of a personal injury claim in the UK.
Personal Injury Claim Time Limits
The time limit for personal injury claims is set out in the Limitation Act 1980. It is usually 3 years from the date of the accident, but there are exceptions in place.
These 3 years are not the time frame in which you must complete your claim; they are merely the window in which you need to officially start your claim.
People under 18 cannot start a claim for themselves. A litigation friend can be appointed to represent them and start a claim on their behalf, or they can wait until they turn 18 to start a claim. They will then have 3 years to start their claim, but do not face a time limit while they are under 18.
People who lack the mental capacity to represent themselves have a similar allowance in place. Their time limits are indefinitely suspended unless they gain the capacity to claim. In such cases, they will have 3 years to start a claim.
If you have any further questions about making a personal injury claim or the time limits for compensation claims, please contact one of our advisors.
Can You Lose A Personal Injury Claim?
You may be wondering, ‘Can you lose a personal injury claim?’ There is no definite way to determine whether or not your claim will be successful. This is because all cases are different. Factors such as having sufficient evidence and submitting your claim within the limitation period could help support your claim.
If we look at data from the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU), from 2022 to 2023, there were 542,457 settlements recorded in relation to various types of personal injury claims. During this time, £128.198 million was awarded in compensation amounts. This suggests that it is always worth taking action if you have valid grounds to claim.
Continue reading, and we’ll answer the question: ‘What happens if I lose my personal injury claim?’ Alternatively, get in touch with our advisors if you would like to receive free advice tailored to your specific claim.
What Happens If I Lose My Personal Injury Claim? – The Process Of A Personal Injury Claim
If you are thinking of making a personal injury claim, you may like to know what is involved. In this section, we investigate the personal injury claim process.
If you are eligible to claim, you will need to present the case to the defendant as a ‘letter of claim.’ This should include injury details as well as their impact on your daily life. You should also include how you believe the defendant caused this harm and any details of your financial losses.
The defendant should respond to your letter of claim in a timely manner. They could reject or negotiate. If they rejected your claim, it could be because they need more evidence or time to investigate. If that is the case, they may negotiate afterwards.
Once an offer is accepted, by you or the defendant, the defendant typically has 14 days to pay the compensation.
You may appoint an injury claim solicitor to act on your behalf at any stage during the process. A solicitor may negotiate for you. Additionally, they could help gather supporting evidence and arrange for an independent medical assessment.
Call our advisors for a free claim assessment. If they believe you have a decent chance of recovering compensation, you could be passed on to our No Win No Fee solicitors.
How To Prove Your Personal Injury Claim
There are a few different steps you can take to prove your personal injury claim, such as:
- Seek medical attention: Not only is this beneficial to ensure you receive the correct treatment for your injuries, but it can also help provide important medical evidence. For instance, doctor or hospital reports outlining any treatment you received or the diagnosis the doctor gave you.
- Gather evidence: It’s important that you have evidence to prove negligence occurred. We’ll discuss this in more detail in the following section.
- Speak to a solicitor: Although you have the option of claiming without legal representation, it can be beneficial in many ways to have the help of a solicitor. They can use their expert knowledge when handling your claim and can keep you informed during each stage.
What Evidence Can Support My Personal Injury Claim?
The kind of evidence that can support your personal injury claim will show why you have a valid case for compensation. Evidence can demonstrate how someone else breached their duty of care, causing you to sustain the injuries you did. It can also show the extent of your injuries and provide insight into their impact on your quality of life.
Moreover, compelling evidence may help ensure thoughts like ‘What can I do if I lose my claim?’ don’t become a reality. Our solicitors have found the following kinds of evidence to be beneficial:
- Video recordings, such as footage from dashcams and CCTV.
- A copy of any police report, if one was made.
- Medical records outlining your injuries, treatments, and rehabilitation needs.
- Driver details if your injury was sustained in a road traffic accident. Those details should include contact information, as well as specifics such as vehicle registration, make, and model.
- Eyewitness contact details. Did someone witness your accident, such as a colleague or a barista? If so, get their details and pass them along to your solicitor. The information can be used to gather supporting statements for your case.
With sufficient evidence on hand, you may not have to face considerations like, ‘What steps to take if I lose my personal injury claim?’
Our advisors are ready to answer any queries you have about proving a claim. They can walk you through the process and explain how one of our expert solicitors can help you gather and piece together the evidence needed for your claim. Our next section explores the question, ‘What happens if I lose my personal injury claim?’
What Happens If I Lose A No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claim?
Following a personal injury claim loss, you do have a few options. But before we get into those, there’s probably one question you really want the answer to: “Do I owe any fees if my claim fails?”
If you claim with us, we operate a 100% No Win No Fee policy, meaning you will not pay any fees for your solicitor’s services if your claim is unsuccessful. As for what you can do, we’ve listed a few options here:
- Appeal the decision: You may be eligible to appeal the court’s decision after losing a personal injury claim and get a new ruling in your favour.
- Make a professional negligence claim: If you believe you suffered a loss of chance because your solicitor mishandled your claim, you could sue for professional negligence.
To learn more about what happens after you lose a personal injury claim, speak to our advisors using the contact information given below.
Could I Claim Compensation With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
Now that we’ve answered the question, ‘what happens if I lose my personal injury claim?’, you may be interested in learning why hiring a solicitor under a No Win No Fee agreement could benefit you. Solicitors that offer their services on this basis use a type of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement.
As part of this arrangement, you won’t pay any upfront or ongoing solicitor fees for the work done on your claim. You also won’t have these fees if your claim is unsuccessful.
If your claim wins, you pay a success fee from your personal injury compensation for your solicitor’s services. Since the percentage you pay is restricted under The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, you won’t have to worry about any excess charges.
Contact us at a time convenient for you. Our advisors are available around the clock to answer any queries you may have about the stages of a personal injury claim in the UK.
Contact Our Team
Speak to our advisors, and they can see if you are eligible to claim.
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Send your inquiry using the contact form on our website
- Chat with an advisor instantly using the live chat feature below
Other Guides Related To Personal Injury Claims
You can find further information on personal injury claims in our other guides:
- See our case study guide exploring the process of claiming compensation for a broken wrist sustained in an accident at work.
- Did you sustain an injury after an accident on a public bus? If so, see our guide for further help.
- Find out how to make a claim if you slipped on water in a bathroom.
You may also find the following resources to be helpful:
- See the government guide on checking your insurance policies to see what cover you have after an accident.
- Visit the Health and Safety Executive website for further guidance on managing health and safety risks at work.
- Get information on applying for Statutory Sick Pay.
Contact our advisors for more information on the question, ‘What happens if I lose my personal injury claim?’
