Personal injury solicitors for clients throughout England & Wales
England & Wales
Most people who contact us have never dealt with a solicitor before and have no idea what happens next. That is completely normal. This page explains the whole journey in plain English, from the first conversation through to the point where a claim is resolved, so you know what to expect at each stage.
Not every claim follows every step below. The route a claim takes depends on whether responsibility is accepted, how serious the injury is, and whether the insurer engages sensibly. We will always tell you where your own claim stands.
Our solicitors assess whether you have grounds to claim, work out who may be responsible, gather the evidence that supports your account of what happened, arrange medical evidence about your injury, investigate the financial losses it has caused, communicate with the defendant and their insurer, negotiate the compensation, and pursue court proceedings where they become necessary. In serious cases they also consider rehabilitation and future care needs.
Put more simply, the job is to take something that happened to you and turn it into a case that can be argued and, if necessary, proven. That involves a good deal of work that is not visible from the outside: reading medical records, chasing documents, corresponding with insurers who are often slow to respond, and making sure nothing that matters has been overlooked.
Not every case goes through every stage described on this page. Where responsibility is admitted early and the injury is straightforward, a claim can be resolved quite quickly. Where liability is disputed, or the injury is serious and still developing, the process takes longer and involves more of the steps below. We will tell you which of them are likely to apply to you.
Everything begins with a conversation. You tell us what happened, when it happened and what injury you suffered, and we look at whether there is someone who may have owed you a duty of care and failed in it. There is no charge for this and no obligation to take anything further afterwards.
It helps if you can tell us roughly where the accident happened, who else was involved, whether the police or anyone at work was notified, and whether you have seen a doctor. If you have photographs, a police reference or an accident report, those are useful, but do not worry if you have nothing to hand. We can work with what you can remember, and we can look into records afterwards.
What we do not do at this stage is promise you anything. An initial assessment is exactly that. It is a view on whether there appear to be grounds to investigate further, not a guarantee that a claim will be accepted or will succeed. If we think a claim is not worth pursuing, we will say so rather than let it drift.
These are the stages a claim moves through. Some run alongside each other rather than strictly one after another, and a straightforward claim may touch only a few of them.
You complete the free assessment or telephone the team. We take the basic facts and find out how the injury has affected your day to day life, because that detail matters later when the claim is valued.
We consider who may have owed you a duty of care, how that duty may have been broken, what evidence could support your account, and whether there are likely to be arguments about who was responsible. We also consider the limitation deadline, so nothing is left too late.
Before anything is signed, we explain how the claim would be paid for, what happens if it succeeds and what happens if it does not. Nothing proceeds until you have had that explained and have decided you are happy to go ahead.
Where the claim is accepted, we collect what supports it. Depending on the kind of accident, that may include an accident report, photographs, CCTV if it still exists, witness details, a police report, employer records, maintenance or inspection logs, and your medical records.
An independent medical expert examines you and reports on your injury, how it is likely to develop and what treatment you may need. Where the injury is serious or complex, more than one specialist may be needed, and reports may be obtained more than once as the injury changes.
In suitable cases we look at whether treatment or rehabilitation can be arranged sooner rather than later, sometimes funded by the insurer or through an interim payment. This is most relevant in serious injuries, where early rehabilitation can make a real difference to recovery.
Alongside the injury itself, we look at what the accident has cost you. That can include lost earnings, treatment and travel costs, care and help around the home, and in serious cases the cost of equipment, adaptations and future care. Losses have to be evidenced, so we gather payslips, accounts and receipts where they exist.
We put the claim to the defendant or their insurer, supported by the evidence, and negotiate on your behalf. Insurers often make an early offer. We will tell you what it is worth against the evidence, and whether we think it should be accepted or challenged.
If the other side will not engage, disputes responsibility, or the claim cannot be agreed, court proceedings may be issued. This protects the claim and often prompts a settlement. Many claims resolve after proceedings begin without ever reaching a hearing.
When the claim is settled, the compensation is paid and the financial arrangements are concluded. Where a settlement involves a child or someone who lacks capacity, it must be approved by the court, which is a protection rather than an obstacle.
The order and number of these stages varies. A claim where responsibility is admitted for a straightforward injury may well move through stages one to five and then settle. A disputed claim involving a serious injury may involve all of them, over a period of years.
Each of these areas of work carries its own questions and its own detail. These are the parts of a claim we handle, with the pages that go into them more fully.
Working out who may have been responsible, what duty they owed you and how they may have fallen short of it. This means looking honestly at the difficult arguments too, including whether any of the blame may rest with you and how that would affect the claim.
See the claim types we handleCollecting what supports your account, from accident reports and photographs to witness details, police reports, employer documentation, CCTV where it can still be retrieved, and maintenance or inspection records. Not every piece of evidence is available in every case, and some of it has to be requested quickly before it is lost.
Read our guides and adviceArranging independent medical assessment of your injury, how it has affected you and how it is likely to develop. The expert's view on prognosis is central to valuing a claim, which is why serious injuries often require more than one report, obtained at intervals as the picture becomes clearer.
See the injuries we deal withConsidering whether treatment, therapy or rehabilitation can be arranged, and whether it can be funded by the insurer or through an interim payment rather than waiting until the claim concludes. We cannot promise privately funded treatment in every case, but where it is achievable it is usually better than waiting.
About psychological injuriesSeparating general damages, which compensate for the injury itself, from special damages, which cover the financial losses it caused. Putting a figure on a claim means working through both, and being able to justify each element with evidence rather than assertion.
How compensation is assessedClaiming for earnings you have already lost and, where the injury affects your ability to work in future, for what you would have earned had the accident not happened. For the self employed and company directors this needs accounts, tax records and sometimes an accountant's evidence.
What compensation can coverSeeking payments on account of compensation before the claim settles, most often to fund treatment, care or everyday costs while it continues. They are not available in every case and usually need an admission of liability or a court order, so we will tell you honestly whether one is realistic in your circumstances.
More on compensationConducting the correspondence, putting the claim forward and pushing for a proper figure. This includes advising you on early settlement offers, which are often lower than a claim is worth and are sometimes made before the medical evidence is complete, at a point when nobody can properly value it.
Guides on how claims workIssuing proceedings where the claim cannot be agreed or the other side will not engage, and running the case through to a hearing if it comes to that. The great majority of claims settle through negotiation rather than trial, but proceedings are sometimes necessary to protect your position.
The full claim processThe additional work serious claims involve: long term rehabilitation, care and assistance, equipment, adaptations to the home, future earnings, and in some cases pension loss. These claims need a wider range of expert evidence and considerably more planning, over a much longer period.
Serious injury claimsSuitable personal injury cases may be accepted under a Conditional Fee Agreement, more commonly known as No Win No Fee. In simple terms, if the claim does not succeed, you do not pay the legal fees for the work done on it under that agreement.
If the claim succeeds, a success fee may become payable, and there may be other deductions. What those are, and how they are worked out, will be explained to you before you decide whether to proceed, so you are never agreeing to something you have not had set out clearly.
Acceptance is never automatic. Whether a case can be taken on depends on an assessment of responsibility, the evidence available, the prospects of success, whether the claim is proportionate to the work it would involve, and the likely level of compensation. We will tell you the position on your own case rather than offering a general promise.
The steps above apply whatever kind of accident caused the injury. What changes is who the claim is brought against and what evidence tends to matter. These pages explain how the process works for each situation.
It starts with an assessment. You tell us what happened, when it happened and what injury you suffered, and we look at whether there is someone who may have owed you a duty of care and failed in it. That first look is free and carries no obligation. If it appears there are grounds to claim, we explain what the next steps would be and what funding would involve before you decide anything.
Your case is handled by solicitors at MB Solicitors, trading name of MB Legal Solicitors Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Injury Law Specialists is the platform through which your enquiry is made. Once your case is accepted, the solicitor dealing with it is your point of contact, and any solicitor and client relationship is between you and the firm.
For a straightforward injury, an appointment is often arranged within a few weeks and the report follows shortly afterwards. Where the injury is more serious, or where evidence is needed from several specialists, it takes longer. Experts in particular fields can have waiting lists, and some reports are deliberately delayed until the injury has stabilised so that the prognosis is reliable.
In most cases, no. The majority of personal injury claims settle through negotiation with the defendant's insurer without a hearing. That said, court proceedings are sometimes issued, usually because liability is disputed, because the defendant is not engaging, or because the limitation deadline is approaching and the claim needs protecting. Issuing proceedings does not mean a trial will follow, as many claims still settle after proceedings begin.
General damages compensate for the injury itself and its effect on your life, including pain, suffering and the things you can no longer do. Special damages cover the financial losses the injury has caused, such as lost earnings, treatment costs, travel and care. Both are claimed in the same case, but they are assessed differently and are supported by different types of evidence.
Often you can. Where an accident is partly your responsibility, compensation is usually reduced to reflect your share of the blame rather than refused altogether. This is known as contributory negligence. The reduction is expressed as a percentage and applied to the total value of the claim, so it is worth taking advice rather than assuming a claim is not possible.
An interim payment is money paid on account of your compensation before the claim is finally settled. It is most often used to fund treatment, rehabilitation, care, equipment or everyday costs while the claim is ongoing. Interim payments are not available in every case, and usually require an admission of liability or a court order, but where they can be obtained they make a practical difference.
Where agreement cannot be reached, the claim can be decided by the court, either at a hearing or through a settlement process such as a joint settlement meeting where both sides put their positions and a negotiated figure is explored. Valuing a serious injury is often a matter of genuine disagreement rather than stubbornness, and a judge applies the same guidelines that both sides have been working from.
The answers above explain the position generally. Every claim turns on its own facts, and the applicable rules are those in force at the relevant time.
Injury Law Specialists is a marketing and advertising platform and is not a law firm or a provider of regulated legal services. All personal injury legal advice, legal services, casework, representation, legal support, and any free initial assessment or consultation promoted or arranged through Injury Law Specialists are provided by MB Solicitors, a trading name of MB Legal Solicitors Ltd.
MB Legal Solicitors Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales under Company Number 12281731. The firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under SRA ID 8000764 and is a member of The Law Society. Injury Law Specialists does not itself provide legal advice or carry out reserved legal activities. Any solicitor-client relationship arising from an enquiry will be directly between the client and MB Legal Solicitors Ltd.
Read our Regulatory InformationYou do not need to know whether you have a case before you speak to us. Tell us what happened and a member of our team can explain whether there may be grounds to claim, what evidence would be needed, and how the process would work for you. The assessment is free and there is no obligation to proceed.
