Personal Injury Solicitors East Riding of Yorkshire
Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across the East Riding of Yorkshire, from Hull and Hessle on the Humber, through Beverley, Goole, Driffield and Market Weighton inland, to Bridlington and Withernsea on the coast. If you have been injured in an accident that may have been caused by someone else’s negligence, we can review what happened and explain whether you may have grounds to pursue compensation.
The East Riding is a large, flat and largely agricultural county with a working port city at one end and a coast that is disappearing at the other. Hull has one of the biggest dock estates in the country and it is still working, with a chemicals and process complex and an offshore wind sector on the same estuary. Goole is one of the few inland ports in the country, on a working navigation at a crossroads of national freight routes. Bridlington and Withernsea face some of the fastest eroding coastline in Europe. And underlying all of it is drained, low lying farmland worked at a scale that produces some of the most serious workplace injuries there are.
- Free initial claim assessment
- No Win No Fee may be available
- Clients throughout England & Wales
- 30+ years' collective legal experience
Four parts of the East Riding, four claim profiles
- The port city and the working dock estateHull and Hessle
- The inland market towns on drained low groundBeverley, Goole, Driffield and Market Weighton
- The Holderness coast and the resortsBridlington and Withernsea
- The flat agricultural plain that underlies all of itThe wolds, the vale and the Holderness plain
We help clients in the East Riding of Yorkshire. We do not have an office in the county and we do not claim to.
Can I make a personal injury claim in the East Riding of Yorkshire?
Yes, if you were injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence anywhere in the East Riding of Yorkshire, including the areas covered in the sections below. Personal injury solicitors acting for clients in the county assess whether there are grounds to claim, investigate the evidence, instruct medical experts and negotiate with the insurer on your behalf. Whether a claim can be taken on depends on the circumstances, the evidence and when the accident happened, not on where in the county you live or how far you were from home when it happened.
What makes East Riding claims different
Five things account for a large share of the cases we see from East Riding clients, and each of them arises here more than it does in most counties.
A working dock estate and a river, where different time limits can apply
Hull has one of the biggest dock estates in the country and it is still working, handling roll on roll off ferries, containers, bulk cargo, trailers, rail and vessels within the same small areas, with a chemicals and process complex on the estuary alongside it. Goole is one of the few inland ports in the country, with docks, basins, wharves and locks on a working navigation, and Hessle's southern edge carries substantial wharves and industrial uses on the same river. Claims from that work commonly involve being struck by or crushed by vehicles, trailers, cranes, straddle carriers, reach stackers and moving plant in the yard, falls from height on trailers, loads, lashing points and machinery, falls from the quay or between the vessel and the quayside, falls into holds and locks, lifting injuries and dropped loads, crush and entrapment in machinery and lock gates, and slips, trips and falls on wet, oily and cluttered surfaces and on ramps, steps and gangways. The legal point matters as much as the physical one: where an injury happens on the water, on a vessel, on a quay or in the course of dock, port or marine work, different time limits and different courts can apply from the ordinary land based rules, and those limits can be considerably shorter than the three years most people expect. On a working estuary the hazards are also shared between the port operator, the shipping line, the haulage company and the employer, so working out who owed what duty is frequently the first issue in a claim.
Process industry, chemicals and offshore wind on the same estuary
Behind the docks sits an industrial base whose hazards are genuinely serious. Hull has a chemicals and process complex on the estuary and a substantial offshore wind and fabrication sector. In process and chemical work, claims commonly involve thermal injuries from steam, hot surfaces, hot liquids and hot work, chemical and acid burns, inhalation, poisoning and skin and eye damage from corrosive and irritant substances, fires, explosions and flash fires, pressure releases and escapes of steam, gas or process fluid, and being struck by or crushed in heavy plant, rotating machinery and lifting operations. In offshore wind and fabrication, the pattern runs to moving and rotating machinery, blades, jigs, press and forming equipment, heavy steel and large fabricated sections, lifting operations and suspended loads, work at height on towers, nacelles, blades and structures, confined space and asphyxiation risks in tanks, towers and vessels, and exposure to resins, coatings, dusts and fumes. Where a claim arises from a fire, an explosion, a leak, an escape of a hazardous substance or an incident at a major hazard installation, the investigation goes well beyond an accident report into process safety, permit to work, isolation, maintenance and emergency planning records. These injuries are frequently serious, and because the harm often runs into scarring, respiratory and psychological effects and a long period off work, medical evidence covering more than one speciality is often needed.
A coastline that is genuinely eroding faster than almost anywhere in Europe
The Holderness coast carries some of the fastest coastal erosion in Europe, and it is not a slow geological abstraction. Cliffs collapse without warning, the cliff top and the coast road are realigned as they do, and paths, steps, sea defences and slipways are moved and rebuilt. So a coastal authority and a landowner here are expected to inspect and manage for a coast that is moving, and where a path or a route runs close to an edge, the adequacy and maintenance of a barrier, a fence or a warning is often the central question rather than the surface alone. A known history of erosion or of previous falls in the same place is highly relevant evidence, and the withdrawal or absence of a warning after earlier erosion is a legitimate point. There is a practical consequence for anyone injured here: because the ground moves and is repaired and rebuilt frequently, the exact spot where a fall happened may genuinely not exist in the same form a year later, so photographs and early reporting matter more on this coast than almost anywhere else. Alongside that, the promenades, sea walls, piers, slipways and beach access points at Bridlington and Withernsea are affected by wind blown sand, salt, seaweed, algae, standing water and storm damage in ways an inland path is not, and the resorts' surfaces are in heavy daily use through the season.
Flat, drained, low lying ground, and the condition it leaves behind
Much of the East Riding is at or close to sea level and has been drained to be farmed. The Holderness plain runs flat and low from Hull to the sea, the vale of York runs along the western edge, and the whole district is cut by dykes, drains and the navigations that took the water away. That matters for claims in two ways. First, ground that is drained and low lying is genuinely affected by water: Hull and Goole have flooded, the Ouse has flooded the town repeatedly and severely, and the Beck and the drains at Beverley and the dyke network across the plain all leave surfaces, banks, towpaths and edges in a different condition from one season to the next. A body that knows an area floods is expected to plan for the condition of the surface, the bank, the bridge and the route afterwards, because flooding deposits silt and debris, undermines banks and edges and leaves standing water. Second, dyke banks and the routes along them are often the only path between fields, and they are in public and agricultural use on ground that is soft, eroded and sometimes undercut where water has moved the edges.
Agriculture at scale, worked by self employed people and contractors
The East Riding is one of the most productive farming districts in England, and almost all of that land is privately owned and actively worked. Agriculture has one of the highest rates of serious and fatal injury of any sector in the country, and the hazard profile here runs from machinery, tractors, telehandlers and quad bikes to entanglement, crush, cutting, amputation and power take off and driveline injuries; livestock injuries from cattle, bulls and horses; falls from height on machinery, trailers, stacks, bales and roofs; being struck or crushed by falling or rolling objects; lifting injuries from animals, feed, bags and loads; and exposure to grain dust, mould, pesticides, veterinary medicines, vibration, noise and zoonotic infection. Handling and storing the root crops, grain and vegetables grown here adds conveyors, hoppers, graders, machinery and the genuine engulfment and dust explosion risk of bulk stores and silos. The legal complication is the labour pattern: a great deal of this work is done by self employed farmers, family workers, contractors, gangmasters and seasonal workers rather than by large employers, so establishing who actually employed you, who controlled the task and whether the person you were working for was an employer at all is frequently the first issue in a claim rather than an afterthought. The same applies to the food processing, haulage and agricultural supply businesses that serve the farms.
How claims differ across the East Riding
The county divides into four recognisably different parts when it comes to how accidents happen, from a working dock estate to a coastline that is moving.
The port city and the working dock estate
Hull and Hessle
One of the biggest dock estates in the country, still working, with process industry, offshore wind and a commuter town along the same frontage.
Hull and Hessle cover the city and the north bank of the Humber immediately west of it. Hull is a large port city with one of the biggest dock estates in the country, handling roll on roll off ferries, containers, bulk cargo, trailers, rail and vessels, alongside a chemicals and process complex on the estuary, an offshore wind and fabrication sector, a substantial food processing and cold storage industry and major healthcare and university employers. Hessle sits immediately to the west, a commuter town whose entire southern edge is the same working river, carrying substantial wharves, yards and industrial uses. What the two share is a working port and river frontage as ordinary local employment, heavy industry and process operations set close to where people live, a road network carrying very large volumes of freight onto the M62 and M18, and genuinely low lying ground that has flooded. Beneath all of it sits an ordinary city and town life, with pedestrianised centres, retail parks, car parks and estates producing a steady volume of ordinary slip, trip and fall claims.
Towns in this area
The inland market towns on drained low ground
Beverley, Goole, Driffield and Market Weighton
A county town among the wolds, an inland port on a working navigation, and two market towns serving a very large farming district, on ground that has largely been drained.
Beverley, Goole, Driffield and Market Weighton cover the inland part of the East Riding, and they are more different from each other than their size suggests. Beverley is the county town, with a minster, a market place and genuinely intact Georgian and medieval streets, serving a very large agricultural district. Goole is one of the few inland ports in the country and the largest on the east coast, with docks, basins, wharves and locks on the Ouse at the meeting point of the Aire and Calder navigation, and a very large distribution and warehousing base on the M62 and M18. Driffield is the capital of the wolds, with a food, grain, malting and agricultural supply economy built directly on the farms around it. Market Weighton sits where the A1079 and A614 cross at the foot of the wolds, serving farms, feed, machinery dealerships and haulage rather than a single industry. What the four share is an economy that is agricultural at its base and a position on tidal, drained, low lying ground: the Beck and the drains at Beverley, the confluence at Goole, the vale and the flat Holderness plain around the others, all of which affects the condition of surfaces, banks, towpaths and routes after water.
Towns in this area
The Holderness coast and the resorts
Bridlington and Withernsea
Two resorts on a coastline that is genuinely eroding faster than almost anywhere in Europe, one with a working fishing harbour.
Bridlington and Withernsea cover the coast. Bridlington is a seaside resort with two very different beaches, a very long promenade running between them, a working harbour and a fishing fleet with the landing, processing and quay work that goes with it, and an exceptionally large older resident population behind it. Withernsea is a smaller resort at the end of the A1033, facing the sea behind a sea wall with defence works, groynes, slipways and access points, with a lighthouse in the middle of the town and genuinely eroding cliffs immediately to the north and south. What the two share is a coastline that is one of the fastest eroding in Europe, so cliffs collapse, the cliff top and the coast road are realigned, and paths, steps and defences move; promenades, sea walls, piers, slipways and beach access points affected by wind blown sand, salt, seaweed, algae, storm damage and standing water; a visitor and caravan economy concentrated into a short season; and large older populations that make care work a significant local employer.
Towns in this area
The flat agricultural plain that underlies all of it
The wolds, the vale and the Holderness plain
Working farmland on both sides of the county, drained by dykes and dyke roads, producing some of the most serious workplace injuries there are.
The farming district runs across the whole of the East Riding and reaches into every town above. The wolds rise in the north west, the vale of York runs along the western edge, and the Holderness plain runs flat and low from Hull to the sea, drained by a network of dykes and drains. In all of it the economy is agricultural at its base: livestock and mixed farming, arable and root crops grown at scale, and the machinery, contracting, feed, grain, supply and haulage trades that serve them, with the food processing that follows the farms on producing a second and different pattern of injury. What makes the district distinctive is that almost all of this land is privately owned and actively worked, and a great deal of the labour is supplied by self employed farmers, family workers, contractors, gangmasters and seasonal workers rather than by large employers, so establishing who actually employed you and who was responsible for a given task is frequently the first question in a claim. Where the public walks and rides across the same land, on footpaths, bridleways, dyke banks and country parks, a fall claim often turns on who occupies and manages that ground and what system of inspection and repair they operated.
Who we help in the East Riding
The claimants we act for most often in this county, with the page that explains each in more detail.
All the East Riding towns we cover
Each page below covers the local accident mix, the roads and the connections that shape it, and how a claim works in that area. Every one includes a map of the area covered.
The East Riding area we cover
We help clients across the whole of the East Riding of Yorkshire, from the Humber to the Holderness coast. The map below shows the county, and you can open it in Google Maps to explore the towns and roads mentioned on this page.
We help clients in the East Riding of Yorkshire. We do not have a physical office in the county and we do not claim to. Our registered address is Unit 16, Titan Court, Laporte Way, Luton, England, LU4 8EF, which is a registered and administrative address only. 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, casework and representation arranged through Injury Law Specialists are provided by MB Solicitors, a trading name of MB Legal Solicitors Ltd, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA ID 8000764.
Where to find out more
Frequently asked questions about personal injury claims in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Do you have an office in the East Riding of Yorkshire?
No. We do not have a physical office anywhere in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and we do not claim to. Injury Law Specialists is a marketing and advertising platform rather than a law firm, and our registered address is in Luton. We provide access to personal injury solicitors who act for clients across the whole county, and cases are handled by telephone, email, WhatsApp and video call. Where a meeting is genuinely needed, a client can be seen at a convenient location rather than being asked to travel to us, which suits a county this spread out particularly well.
How long do I have to make a personal injury claim in the East Riding?
For many claims the general limitation period is three years from the date of the accident, or from your later date of knowledge where that applies. Different rules can apply to children, to people who lack mental capacity, and to fatal accident and criminal injury claims. Two points matter particularly here. First, the county has a very large working port and dock estate at Hull and an inland port at Goole on a working navigation, with industrial wharves on the same river at Hessle, and where an injury happens on the water, on a vessel, on a quay or in the course of dock, port or marine work, different time limits and different courts can apply from the ordinary land based rules, and those limits can be considerably shorter than three years. With the docks at Hull and Goole being ordinary local employment, that is a live issue rather than a rare one. Second, the date of knowledge point is important in a county with this much farming, food processing, haulage and heavy industry, because that work exposed people over years to grain and other dusts, mould, welding and metal fume, solvents, asbestos, noise and vibration. Conditions of that kind develop over years or decades rather than weeks, so the three year period may run from when you first knew or should have known rather than from the exposure itself, and an old exposure is not necessarily a closed door.
Can I claim if I was injured in dock, port or quayside work at Hull or Goole?
Yes, where the injury was caused by unsafe working conditions, inadequate training, defective or unmaintained equipment, an unassessed hazard, or a failure to provide a safe system of work. Hull has one of the biggest dock estates in the country and it is still working, handling roll on roll off ferries, containers, bulk cargo, trailers, rail and vessels, and Goole is one of the few inland ports in the country, with docks, basins, wharves and locks on a working navigation. Claims commonly involve being struck by or crushed by vehicles, trailers, cranes, straddle carriers, reach stackers and moving plant in the yard, falls from height on trailers, loads, lashing points and machinery, falls from the quay or between the vessel and the quayside, falls into holds and locks, lifting injuries and dropped loads, crush and entrapment in machinery and lock gates, coupling, decoupling and lashing work, and slips, trips and falls on wet, oily and cluttered surfaces and on ramps, steps and gangways. On a working quay the hazards are shared between the port operator, the shipping line, the haulage company and your employer, so working out who owed what duty, and for what part of the operation, is frequently the first issue in a claim. These claims turn on the risk assessments, traffic management and segregation arrangements, training and competence records, lifting and equipment inspection and maintenance records and the incident records, and because an injury on the water or on a vessel can carry different and shorter time limits, advice should be taken quickly.
Can I claim if I was injured in chemicals, process or offshore wind work around Hull?
Yes, where the injury was caused by unsafe working conditions, inadequate training or supervision, defective or unmaintained plant and equipment, an unassessed or inadequately controlled hazard, or a failure to provide a safe system of work. Hull has a chemicals and process complex on the estuary and a substantial offshore wind and fabrication base, and both bring serious hazards into a small area. In process and chemical work, claims commonly involve thermal injuries from steam, hot surfaces, hot liquids and hot work, chemical and acid burns, inhalation, poisoning and skin and eye damage from corrosive and irritant substances, fires, explosions and flash fires, pressure releases and escapes of steam, gas or process fluid, and being struck by or crushed in heavy plant, rotating machinery and lifting operations. In offshore wind and fabrication, claims commonly involve moving and rotating machinery, blades, jigs, press and forming equipment, heavy steel and large fabricated sections, lifting operations and suspended loads, work at height on towers, nacelles, blades and structures, confined space and asphyxiation risks in tanks, towers and vessels, and exposure to resins, coatings, dusts and fumes. Where a claim arises from a major incident, the investigation goes well beyond an accident report into process safety, permit to work, isolation, maintenance and emergency planning records, and because these injuries are frequently serious, medical evidence covering more than one speciality may be needed.
Can I claim for a fall on the promenade, the sea wall or the cliffs?
Yes, where the body responsible for that surface, step, ramp, barrier, wall or path failed to maintain it to a reasonable standard, or failed to take reasonable steps to deal with a hazard it knew or should have known about, and that caused your fall. The coast here runs from the promenade, sea wall, piers, slipways and beach access points at Bridlington and Withernsea to the cliffs and cliff paths immediately north and south of them, and it is one of the fastest eroding coastlines in Europe. Cliffs genuinely collapse without warning, the cliff top and coast road are realigned as they do, and paths, steps and defences are moved and rebuilt, so a coastal authority and a landowner are expected to inspect and manage for a coast that is moving rather than treat the line of a path or a barrier as fixed. Where a path runs close to an edge, the adequacy and maintenance of a barrier, a fence or a warning is often the central question rather than the surface alone, and a known history of erosion or of previous falls in the same place is highly relevant evidence. Along the frontages, surfaces are affected by wind blown sand, salt, seaweed, algae, standing water and storm damage in ways an inland path is not. A landowner is not liable for every hazard that occurs naturally on a coast, and there is a degree of risk people accept, but occupiers of premises and those responsible for maintained routes, steps, viewpoints and barriers do owe duties. Because the ground here changes quickly, photographing the exact spot straight away matters more than usual.
Can I claim if I was injured in farm, food production or haulage work in the East Riding?
Yes, where the injury was caused by unsafe working conditions, inadequate training or supervision, defective or unmaintained machinery, plant or equipment, an unassessed or inadequately controlled hazard, an unsafe load, or a failure to provide a safe system of work. Agriculture has one of the highest rates of serious and fatal injury of any sector in the country, and the East Riding is one of the most productive farming districts in England. Claims from farming and contracting commonly involve machinery and equipment, with entanglement, crush, cutting, amputation and power take off and driveline injuries, being run over or struck by tractors, telehandlers, loaders and vehicles, overturning and tipping, falls from height on machinery, trailers, stacks, bales and roofs, being struck or crushed by falling or rolling objects, livestock injuries from cattle, bulls and horses, lifting injuries from handling animals, machinery, feed, bags and loads, and exposure to grain dust, mould, pesticides, veterinary medicines, vibration, noise and zoonotic infection. In food production and processing the pattern runs to unguarded conveyors, mixers, slicers, saws and packaging lines, knife and blade injuries, thermal injuries from ovens, fryers and steam, slip hazards on wet and greasy floors, cold store work and heavy repetitive manual handling. In haulage the risks are loading, sheeting, lashing, coupling and uncoupling, working on and around vehicles, tail lifts, tyre and maintenance work, load security and falls from loads, trailers, cabs and catwalks. Because so much of this work is done by self employed farmers, family workers, contractors, gangmasters and seasonal workers, establishing who actually employed you is frequently the first question.
Can I claim if I was injured in a collision on the A63, the A1079 or the M62?
Yes, if another road user's negligence caused your injuries. The East Riding sits between Hull and the motorway network, and its main roads carry a great deal of port, freight and agricultural traffic. The A63 links Hull to the M62 and on to the docks, the A1079 runs between York and Hull, the A614 and A165 serve the wolds and the coast, the A15 crosses the Humber bridge into Lincolnshire, the A1033 runs out to Withernsea and the M62, M18 and A1(M) all converge within reach of Goole and Howden. That produces a recognisable collision profile: fast roads carrying heavy goods vehicles alongside slow moving agricultural machinery and wide vehicles, farm and field accesses emerging onto busy routes, overtaking where sight lines are limited, mud, slurry and grain on carriageways, and a very high proportion of drivers who are not local because these are long distance routes to the ports. Evidence usually comes from the police report, the vehicle damage and your medical records, along with any dash camera footage, and where the other driver was uninsured or untraced a claim through the Motor Insurers' Bureau may be possible. In collisions involving several vehicles or a commercial vehicle it is worth taking advice early, because commercial vehicles carry telematics and tachograph data that can be preserved if action is taken quickly.
Does it matter that the accident happened somewhere I was visiting?
No, and where the accident happened does not affect whether you have a claim. The East Riding is a large county with a long coast, and a good share of the accidents here happen to people who were visiting rather than living locally, particularly on the coast and at the caravan parks. The claim follows what happened, where it happened and who was responsible for that place, not the claimant's home address. It is worth reporting the injury at the time, keeping any ticket, booking or caravan reference, photographing the exact spot as soon as possible and noting any staff who attended, because a site's incident records, inspection records and maintenance records usually become the central evidence and they are easier to obtain while the incident is recent. Cases can be run entirely by telephone, email, WhatsApp and video call, so a claim does not require returning to the area.
How much compensation could I receive for an injury in the East Riding?
There is no figure that can be applied to an injury by name, and anyone offering one without seeing your medical evidence is guessing. Compensation has two parts: general damages for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity the injury itself has caused, and special damages for the financial losses it has produced, such as lost earnings, treatment, rehabilitation, care and travel. The total depends on the medical evidence, the effect on your life, your age and circumstances and the losses you have suffered. Our page on personal injury compensation explains how both parts are assessed in more detail.
Will I have to attend court in the East Riding?
Most personal injury claims settle through negotiation without any hearing, so attending court is uncommon. Where proceedings are issued, the case is usually dealt with at a court convenient for where you live, and the county has substantial court centres at Hull and Beverley, with the Scarborough, York, Doncaster and Grimsby centres serving the edges of the county. Where a hearing is needed, we explain what is involved and what to expect well in advance.
Can I claim on a No Win No Fee basis in the East Riding?
Suitable cases may be accepted under a Conditional Fee Agreement, commonly called No Win No Fee, subject to an assessment of liability, the evidence, the prospects of success and proportionality. If the claim does not succeed you generally do not pay our basic legal fees, and if it does a success fee may be payable. In many personal injury claims the applicable legal cap is 25% of the relevant categories of damages including VAT, although the actual deduction and funding arrangements depend upon the agreement and your circumstances. These terms are explained in full before you decide whether to proceed.
Not sure whether you have a personal injury claim in the East Riding?
You do not need to understand the law before contacting us, and you do not need to travel. Tell us briefly what happened and a member of our team can review the information and explain the possible next steps. There is no charge for an initial assessment and no obligation to proceed.
Free initial assessment. No Win No Fee may be available, subject to assessment.