Your personal injury solicitor will need several things to help make your claim. These generally fall into three categories:

• Evidence that helps prove someone else was responsible for your injuries
• Evidence of your injuries (such as medical records)
• Evidence of any expenses you’ve incurred because of your injuries.

We'll need your permission to access your medical records. It's also likely that you'll have to attend an independent medical examination too.

Don’t worry if you don’t have certain documents or items – but in general, the more you have the better. The golden rules are to:

• Keep everything – receipts, letters, emails – that might be useful to your claim
• Take photos of the scene of your accident as soon after the events possible a
• Make a note of any witnesses to your accident and take down their contact details.

Even if you can’t provide evidence of your injuries, don’t be put off making a claim. We’ll investigate the circumstances fully.

If you’ve decided after your initial consultation you’d like to use our services, we’ll start by gathering evidence to build your claim. The evidence we gather will vary from claim to claim, but usually, it is:

• Medical records
• Witness statements
• CCTV.

We’ll also use independent medical experts in your claim. They can assess your injuries and provide information on how those injuries could impact you in the future. Their expert opinion is often crucial when it comes to settling a claim.

Once we’ve gathered the evidence, we’ll take your claim to those responsible for your injury. Depending on your claim, this could be your employer, a supermarket, or a driver of another car. Whoever it is, we’ll be there to represent you throughout.

If they accept fault for your claim, we’ll try to get you interim payments that can help cover any expenses and pay for medical treatments. Any interim payments will be taken from your final compensation amount.

If they’d don’t accept fault or disagree with your compensation amount, we can take your claim to court to settle it. We do try to avoid court but sometimes it’s the best way to get the best outcome for you. However, we’ll always work from your instructions, offering our expert advice at each step.

Every personal injury case is different, so there’s no set amount of compensation you’ll receive. The amount of compensation you’ll get will depend on your circumstances, the severity of your injuries, and their long-term impact.

To work out how much compensation you’re entitled to, we’ll consider factors such as:

• Expenses – including travel expenses to medical appointments, medical equipment, and things that help with practical day-to-day living.
• Loss of earnings – to cover any time you’ve had off work and time off you may need in the future. This figure can also cover matters such as not returning to the same role or not being able to return to work.
• Pain and suffering – caused by your injury or illness.
• Rehabilitation – to help provide the necessary rehabilitation for your recovery and well-being.
• Adaptations – we can help you adapt your home and vehicle after an injury to help with living independently.   
• Care – to provide for any care and support you may need.

You normally have three years to make a personal injury claim for compensation. This is three years from the date of the accident. It can also be three years from the date you became aware your injuries were caused by negligence (in the case of a workplace illness for instance).

The time limit doesn’t apply to:

• Children – you can claim anytime up to their 18^th birthday. They then have until their 21^st birthday to claim.
• People who lack mental capacity – there are no limits for people who lack mental capacity to make their own claim.

Time limits can also be shorter if you’re making a claim after an accident abroad.

We encourage people to contact us as soon as possible so we can assess your claim and relevant time limits.

Most of the claims we handle are on a no win no fee basis, which means:

• You won’t have to pay a penny out of your own pocket
• There is no financial risk to you if your claim is unsuccessful.

You might already have legal cover through legal expenses insurance on your home/car insurance, or through being a member of a trade union.

We’ll discuss all the possible funding options with you during your initial consultation.