What is a Personal Injury Claim?
A personal injury claim is a way of seeking compensation after you have been injured or made ill because someone else was at fault. That could mean an accident at work, a road traffic accident, a slip or trip in a public place, or harm caused by medical negligence. Personal injury law can also cover industrial diseases, such as asbestos-related illnesses, as well as psychological injuries in the right circumstances.
Not every injury will lead to a valid claim. In general, you will need to show that another party owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused your injury or illness as a result.
Who Can Make a Personal Injury Claim?
You may be able to make a personal injury claim if you were injured or became ill because of another party’s negligence. In successful cases, compensation can help to reflect the pain and suffering 
you have experienced, while also covering the financial impact the injury has had on your life.
For many people, the financial side matters just as much as the injury itself. You may need time off work, help with travel costs, treatment expenses, care costs, or support at home while you recover. A claim can include compensation for these losses where they can be proved.
Some people also want answers and accountability. While a personal injury claim is mainly a civil process for recovering compensation, it can still give people a sense that what happened to them has been properly recognised. In some cases, it may also encourage safer practices in the future, even though that is not the main purpose of the claim itself.
If the injured person is a child or lacks the mental capacity to deal with the claim themselves, the case can usually be handled by a litigation friend acting on their behalf.
Personal Injury Claims Time Limit
Most personal injury claims must be started within 3 years. Usually, that 3-year period runs from the date of the accident. In some cases, it runs from the claimant’s ‘date of knowledge’ instead. This means the date when they first knew, or could reasonably have known, that their injury was significant and linked to the act or omission alleged to have caused it.
There are some important exceptions to the usual 3-year rule. For children, the time limit normally does not begin to run until their 18th birthday. For people who lack mental capacity, limitation can be suspended while that lack of capacity continues.
Fatal claims can work differently, too. Where a claim is brought following a death, the time limit may run from the date of death or from the date of knowledge of the person bringing the claim, depending on the situation.
It is also worth knowing that missing the usual limitation deadline does not automatically end every case. In some personal injury claims, the court has discretion to allow a claim to continue out of time if it would be fair to do so.
If your accident happened outside the UK, different rules may apply. The time limit and the law that governs the claim can depend on where the accident happened and the circumstances of the case.
Should You Contact a Personal Injury Solicitor?
Many people choose to speak to a personal injury solicitor because claims can be more complicated than they first appear. Even where it seems obvious that someone else was at fault, you may still need evidence to prove what happened, show who was responsible, and demonstrate how the injury has affected you.
A solicitor can help gather evidence, obtain medical records and reports, value your claim properly, deal with the other side, and make sure the case is handled within the correct time limit. That does not mean it is impossible to pursue a claim without legal help, but many people feel more comfortable having expert advice, especially where the injury is serious or liability is disputed.
If you are worried about the cost of legal advice, our panel of personal injury solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee claims service, which is usually known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. Under this type of arrangement, you do not normally pay your solicitor’s fee upfront. If the claim succeeds, a success fee is usually deducted from your compensation.
As with any funding arrangement, the exact terms matter, so it is always worth checking the agreement carefully before going ahead.
