General damages
The award for the injury itself and the effect on your life, known as pain, suffering and loss of amenity. It is measured against the ranges used for injuries of comparable severity and adjusted for your circumstances.
Staffordshire
Personal Injury Solicitors Lichfield
Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Lichfield and the surrounding part of Staffordshire. 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.
Lichfield is a small cathedral city in the south east of Staffordshire with an unusually intact historic centre, a substantial professional, office and public sector economy and a very large commuter population working in Birmingham. That produces a distinctive mix of claims, which we set out below.
- Free initial claim assessment
- No Win, No Fee may be available
- Clients throughout Lichfield and Greater London
- 30+ years' collective legal experience
Can I make a personal injury claim in Lichfield?
Yes, if you were injured in an accident caused by someone else's negligence in Lichfield or the surrounding area. Personal injury solicitors acting for Lichfield clients 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 you live.
Lichfield is served by the M6 Toll at junction T4 and T5 running north east toward Tamworth and south west toward Cannock and the M6, the A38 running north east toward Burton upon Trent and south west toward Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham, the A51 toward Tamworth and Rugeley, the A5127 toward Sutton Coldfield and the A461 toward Walsall, and rail services from Lichfield City and Lichfield Trent Valley stations on the Cross City line toward Birmingham and the West Coast main line. Lichfield sits between the M6 Toll and the A38 in the far south east of Staffordshire, so the city and its surrounding network carry a very heavy volume of long distance, freight and commuter traffic, most of it passing through rather than generated locally.
Lichfield's economy is built on professional, financial, office and public sector employment, a substantial commuter population working in Birmingham, retail, hospitality, catering and tourism serving a cathedral city and its visitor economy, healthcare, education and light manufacturing and engineering. Accidents at work reflect that mix, with slips, trips, manual handling and aggression risks in retail, hospitality, catering and healthcare, and the office related risks of a largely professional workforce, alongside machinery, production and manual handling injuries in the district's light manufacturing and engineering.
The city centre produces a large share of public place claims relative to its size, and Lichfield is genuinely historic and unusually intact, with a well preserved centre around the cathedral, the market square and the old streets, older paving, narrow streets and changes of level throughout, in daily use by a substantial older population and by very heavy visitor numbers. Falls on those surfaces and at changes of level are common, and the city's cathedral close, the old shopfronts, the cobbled and paved areas and the many turns and lanes mean the centre is far more varied underfoot than a modern town. There is water everywhere below the city: the three pools at Stowe, Minster and Gaia, the Leomansley and Trunkfield brooks and the streams under the streets, and the area has old quarry and clay ground where subsidence affects the condition of some roads, paths and thresholds.
Key takeaways
- Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Lichfield and Staffordshire.
- We help clients in Lichfield. We do not have an office in Lichfield and we do not claim to. Our registered address is in Luton, and cases are handled by telephone, video call, email and WhatsApp.
- Whether a claim can be taken on depends on its merits and evidence, not on where you live.
- Compensation has two parts: general damages for the injury itself, and special damages for the financial losses it caused.
- Most personal injury claims in England and Wales are subject to a three year limitation period, although the date of knowledge can start it later where a condition develops over years.
- Legal services are provided by MB Solicitors, trading name of MB Legal Solicitors Ltd, regulated by the SRA under SRA ID 8000764.
Where we help clients in Lichfield
We provide access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Lichfield and the surrounding part of Staffordshire. The map shows the area we cover, which takes in the main roads, stations and neighbourhoods where accidents most often happen.
Being clear about this matters. We help clients in Lichfield. We do not have an office in Lichfield and we do not claim to. Our registered address is in Luton, and cases are handled by telephone, email, WhatsApp and video call, so there is no need to travel to us and no part of the area we cannot reach.
Roads, stations and landmarks nearby
- M6 Toll junctions T4 and T5
- A38
- A51, A5127 and A461
- Lichfield City and Lichfield Trent Valley stations
- The cathedral close and the historic centre
- The three pools and the brooks
- The old quarry and clay ground
- The surrounding villages and lanes
What types of accident are most common in Lichfield?
What stands out in Lichfield claims is that this is a cathedral city with an unusually intact centre, where the historic fabric itself is the leading source of local fall claims. Lichfield was altered far less than most cities of its size, so its centre retains older paving, cobbled and uneven areas, narrow lanes, turns and changes of level, the cathedral close and a large number of small independent shopfronts, and it is in daily use by a substantial older population as well as very heavy visitor numbers drawn by the cathedral and its connections to Samuel Johnson and Erasmus Darwin. That makes falls on genuinely historic surfaces a much larger share of local claims here than in a town of comparable size. The city also has a very large commuter population working in Birmingham, so much of the traffic on its roads, and a high proportion of the collisions on the M6 Toll and the A38 around it, involve people passing through rather than local drivers. Lichfield sits on unusual ground for a city of its size, with the three pools and several brooks below and around it and old quarry and clay workings in the district, so water, ground movement and drainage affect the condition of some paths, roads and thresholds.
Accidents at work
Professional, office, public sector, hospitality and healthcare work produce slips, trips, manual handling and aggression claims alongside light engineering.
Road traffic accidents
Between the M6 Toll and the A38 with a very large Birmingham commuter population, so most of the traffic and many collisions involve people passing through.
Slips, trips and falls
An unusually intact cathedral centre with older paving, cobbles and level changes, and ground affected by pools, brooks and old quarry workings.
Responsibility is not always obvious. What matters legally is whether someone owed you a duty of care, whether they breached it, and whether that breach caused your injury. Our pages on road traffic accident claims, accidents at work claims and public place accident claims explain how that is established.
How do I make a personal injury claim in Lichfield?
The process is the same whether you are in Lichfield or anywhere else in England and Wales. Individual claims vary, and not every case goes through every step, but this is how a personal injury claim usually progresses.
- 1Tell us what happenedComplete the free assessment form, telephone the team, or message on WhatsApp. A short description is enough to begin.
- 2Free initial assessmentA solicitor considers the circumstances, the injuries and who may have been responsible, and explains whether there may be grounds to claim.
- 3Investigation and evidenceWhere a case is accepted, the available evidence is gathered, including accident reports, photographs, witness details and CCTV where it exists.
- 4Medical evidenceAn independent medical expert assesses the injuries and gives an opinion on severity and prognosis.
- 5Assessing financial lossPast and future losses are calculated, including lost earnings, treatment, care, travel and equipment where relevant.
- 6NegotiationThe claim is presented to the defendant or their insurer and negotiated on your behalf.
- 7Settlement or court proceedingsMany cases settle through negotiation. Where agreement is not possible, court proceedings may be issued and the case decided by the court.
For a stage by stage account of what the solicitor does at each point, see our page on how our personal injury solicitors help.
How much compensation could I receive?
There is no figure that can be applied to an injury by name. Compensation is assessed on the medical evidence, the effect the injury has on your life, your age and circumstances, and the financial losses it has caused. Two people with the same diagnosis can receive very different awards.
Special damages
The award for the money the injury has cost you, proved with documents. It can include lost earnings, treatment and rehabilitation, care and assistance, travel, equipment and future losses where the injury has lasting effects.
Our page on personal injury compensation explains both parts in detail, including the losses that can be recovered and how claims are valued.
Other areas of Staffordshire we help clients from
We act for clients across the whole of Staffordshire. These are the other areas close to Lichfield, and you can see every part of the county on the Staffordshire page.
Personal Injury Solicitors StaffordshirePersonal Injury Solicitors StaffordPersonal Injury Solicitors Stoke-on-TrentPersonal Injury Solicitors TamworthPersonal Injury Solicitors Burton upon TrentPersonal Injury Solicitors CannockPersonal Injury Solicitors RugeleyPersonal Injury Solicitors Newcastle-under-LymePersonal Injury Solicitors Stone
Personal injury claims in Lichfield: frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Lichfield?
No. We do not have a physical office in Lichfield, and we do not claim to. Our registered address is in Luton, and we provide access to personal injury solicitors who act for clients across Lichfield and the whole of Staffordshire. Cases are handled by telephone, email, WhatsApp and video call, with a client seen at a convenient location where a meeting is genuinely needed.
How long do I have to make a personal injury claim in Lichfield?
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. The date of knowledge point can matter where a condition arises from dust, solvents, noise or vibration in the district's light manufacturing and engineering work over years. In Lichfield there is also a practical rather than a legal deadline that matters in practice: the city centre is compact, heavily visited and constantly maintained, so paving, kerbs, street furniture and shopfronts are repaired and changed frequently, and the faster a fall is reported and photographed the easier it is to establish what the surface was like on the day. Because evidence is easier to gather early, it is worth taking advice well before any deadline feels close.
Can I claim for a fall in Lichfield city centre?
Yes, where the highway authority or the occupier failed to maintain the surface, the step, the kerb or the handrail to a reasonable standard, and that caused your fall. Lichfield has an unusually intact centre around the cathedral, the market square and the old streets, with older paving, cobbled areas, narrow lanes, turns and changes of level, in daily use by a substantial older population and by very heavy visitor numbers. A highway authority or occupier is not liable for every uneven surface, and historic paving is expected to be uneven to a degree, but it is expected to operate a reasonable system of inspection and repair, so the condition of the particular spot and whether it had been reported or should have been identified both matter. Because the centre is compact and constantly maintained, surfaces are repaired and altered frequently, which is why photographing the spot and noting the precise location and date as soon as possible strengthens a claim considerably. Identifying who is responsible is often the first step, because a public footway, the cathedral close and a private forecourt may each have a different responsible body.
Can I claim for a fall caused by subsidence or water in the Lichfield area?
Possibly, and it depends on who was responsible for the surface and whether the defect should have been identified and repaired. Lichfield sits on unusual ground for a city of its size, with the three pools at Stowe, Minster and Gaia, the Leomansley and Trunkfield brooks and streams running under the streets, and old quarry and clay workings in the surrounding district. Water and ground movement from that combination genuinely affect the condition of some paths, roads, kerbs and building thresholds, including surfaces where the cause is not obvious. That matters to a claim because it affects how the defect came about and whether it was reasonably discoverable on inspection, which is often the central question. A highway authority or occupier is not liable for every uneven surface, but it is expected to operate a reasonable system of inspection and repair. Photographs that show the unevenness with something for scale, and a note of recent weather, are the most valuable evidence.
Can I claim if I was injured in a collision on the M6 Toll or the A38 near Lichfield?
Yes, if another road user's negligence caused your injuries. Lichfield sits between the M6 Toll and the A38 in the far south east of Staffordshire, and it has a very large commuter population working in Birmingham, so the routes around the city carry a heavy volume of long distance, freight and commuter traffic, most of it passing through rather than generated locally. Because these are motorway and trunk routes carrying long distance traffic rather than purely local journeys, a high proportion of collisions on them involve drivers who were not local. Evidence usually comes from the police report, the vehicle damage and your medical records, along with any dash camera footage. Where the other driver was uninsured or untraced, a claim through the Motor Insurers' Bureau may be possible, although note that a claim involving a vehicle on the M6 Toll can raise additional questions about the operator's role, and it is worth taking advice on that.
How much compensation could I receive for an injury in Lichfield?
There is no figure that can be applied to an injury by name. 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.
Will I have to attend court in Lichfield?
Most personal injury claims settle through negotiation without a 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 Lichfield has its own county court, with the wider Stafford and Birmingham court centres also serving the area. Where a hearing is needed, we explain what is involved in advance.
What evidence should I keep after an accident in Lichfield?
Keep anything that records what happened and what it cost you, and gather it early. Photographs of the surface, the paving, the cobbles, the step, the kerb, the handrail or the defect, taken from several angles and with something for scale, details of any witnesses, medical records, receipts for treatment and travel, and a note of the days you could not work are all useful. Because the city centre is compact and constantly maintained, the earliest possible photographs and a precise note of the location matter particularly here. Report a workplace accident in the accident book immediately and ask for a copy of the entry.
Can I claim on a No Win No Fee basis in Lichfield?
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.
Do you help clients elsewhere in Staffordshire?
Yes. We act for clients across the whole of Staffordshire, including Tamworth, Burton upon Trent, Rugeley, Cannock, Stafford and the surrounding areas. You can see the full list on our areas we cover page, or read more about how personal injury claims work across Staffordshire.
Who provides the legal services?
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.
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. For advice on deadlines, see our page on personal injury claim time limits.
Who provides the legal services
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 InformationRelated information
Personal Injury Solicitors LondonHow personal injury claims work across Greater London.Solicitors for Road Traffic Accident ClaimsClaims for drivers, passengers, riders, cyclists and pedestrians.Solicitors for Accidents at Work ClaimsWhere an employer failed to keep you safe at work.Solicitors for Public Place Accident ClaimsSlips, trips and falls in shops, stations and other public places.Personal Injury CompensationWhat compensation can cover and how claims are valued.No Win No Fee Personal Injury SolicitorsHow a Conditional Fee Agreement works and what the success fee means.Medical & Rehabilitation CostsRecovering the cost of treatment needed after an injury.Areas We CoverThe full list of areas we help clients from across England and Wales.Free Claim AssessmentTell us what happened and we will explain whether there may be grounds to claim.
Injured in an accident in Lichfield?
Tell us what happened and a member of our team can explain whether you may have grounds to claim, what evidence would be needed and how the process would work in practice. The assessment is free, and there is no obligation to proceed.
Prefer to write it down? You can also tell us what happened and we will come back to you.