Compensation Claim Step By Step Guide: The basics to making a personal injury claim

When you have suffered injuries in an accident you will have questions which you would like answered before you contact a solicitor to make your compensation claim. Alternatively – you might already be using a solicitor and yet still have unresolved questions.

In this article – we have drawn on our experience as a specialist personal injury lawyers with over 20 years experience to answer questions you might have about: what to do following an accident, how you can obtain to get free initial advice from a qualified solicitor, whether to make a claim yourself, how to find and contact the best solicitor, the various stages of UK court proceedings with legal terminology explained in plain English.

How do you use this compensation claim guide?

Using the compensation claim guide is simple. Articles are listed under headings – describing the types of issue each article will answer. Each article has a link to the detailed page and has a summary under the link describing in more detail what the page includes.

If you have been involved in an accident, have contracted an industrial disease or suffered from clinical negligence – we suggest you look at the headings and click on the page listed underneath which is of most interest. Or follow the headings in order (we think you will find all of these pages helpful and revealing) or click a link next to my photograph at the top of this page for immediate online specialist solicitor assistance.

Considerations immediately following an accident?

Attending At Hospital / GP Following An Accident

Discover the importance of attending at hospital (or your GP) soon after your accident to ensure your are treated and proper records are made on your medical notes which can be referred to by your solicitor at a later time.

Records And Checks Before Claiming Compensation

Whether you have commenced a claim or still deciding whether to claim – there are a number of records that only you can keep and some checks you should make, which will give you the best opportunity of succeeding in a claim for compensation.

What is the process to claim compensation if you have been involved in an accident in the UK or overseas?

How to claim

Discover the best way to claim compensation for an accident in the UK and how to claim compensation from the UK if you have been injured abroad.

Which country to claim from

The United Kingdom is made up of different countries, which have a slightly different legal system. Discover how to know which country you should make your claim from when you have an accident in the UK.

How do you get free legal help from a qualified compensation claim solicitor?

Accident solicitor

This page discusses when you should consider making a compensation claim without the help of a solicitor, the benefit of speaking to a specialist lawyer before you decide whether to make your own claim and how to have the help of a specialist compensation claims solicitor without incurring expense.

Personal injury solicitor

Find out why it is generally the most cost effective approach to use a personal injury solicitor to make your compensation claim, how to know which lawyer has the correct expertise to make your claim and how to ensure you can claim your legal costs in addition to your compensation from the person you hold legally at fault for your accident.

Free legal advice

Click on this link to find out how you can receive free legal advice on the internet and whether that advice is in actual fact free.

How do you choose the best accident claim solicitor to make your claim?

UK personal injury solicitor

Discover how to select a UK compensation claims solicitor for injuries following accidents at home and abroad (including road traffic accidents, work injuries, industrial disease, medical claims, etc); the importance of checking an injury lawyer’s level of expertise before signing an agreement.

Litigation solicitor UK

What is a litigation solicitor and how do you find a solicitor with experience of winning compensation claims at court.

Which court should you start your claim in?

Compensation claim Scotland

Find out how the law is different across the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) such that If you have an accident in Scotland you should use a Scottish lawyer and the courts in Scotland to make your compensation claim.

County Court

Find out how much personal injury claim should be worth to commence a claim in the County Court and where in the country the final trial of your civil case is likely to be heard.

Small Claims Court

Click this link for useful tips if you believe your injury claim might be minor enough to be classed as a small claim and you are contemplating starting a claim in the small claims court.

Legal expertise you will benefit from on the accident claim expert website

About Kevin Bolton Solicitor

Click this link to find out all about Kevin Bolton Solicitor, the Accident Claim Expert – legal expertise and personal experience of accident compensation claims.

Vegan Personal Injury Solicitors

We are proud to be whole food plant based diet solicitors. Find out how this affects our approach to helping accident victims – including offering free initial help and assistance.

Legal Terms

Legal dictionary

Find complicated legal words and phrases explained in plain English with a definition request facility for any terms not included within the dictionary.

Allocation questionnaire

Find out the three tracks a civil claim for compensation following an accident in the UK can be allocated to – includes the small claims track, the fast track and the multi track.

Calderbank offer

See how a Calderbank offer can be used by a Defendant to attempt to settle your personal injury claim whilst restricting the amount of costs you can obtain and how to counter these effects.

Case management conference

Find out when and where a CMC takes place and the importance of having a solicitor act on your behalf at this essential court hearing.

Civil court cases UK

Discover the documentation necessary to start a civil accident claim in the UK courts.

Default Judgment

How the court determines the issue of fault when the person at fault does not submit a Defence to your personal injury claim.

Denial of liability

Discover the implications when the person you hold responsible for your accident denies fault and how an accident solicitor can force the Defendant to pay your compensation.

Disclosure list of documents

A disclosure list of documents describes a list by which both you and the person at fault provide details of all the relevant evidence you have to support your claim to the court and the other side.

Going To Court

The process of going to court for a final trial to determine who is at fault for your accident claim and the amount of compensation you should recover.

Issue court proceedings

Find out how to make a court claim for compensation if the person you believe responsible for your accident or his insurance company refuses to pay your claim.

Letter of claim

The letter of claim is a formal document used to notify the person at fault of your claim – this page explains what a letter of claim should include to be effective in starting your claim for compensation.

Litigation friend

If you are a child injured in an accident or suffering from a mental impairment as an adult – you will need a litigation friend to help you claim compensation. In this article we explain everything you need to know about litigation friends, including who can be your litigation friend and how one is appointed to your claim.

Part 36 offer

A Part 36 offer is a formal offer used in an attempt to settle all or part of a personal injury claim – both a Claimant and a Defendant can make an offer. There are risks of not accepting an offer depending on who has made the offer.

Without prejudice offer

Click for a full explanation of what the legal phrase “without prejudice offer” or “without admission of liability” means to your claim and when you should accept such offers.

What businesses to avoid & scams to look out for

Don’t be caught out by businesses, which have no legal expertise, including:

Accident claims company

Find out the pitfalls of using an accident claims company as compared with a specialist injury solicitor direct.

Telephone number spoofing

Find out what to do when a scam business is hiding their true number via spoofing, whilst cold calling members of the public to suggest making a fraudulent claim.

How do you get free online legal help from specialist solicitors

We offer free specialist solicitor online and telephone help – you can select from a number of free help options our website provides, accessing claim guides, speaking direct with a solicitor or having your claim assessed online.

Compensation Claim Summary

On this page many of the basic compensation claim questions you will have following an accident have been answered.

We recommend you:

Click accident claim solicitor to find out how to get legal help at no cost to yourself – even if you wish to run your own “compensation claim“.