Civil Court Cases UK: Solicitor sets how to start a civil claim at court for injury compensation following an accident
Find out what a civil claim is, the most common types of civil court cases UK and the documents necessary to start your injury claim at court.
What are civil court cases UK?
“Civil court cases UK” is a term to describe all actions or claims which have been started in a court in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
A civil case – is a claim considered part of the civil law – in other words claims that are not criminal matters. These might be contractual disputes or compensation claims – such as road traffic accident claims, clinical negligence, work injury, industrial disease, etc.
A civil case is therefore dealt with by the civil courts – the county court or the high court.
Civil court cases UK – are dealt with in England and Wales in accordance with a set of rules known as the Civil Procedure Rules 1998.
What are the most common types of civil court cases in the UK?
By far the most common type of civil court case UK are claims for injury compensation following accidents or negligence.
The two most common types of accident claim are road traffic accidents and work injury claims.
Other types of accident claims include: occupational disease claims (injuries which develop from exposure to hazardous work conditions over an extended period of time); occupier’s liability (accidents in shops, supermarkets or whilst on another person’s premises); clinical negligence (medical errors by a GP or hospital); dental negligence (mistakes by dentists); slips and trips (claims against the council for pavement and highway accidents); holiday accidents (injuries overseas whilst on a package holiday or whilst travelling); child injuries (compensation settlements for children must involve court authorisation before acceptance by parents) and fatal accidents (claims for death).
Civil Court Case Preparation
What documents do you need to start your civil court case UK?
To start a civil court case UK you must issue proceedings at court.
Using an accident claim as an example – in England and Wales to issue proceedings you must provide the following documentation to the civil court:
1. The claim form
The claim form can be obtained from your local county court or online.
The claim form is a document on which you must complete: a brief description as to the allegations of your claim, the type of compensation you are claiming, the amount of compensation you are seeking and details of any solicitors acting on your behalf.
2. Particulars of claim
The particulars of claim is a detailed document setting out the events surrounding your accident, the reasons you believe the person you are making your claim against is at fault (allegations of negligence), a description of your injuries (both physical and psychological), a description of your financial losses and a claim for interest.
The particulars of claim will also refer to a medical report and a schedule of special damages.
3. Schedule of Specials Damages
A schedule of special damages is a document which lists details of all the financial losses and expenses you have already incurred as a direct result of your accident. This might include lost income, travel expenses, medical expenses, etc.
If you have continuing financial losses – I find it helpful to state on the schedule of special damages that losses are continuing and this will ensure ongoing losses form part of your civil court case UK.
For example – if you are still off work from a job in which you earn £1,000 net per month, you might state on your schedule that lost income is continuing at the rate of £1,000 per month.
4. Medical Report
To commence proceedings at court it is necessary to send to court a medical expert report detailing all your physical and psychological injuries.
This medical report is used to prove you have suffered injury. The independent medical expert report will describe the exact nature of your original injuries; the continuing symptoms you are experiencing with a concluding opinion as to how long it is likely any symptoms will last into the future (medical prognosis).
5. Notice of funding
In England and Wales the court wishes you to state how your claim is being funded – to do this you must provide to the court a “notice of funding”.
Funding options include: private client, no win no fee, before the event legal insurance policy (sometimes called BTE), after the event insurance policy (sometimes called ATE) or legal aid (legal aid is only available for a very limited number of types of injury claims in the UK – clinical negligence being one such injury type).
6. Court Fee
To issue civil court cases UK – you must pay a court fee. The amount of court fee varies depending on the amount of compensation which you allege you are due from the person at fault. The larger the claim the larger the court fee.
Remember – at the end of your claim you can claim the court fee from the person at fault in addition to your compensation.
Do you need the help of a solicitor to issue proceedings at court?
”Yes” – if you are thinking of issuing proceedings at court without having consulted a specialist solicitor then please take a moment and stop.
Using an accident claim solicitor will ensure you receive a larger amount of compensation; you have better chances of winning your claim and the legal expense of a solicitor can be claimed in addition to your compensation from the person responsible.
Civil Court Cases UK Summery
On this page we have described the most common types of civil court cases UK and the documentation which is necessary to start an injury claim in England and Wales.
Click personal injury claims solicitor free help to ask an online question prior to you starting your civil court case.
