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.
Pembrokeshire
Personal Injury Solicitors Pembroke
Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Pembroke and the surrounding part of Pembrokeshire. 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.
Pembroke is a small historic town with a castle and an unusually intact centre on the Milford Haven waterway, with Pembroke Dock and the ferry port immediately beside it. 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 Pembroke and Greater London
- 30+ years' collective legal experience
Can I make a personal injury claim in Pembroke?
Yes, if you were injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence in Pembroke or the surrounding area. Personal injury solicitors acting for Pembroke 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.
Pembroke sits on the Milford Haven waterway in the south of Pembrokeshire, on the A4139 immediately beside Pembroke Dock and its ferry port, with the A477 running east toward Carmarthen and the routes around the haven running through both towns. That position puts the town inside a corridor carrying very heavy port, industrial and tourist traffic.
Pembroke is a small historic town with a castle of national significance and an unusually intact centre, sitting on a tidal millpond and the waterway beside the much larger dockyard town of Pembroke Dock. Its economy is closely bound up with its neighbour: the ferry port, the dockyard and the marine, engineering, fabrication and industrial operations around the haven provide a great deal of the employment, alongside tourism and visitor trade around the castle and the town, and retail, food, hospitality, care and public service employment serving both towns and the surrounding countryside. Accidents at work reflect that mix, with the heavy industrial, marine, dock and ferry hazards of the waterway alongside the slips, trips, handling, cuts, burns and aggression risks of retail, hospitality, care and service work.
The town produces a substantial share of work and public place claims, and two features distinguish it. The first is the haven: a working waterway carrying a ferry port, dockyard and marine operations immediately beside the town, where an injury on the water, on a vessel, on a jetty, a quay or a hard, or in the course of dock, port or marine work carries different time limits and different courts from the ordinary land based rules. The second is the old town itself: an unusually intact centre around a castle, with old paving, steps, narrow streets, a millpond and a bridge in ordinary daily use by residents and a very large visitor load.
Key takeaways
- Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Pembroke and Pembrokeshire.
- We help clients in Pembroke. We do not have an office in Pembroke 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 Pembroke
We provide access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Pembroke and the surrounding part of Pembrokeshire. 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 Pembroke. We do not have an office in Pembroke 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
- The A4139 between Pembroke and Pembroke Dock
- The A477 toward Carmarthen and the ferry port
- The Milford Haven waterway and its jetties and hard ground
- The castle, the millpond and the old town centre
- The dockyard and the industrial and marine operations beside the town
What types of accident are most common in Pembroke?
What stands out in Pembroke claims is a small historic town with a castle and an unusually intact centre sitting immediately beside a working dockyard town and a ferry port on one of the busiest waterways in the country. The haven is the first feature, because the ferry port, the dockyard and the marine, engineering, fabrication and industrial operations around the waterway sit directly beside the town, and the hazards of that work are the serious ones of the sector: being struck by or crushed by vehicles, cranes, plant, loads and equipment on a quay, a jetty or in a yard, falls from height on vessels, structures and staging, falls from the quay, the jetty or between the vessel and the quayside, falls overboard and into water, mooring and line handling injuries, lifting injuries and dropped loads, crush and entrapment in winches, ropes, cables, plant and machinery, and slips, trips and falls on wet, oily, icy and cluttered surfaces and on ramps, steps and gangways. Those claims turn on the operator's and the employer's risk assessments, permit to work procedures, plant inspection and maintenance records, training and competence records and the incident records, and where work is done by contractors, agency labour or subcontracted firms on a site controlled by someone else, establishing who employed whom and who was in control of the area and the task is frequently the first question. The maritime element is the second, because where an injury happens on the water, on a vessel, on a jetty, 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, so advice on any such injury should be taken quickly. The old town adds a third pattern, because an unusually intact centre carries old paving, cobbles, setts, steps, thresholds, a bridge and a millpond edge in ordinary daily use by residents and a very large visitor load, so falls on uneven surfaces and at changes of level form a steady share of local claims, and the castle, its grounds and its approaches bring their own surfaces, steps, walls and drops into a public place claim.
Accidents at work
Marine, dock, ferry, engineering, fabrication, construction, tourism, retail, food, hospitality, care and public services.
Road traffic accidents
On the A4139 between Pembroke and Pembroke Dock, the A477 toward Carmarthen, and the port and castle approach roads.
Slips, trips and falls
The old town centre and its streets, steps and bridge, the castle and its grounds, and the waterway paths and hard ground.
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 Pembroke?
The process is the same whether you are in Pembroke 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 Pembrokeshire we help clients from
We act for clients across the whole of Pembrokeshire. These are the other areas close to Pembroke, and you can see every part of the county on the Pembrokeshire page.
Personal injury claims in Pembroke: frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Pembroke?
No. We do not have a physical office in Pembroke, 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 Pembroke and the whole of Pembrokeshire. 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 Pembroke?
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. This is one of the most important points on this page, because Pembroke sits directly beside a working waterway. Where an injury happens on the water, on a vessel, on a jetty, on a quay, on a hard or a slipway, or in the course of dock, port, ferry 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. That applies to work on the ferry, in the dockyard and in the marine and engineering operations around the haven. Separately, the industrial work around the waterway can expose people over months or years to substances, noise and vibration rather than producing a single incident, so the date of knowledge rules can be central there. In both cases advice should be taken quickly rather than on the assumption that three years is available.
Can I claim for an injury in dock, ferry, dockyard or marine work at Pembroke?
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. Pembroke sits immediately beside Pembroke Dock and its ferry port, on a waterway carrying heavy marine, engineering, fabrication and industrial operations. Claims from that work commonly involve being struck by or crushed by vehicles, cranes, plant, loads and equipment on a quay, a jetty or in a yard, falls from height on vessels, structures and staging, falls from the quay, the jetty or between the vessel and the quayside, falls overboard and into water, mooring and line handling injuries, lifting injuries and dropped loads, crush and entrapment in winches, ropes, cables, plant and machinery, and slips, trips and falls on wet, oily, icy and cluttered surfaces and on ramps, steps and gangways. Those claims turn on the operator's and the employer's risk assessments, permit to work procedures, plant inspection and maintenance records, training and competence records and the incident records, and where work is done by contractors, agency labour or subcontracted firms on a site controlled by someone else, establishing who employed whom and who was in control of the area and the task is frequently the first question. 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 for a fall in Pembroke's old town or at the castle?
Yes, where the body responsible for that surface, step, threshold, handrail, wall, barrier or route 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. Pembroke has an unusually intact old centre, with old paving, cobbles, setts, steps, thresholds and narrow passages, a bridge and a millpond edge, all in ordinary daily use by residents and by a very large visitor load rather than preserved as monuments, so falls on uneven surfaces and at changes of level form a steady share of local claims. A highway authority or occupier is not liable for every uneven surface, and historic paving, cobbles and setts are expected to be uneven to a degree, but they are expected to operate a reasonable system of inspection and repair, and on steps, thresholds and slopes the adequacy and maintenance of a handrail, a kerb or a warning is often as important as the paving. At the castle and in its grounds the position is that of an occupier of a visitor attraction, with its own surfaces, steps, walls, slopes and drops, and the adequacy of a barrier, a handrail or a warning where a route runs beside a drop or the water is frequently the central question. Identifying who is responsible is often the first step, because a public footway, a castle approach, a car park and a private forecourt may each have a different body responsible for repair. Photographing the exact spot, the surface and the level change as soon as possible strengthens a claim considerably.
Can I claim if I was injured in a collision on the A4139 or the A477 at Pembroke?
Yes, if another road user's negligence caused your injuries. The A4139 links Pembroke and Pembroke Dock and the A477 runs east toward Carmarthen and the ferry port, and both carry very heavy volumes of commuting, freight, port, industrial, agricultural and tourist traffic, so a high proportion of collisions here involve drivers who were not local, several vehicles, or heavy goods and agricultural vehicles. The corridor between the two towns adds a particular problem, because it carries the port and industrial traffic, the ferry traffic, the visitor traffic to the castle and the everyday local traffic all on the same short stretch, with junctions, accesses and turning movements close together. Because the physical evidence is often transient, it is worth taking advice and preserving what you can quickly: photographs of the layout, the surface, the markings, the junctions and the sight lines, the police report if one was made, and any dash camera or camera footage, along with details of any vehicles or people in the area at the time. Where the other driver was uninsured or untraced, a claim through the Motor Insurers' Bureau may be possible.
Can I claim for a condition from industrial work around the Pembroke waterway?
It may be possible, and it depends on the exposure, the duration and the medical evidence, so it needs individual advice. The waterway around Pembroke and Pembroke Dock has carried dockyard, marine, engineering, refining, gas and power generation work for decades, so people working in those operations were exposed over long periods to a very wide range of substances, to heat, to very high noise levels and to hand arm vibration. Conditions arising from that work include respiratory and lung conditions, skin conditions such as dermatitis, hearing loss and hand arm vibration syndrome, among others, and they can take years or decades to develop. Claims are usually brought on the basis of the employer's failure to control a known hazard and to provide suitable protective equipment, engineering controls and health surveillance, and they turn on the employer's records: COSHH assessments and safety data sheets, exposure and gas monitoring, extraction and ventilation, hearing tests, vibration exposure records, health surveillance and the provision of protection. Because these conditions develop over time, the date of knowledge rules are central, and it is worth taking advice even where the exposure was years ago or the employer has changed, including where the work was done through a contractor or an agency.
How much compensation could I receive for an injury in Pembroke?
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 Pembroke?
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 the Pembroke Dock and Haverfordwest county courts, with the Carmarthen court and the Swansea civil justice centre and combined court centre also serving the area serve the area. Where a hearing is needed, we explain what is involved in advance.
Can I claim if my accident happened outside Pembroke but I live here?
Yes. Where you live has no bearing on whether a claim can be taken on. Pembroke's residents work across the waterway, the dockyard, the ferry port, the industrial estates and the wider county, so a significant share of the accidents residents suffer happen at a workplace outside the town itself. The same solicitors act for you wherever the accident happened, and the claim is assessed on the circumstances, the evidence and when it happened rather than on geography.
What evidence should I keep after an accident in Pembroke?
Keep anything that records what happened and what it cost you, and gather it early. Photographs of the surface, the step, the handrail, the ramp, the equipment 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. In the old town or at the castle, photograph the exact spot, the surface, the step, the wall and the level change as found. In dock, ferry, dockyard, industrial or marine work, ask for and keep the risk assessment, the permit to work records, plant and equipment inspection and maintenance records, training and competence records and the incident report, and note which contractor or operator was in control of the area and the task. On the roads, photograph the layout, the surface, the markings, the junctions and the sight lines before they change, and note the traffic conditions at the time.
Can I claim on a No Win No Fee basis in Pembroke?
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 Pembrokeshire?
Yes. We act for clients across the whole of Pembrokeshire, including Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock, Tenby, Fishguard and Narberth, and the surrounding Pembrokeshire communities. You can see the full list on our areas we cover page, or read more about how personal injury claims work across Pembrokeshire.
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 Pembroke?
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.