Suffering illness or injury due to another party’s negligence can cause extreme pain and distress, financial loss, and even long-term health complications.
If you live in England or Wales, tort law allows you to seek compensation by making a personal injury claim if another party has failed in their duty of care to you.
Personal injury claims cover a broad range of situations, including workplace accidents, road traffic accidents, and slips, trips, and falls.
They don’t just cover physical injuries either; there’s also scope to claim for psychological trauma, long-term occupational illnesses, and subsequent financial losses.
However, the personal injury claims process can be complicated, with claimants required to establish liability and provide evidence of their injuries and any resulting financial losses.
At Mark Reynolds Solicitors, we offer a no-win, no-fee personal injury claims service.
Over time, we’ve helped thousands of people from Liverpool, Leigh, Runcorn, and Warrington to claim personal injury compensation for accidents that weren’t their fault.
This complete guide to personal injury claims explains how the process works, who can make a claim, and how much compensation you may be entitled to.
Contents:
-What is a personal injury claim?
-What types of personal injury can you claim compensation for?
-How long does a personal injury claim take?
-What proof do I need to make a personal injury claim?
-How does the personal injury claims process work? (step-by-step)
-What can you claim compensation for in a personal injury claim?
-How is a personal injury claim valued?
-How much compensation could you receive for a personal injury?
What is a personal injury claim?
Personal injury claims are used to help people claim compensation after they suffer physical or psychological harm due to another party’s negligence or breach of duty of care.
Key requirements for making a personal injury claim are as follows:
-The responsible party owed you a duty of care
-You can prove that the responsible party breached that duty of care
-The breach directly caused your injuries or illness and subsequent losses
A personal injury claim cannot be used to claim compensation if an accident has occurred, but no one is at fault.
What types of personal injury can you claim compensation for?
A personal injury could happen anywhere and to anyone.
We’ve listed some of the most common types of personal injury claims that we handle below:
- Road traffic accidents: Covers claims for road traffic accidents involving cars, motorbikes, bicycles, pedestrians, and all other road users
- Accidents at work: Claims for injuries sustained at work due to unsafe working practices, inadequate training, defective equipment, or an employee otherwise failing to meet their health and safety obligations
- Industrial disease: Claims for illnesses caused by unsafe working conditions, including prolonged exposure to harmful substances like asbestos
- Criminal injury: Claims for people who have been physically or psychologically injured during, or because of, a violent crime
- Abuse claims and sexual abuse claims: Covers claims brought by survivors of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse
- Civil actions against the police: Claims where a person has suffered injury due to police misconduct such as assault or false imprisonment
- MOD compensation claims: Claims against the Ministry of Defence for injuries or illnesses caused by negligence during military service or while working for the MOD
- Armed forces compensation claims: Applications for compensation under the government scheme for serving and former members of the Armed Forces who have been injured or become ill as a result of service
- Product liability claims: Claims for injuries caused by defective, unsafe, or faulty products
- Accidents abroad: Claims for injuries sustained while travelling abroad, including package holidays and hotel accidents
- Housing disrepair: Claims where poor housing conditions like damp, mould, and faulty electrics have caused illness or injury
How long does a personal injury claim take?
How long it will take to receive compensation after making a personal injury claim really depends on the complexity of the case.
On average, most personal injury compensation claims take around 12 to 18 months to settle.
However, simple cases may be resolved within six months if fault is admitted quickly, and complex cases involving very serious injuries could take over two years to settle.
While much of the process is out of your hands, you may be able to speed things up by responding promptly to requests for information, providing supporting evidence as soon as possible, and attending any medical assessments without delay.
What proof do I need to make a personal injury claim?
Providing the right evidence is key to making a successful personal injury claim.
Your personal injury solicitors will explain what evidence you must provide; this will vary depending on the circumstances of the individual claim.
There are two main types of evidence:
| Evidence to prove liability | Evidence of your injuries and financial losses |
| Photographs or videos of the accident scene | Medical records and independent medical reports |
| Photographs of any hazards or defects that contributed to the accident | Photographs of your injuries |
| CCTV or dashcam footage | Notes about calls or conversations with your GP |
| Police or accident reports | Evidence of any care or assistance you’ve needed from family, friends, or professional carers |
| Written account of what happened | A diary recording your symptoms and recovery |
| Witness statements | Receipts and invoices for medical treatment, travel, and other expenses |
| Notes about calls or conversations with insurance companies | Payslips or other evidence of lost earnings |
If the person held responsible denies liability or disputes the value of your claim, then you may be asked to provide further evidence.
Your no-win, no-fee personal injury solicitor can advise you on what additional evidence may help to strengthen your case.
How does the personal injury claims process work? A step-by-step guide
Making a personal injury claim can be a daunting process, particularly if you’re still recovering from an injury.
Our team of personal injury solicitors provide expert legal advice and support during every step of the process.
Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to what to expect when making a personal injury claim.
Step 1: Contact us to receive a free initial consultation
During a free initial consultation, you’ll speak to one of our specialist personal injury solicitors. We’ll ask you some questions about what has happened and advise you on whether you have a case to claim for compensation.
Step 2: Work out who is responsible
Now we need to work out who is at fault for your illness or injury, so we know who to make the claim against. Once we have figured this out, we notify the person, company, or their insurer of your claim.
Step 3: Gather information
We then begin gathering information to build your case by asking you questions about what happened. We will help you collect valuable evidence that proves the injuries you have sustained, the resulting financial losses you have suffered, and the other party’s liability.
Step 4: Medical assessments
You may need to attend a professional medical assessment to establish the extent of your injuries, what treatment is required, the impact the injuries will have on your life, and how long they are likely to affect you for.
Step 5: Interim payments
If you require immediate help covering medical expenses, then we may be able to help arrange interim payments to fund your treatment or rehabilitation. Any interim payments you receive will be deducted from your final personal injury compensation award.
Step 6: Submit your claim
Once we have all the information and evidence required, we will work with you to submit your claim.
Step 7: Negotiations
After calculating how much compensation you deserve, we will enter negotiations with your defendant’s insurer or solicitors. In straightforward cases, settlements are usually agreed quite quickly. However, if liability or the value of the claim is disputed, then it may take a while to negotiate a figure that’s acceptable for everyone.
Step 8: Court (if required)
If an agreement cannot be reached through negotiation, then the claim may need to go to court. If this is the case, a judge will examine the evidence during a court hearing and decide how much compensation to award.
Step 9: Settlement
Once an agreement has been reached, or the court has made a decision, it must be determined how you will receive your payment. Usually, compensation is paid to you in a lump sum once your claim has been completed, but sometimes the court orders it to be paid in instalments if it covers long-term care costs.
What can you claim compensation for in a personal injury claim?
When claiming compensation for a personal injury, general damages compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury.
However, you may also be able to claim for other damages the injury has caused you, such as loss of income and other expenses like medical treatment and ongoing care costs.
Depending on the circumstances of your case, your personal injury settlement could include several different types of compensation, as outlined below:
| Type of compensation | What does it cover? |
| General damages | Compensation for your pain and suffering |
| Loss of earnings | Compensation for income you have lost because your injuries prevented you from working |
| Special damages | Compensation for financial losses and expenses relating to your injury – such as medical treatment, rehabilitation, travel costs, and prescription charges |
| Care and assistance | Reimbursement for the cost of professional care or care provided by friends or family members during your recovery |
| Fatal accident claims | If a family member has died due to another party’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for bereavement and other losses |
| Dependency claims | If the person who died provided financial support to dependants, they may be able to claim compensation for loss of financial support |
How is a personal injury claim valued?
Calculating a compensation claim for personal injury is not always straightforward because individual circumstances can vary considerably.
The main principle is that the amount of compensation you can claim is usually proportional to the extent of the injury you have sustained.
Therefore, the more severe your injury and its physical and mental repercussions, the higher the amount of compensation you could receive.
Your personal injury solicitor will assess how much compensation you may be entitled to based on the nature of the injury and how it has impacted you.
When valuing damages, solicitors use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which provide advisory compensation brackets for personal injuries (general damages only) in England and Wales.
The JCG is widely used by solicitors, courts, and insurers as a benchmark when valuing personal injury claims.
The guidelines are updated regularly to account for the changing economy.
They were last updated in April 2026, when the 18th edition of the guidelines was published.
How much compensation could you receive for a personal injury?
Before making a personal injury claim, it’s natural to be curious about how much compensation you could expect to receive.
The table below provides examples of guideline compensation ranges for various personal injuries, taken from the 18th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines published in 2026.
| Type of claim | Type of injury | Severity | Typical compensation range |
| Car accident | Arm fracture | Minor | £8,730 – £25,370 |
| Car accident | Neck injury | Moderate | £10,420 – £50,850 |
| Car accident | PTSD | Moderate | £10,810 – £30,580 |
| Brain and head | Brain injury | Minor | £2,920 – £16,870 |
| Brain and head | Brain damage | Severe | £289,420 – £372,570 |
| Back injury | Back injury | Minor | £3,240 – £16,520 |
| Back injury | Back pain | Severe | £55,660 – £110,990 |
| Workplace accident | Fall from height (back injury) | Moderate-Severe | £16,520 – £212,670 |
| Workplace accident | Occupational dermatitis | Minor-Severe | £2,260 – £25,370 |
| Public liability | Slip on wet floor | Moderate-Severe | £1,620 – £32,480 |
| Public liability | Falls on defective payment | Moderate-Severe | £2,170 – £48,720 |
| Medical negligence | Misdiagnosis of serious illness | – | £21,650 – £270,650 |
| Medical negligence | Birth injuries (to the mother) | Minor-Severe | £8,660 – £108,260+ |
| Industrial disease | Noise-induced hearing loss | Minor-Severe | £9,720 – £119,890 |
| Product liability | Contaminated food | Minor-Severe | £1,200 – £27,070 |
This is only a small sample of the injury categories covered by the JCG, and the figures are intended as a guide rather than a guarantee.
Every personal injury claim is assessed according to its individual circumstances.
These figures only relate to general damages, not special damages like loss of earnings or treatment and care costs – these are calculated separately and then added to your overall compensation award.
Receive a free initial consultation with a personal injury solicitor
If you’ve been involved in an accident and sustained injuries because of someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
At Mark Reynolds Solicitors, our no-win, no-fee personal injury claims service aims to make a complicated process as straightforward and stress-free as possible.
We will provide compassionate legal advice and support throughout every step of the process, helping you secure the maximum amount of compensation you are entitled to.
Call us today on 0800 002 9577 for a free initial consultation, or fill in our online contact form, and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
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