Personal Injury Solicitors
Wellingborough

Making a personal injury compensation claim

Have you had to take time off work to recover from your injuries? Has your daily life been affected? If so, our team can help.

If someone else was responsible for your accident or injuries, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

Every year, we help injured people in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire and throughout the UK. We can help you claim your compensation too.

What happened?

The steps required to win a personal injury claim will depend on what caused your injury or illness.

Please select how you were injured:

Work
accidents

Road
accidents

Public
places

Medical
negligence

Other
accidents

Am I eligible to make a personal injury claim?

The basic criteria for making a claim are that the injury must have occurred:

• in the last three years, and;
• someone else was to blame, and;
• that person owed you a duty of care.

Is there anything else that can affect my eligibility to claim?

Yes. Practically speaking, various other factors can affect whether a successful no win, no fee claim will be possible, such as the specific details of the accident, if there is an uninsured driver involved or whether causation can be established.

If you would like to find out if you have a claim, speak to us now on 0800 376 1001. Alternatively, find out if you have a claim with our Claim Checker.

Can a child claim injury compensation?

If you were injured as a child (under 18), you can start a claim at any time until your 21st birthday.

As an injured child's parent or guardian, you can instruct a solicitor to start a compensation claim on behalf of the child.

Read more:

Claim child injury compensation

How much compensation can I claim for an injury?

The amount of money you could claim for your injury will depend on:

• the extent of your injury, and
• any financial losses or costs you have incurred.

At the start of your claim, your solicitor will consider the many ways your injury has affected your life. Your solicitor will take all of these effects into account to calculate the correct compensation award for you.

General damages

General damages are awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA).

Awards for general damages are set by the Judicial College and published in their guidelines for personal injury awards.

Special damages

Special damages are for financial losses and expenses you have incurred as a result of the accident.

What can I claim for after an injury? (see list)

Examples of special damages (losses you can claim for) include:

• Lost earnings (including future earnings)
• Medical treatment costs
• Physiotherapy
• Travel costs
• Costs of care
• Costs of adapting your home or car

Calculate my injury compensation

Calculating how much compensation you can claim for an injury can be complicated.

Our injury compensation calculator tells you if you may have a claim, how much compensation you could claim, and what you can claim for.

Find out what your injury claim could be worth now:

Serious injury compensation

A serious or catastrophic injury is an injury that leads to life-changing disability or requires long-term treatment and recovery. Serious injuries include brain or spinal injuries, amputation, burns or multiple fractures.

If your life, or the life of a family member, has been affected by a serious injury, we can help.

Our panel of catastrophic injury lawyers will help coordinate with medical professionals and insurance providers to ensure you get the care and financial support you need.

Read more:

Serious and catastrophic injury compensation

Will I need to go into a solicitor's office?

If you are planning to start a claim, you do not need to go to a solicitor's office.

Before you start your claim, you can speak to a trained injury claims advisor about your options.

Whenever you are ready, you can speak to a solicitor. They will address any questions you have, and will take care of each stage of the claims process until you recieve your compensation.

How we can help you

Your solicitor will fight for the best possible compensation settlement for you, and the highly-experienced panel of solicitors have an excellent track record of winning injury claims in Wellingborough and cross the UK.

• FREE
  consultation
• Find out
  if you can claim
• No obligation
  to start a claim

Frequently asked questions

Have you helped many claimants in Wellingborough?

Each year, we help hundreds of injured people in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire and across the country.

Whether you have been injured in a bicycle accident, due to your employer's negligence or in a public park we can introduce you to the right solicitor for your claim.

Is your service 100% No Win, No Fee?

Our no win, no fee service means that 100% of your legal fees are covered if your case is not successful. This means you will never be out of pocket.

Wellingborough personal injury solicitor reviews

The SRA regulate the professional standards of all injury solicitors. Despite this, service levels do vary from firm to firm. Online reviews can make it easier to decide which injury lawyer is the right fit for you.

Read more:

Personal injury lawyer reviews

Can I claim for someone else?

Yes. It is possible to claim compensation on behalf of another person, in the capacity of a 'litigation friend'.

If, for example, an injured person is either too young or vulnerable, too injured or otherwise unable to claim on their own behalf, their litigation friend can handle the claim process for them.

The litigation friend will be responsible for communicating with the personal injury solicitors, and for making decisions in respect of the claim.

Read more:

Read more about claiming on behalf of another person.

Can I claim if I was partly to blame?

Even if you feel you were partly responsible for your accident, you may still be able to claim compensation.

You may also still be able to claim if something you did (or failed to do) meant your injuries were more serious than they might have otherwise been (e.g. you were knocked off your bike, but you weren't wearing a helmet).

If you were partly to blame, this is known as contributory negligence. Successful claims are often made on the basis of contributory negligence, although compensation may be reduced.

Read more:

Claiming compensation if you were partly responsible for an accident.

How long will my claim take?

The time needed to resolve a compensation claim and pay out compensation can vary considerably.

For example, straightforward car accident claims can settle in a matter of weeks, whereas complex medical negligence cases can sometimes take years.

Injury claims can also take longer if it is not clear who is responsible for your injury, or if liability is denied by the defendant.

This table sets out approximately how long personal injury claims take to settle:

Read more about how long personal injury claims take.

Will I have to go to court?

The vast majority of claims that are settled by the solicitor panel are settled out of court.

Only a very small percentage (approx. 2%) of personal injury claims go to court - typically only very complex cases, or those where liability cannot be resolved.

Read more:

Will my injury claim go to court and what if it does?

Can I get an early (interim) compensation payment?

If you suffer financial hardship as a result of an injury, you may be able to claim an interim compensation payment.

An interim payment is a partial settlement of your claim which is paid out to you before your claim is concluded. The amount you receive in interim payments would then be deducted from your final compensation settlement or award.

Read more:

Can I get interim compensation payments?

Author:
Howard Willis, Personal injury solicitor

About the author

Howard qualified as a solicitor in 1984 and has specialised in personal injury for over 25 years. He is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and is a recognised Law Society Personal Injury Panel expert.