UK Personal Injury Solicitor: How to choose the best specialist lawyer to make your compensation claim following an accident anywhere in the UK
On this page you will learn how to know who is the best UK personal injury solicitor to choose to make your claim, how the law differs throughout the UK and how to choose a solicitor if you suffer an accident in a Commonwealth country.
Is the law the same in all parts of the UK?
UK Personal Injury Solicitor
“No” – it may surprise you to learn that albeit the law is similar throughout the UK differences do exist.
The UK is divided into three jurisdictions. A “jurisdiction” is a country or collection of countries where the law is exactly the same.
The three jurisdictions in the UK are:
1. England and Wales;
2. Scotland; and
3. Northern Ireland.
The Isle Of Man is sometimes mistakenly believed to part of the UK. It is not – it is part of the British Isles and is a self governing kingdom with its own parliament.
How do you know which law applies to your personal injury compensation claim?
The answer to this question is simple – the place you suffered your accident decides which country’s law applies to your compensation claim.
Imagine your home is in England, but you were injured whilst travelling in Scotland. To make a compensation claim you would have to start your claim in the Scottish courts under Scottish law.
There are few notable exceptions to the example above, including: accidents which occur as part of a package holiday, road accidents, travel on planes and boats.
Which UK personal injury solicitor should you choose to make your compensation claim?
You must choose a UK personal injury solicitor who practices in the country or jurisdiction where your accident happened (other than if your accident fell within one of the exceptions set out earlier).
If you had an accident in Scotland – you should choose a solicitor in Scotland. An English solicitor would not be qualified to make your accident claim in the Scottish courts.
If you had an accident in England or Wales – as the law is the same – you could choose a solicitor from either country.
How do you decide who is the best UK personal injury solicitor to contact to make your compensation claim?
You will be please to know that deciding who is the best personal injury claim solicitor to contact in the UK to make your compensation claim is quite straight forward.
You need only follow the steps below:
1. See our personal injury accredited lawyer article to discover the importance of choosing a personal injury accredited solicitor (previously – Law Society personal injury panel solicitor).
The accreditation scheme applies to solicitors in England and Wales only.
2. Consider which part of the UK you suffered your accident
Remember – you should choose a UK personal injury lawyer who practices law in the country of the UK you suffered your accident.
3. See our specialist solicitor online / telephone help to ask us a question or arrange for a free callback from a personal injury specialist to discuss your potential claim.
4. Contact the Law Society for the relevant part of the UK
How can you check if your UK personal injury solicitor is a recognised specialist?
To check if a solicitor is accredited in the different countries that make up the UK – you can use the following links:
i. Accidents in England or Wales
Use the Law Society Of England & Wales solicitor search facility to find a lawyer – the solicitor search will also show if the law firm is accredited.
ii. Accidents in Scotland
The Law Society in Scotland classes personal injury as: litigation – accidents, injury, criminal injury compensation
Use the Law Society Of Scotland find a solicitor facility to find an accident lawyer (currently there is no accreditation scheme in Scotland)
iii. Accidents in Northern Ireland
The Law Society in Northern Ireland refers to personal injury as: accidents (including personal injuries).
Use the Law Society Of Northern Ireland search – to find an accident solicitor (currently there is no accreditation scheme in Northern Ireland).
iv. Accidents in the Isle of Man
The Isle of Man is part of the British Isles and not the UK, but it is useful to know the relevant Law Society.
Use the Isle Of Man Law Society search (shown as find an advocate on the top right hand side of the site with a small magnifying glass symbol) to find an advocate on the Isle of Man.
Are there any other nations similar to the UK where a Law Society exists that will allow you to search for a personal injury specialist?
“Yes” – Great Britain has had a profound effect on many legal systems throughout the world.
Most Commonwealth or ex Commonwealth countries have a Law Society similar in principle to that in the UK, including:
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Uganda.
UK Personal Injury Solicitor Summary
On this page you have learned that the law differs throughout the UK, how to choose the best UK personal injury solicitor to contact to make your claim and how to choose specialist solicitors in the majority of Commonwealth and ex Commonwealth countries.
Specialist Personal Injury Solicitors Free Online Help & Resources
See our accident compensation claim article for claims process information for all manner of personal injury claims or select an article from our online user personal injury Q & A / FAQ .
You can at any time select from our specialist solicitor free online / telephone help options – which includes asking your own online question and having your claim assessed.
