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.
Lancashire
Personal Injury Solicitors Preston
Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Preston and the surrounding part of Lancashire. 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.
Preston is the administrative centre of Lancashire and its largest city, with a substantial professional, public sector, university, healthcare and manufacturing base, an historic docks area and the M6, M55 and M61 all converging on 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 Preston and Greater London
- 30+ years' collective legal experience
Can I make a personal injury claim in Preston?
Yes, if you were injured in an accident caused by someone else's negligence in Preston or the surrounding area. Personal injury solicitors acting for Preston 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.
Preston is served by the M6 running north toward Lancaster and the Lake District and south toward Wigan and Birmingham, the M55 running west toward Blackpool and the Fylde coast, the M61 running south east toward Bolton and Manchester, the A6 running north toward Lancaster and south toward Chorley, the A59 toward Blackburn and Southport, the A583 toward Blackpool and the A585 toward the Fylde, and rail services from Preston station on the West Coast Main Line with lines toward Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool, Blackburn and Lancaster. Preston sits at the point where the M6, the M55 and the M61 meet with the West Coast Main Line running through it, so the city and its surrounding network carry an exceptionally heavy volume of freight, distribution, commuter and cross country traffic.
Preston's economy is built on professional, financial, legal and office employment with a large public sector and administrative base as the county town, a university and a substantial student population, healthcare with the Royal Preston Hospital and the wider regional specialist provision, manufacturing and engineering including aerospace components, automotive and precision work, distribution and logistics serving the M6, M55 and M61, construction, and retail and hospitality across the city centre and its districts at Fulwood, Ashton, Ribbleton, Ingol, Penwortham and Lea. Accidents at work reflect that mix, with manual handling, aggression and clinical risks in healthcare, machinery, tooling, guarding, metals, dust, fume, thermal and manual handling injuries in manufacturing and engineering, and the full range of site, plant and working at height injuries in construction.
The city centre produces a substantial share of public place claims, and Preston has a historic core around the parish church, the market, Fishergate and the older streets with older paving, narrow streets and changes of level, alongside substantial post war redevelopment, a large student quarter and extensive residential areas across the city and its districts. Falls on those surfaces and at changes of level are common, as are trips on footways, in the shopping areas and the car parks. The River Ribble runs through the city with the docks, the marina and the Ribble Link connecting to the Lancaster Canal, and the Ribble, the canal, the docks and the riverside parks and routes including Avenham and Miller parks with their steep terraces and steps are in heavy public use on surfaces that are often uneven and affected by water.
Key takeaways
- Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Preston and Lancashire.
- We help clients in Preston. We do not have an office in Preston 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 Preston
We provide access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Preston and the surrounding part of Lancashire. 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 Preston. We do not have an office in Preston 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 M6
- The M55 to Blackpool
- The M61 to Bolton and Manchester
- The A6 and A59
- A583 and A585 to the Fylde
- Preston station on the West Coast Main Line
- The River Ribble and the docks and marina
- The Lancaster Canal and the Ribble Link
- Avenham and Miller parks
What types of accident are most common in Preston?
What stands out in Preston claims is that this is a regional centre as well as a local one, which means it holds employment and services far beyond what its own population would generate. Preston is the county town, the meeting point of the M6, M55 and M61, and a stop on the West Coast Main Line, so it carries a volume of freight, distribution, commuter and cross country traffic and a flow of people into and through the city that no town of its size would produce on its own. Its economy reflects that: a large public sector and administrative base, professional and office employment, a university, and a hospital with regional specialist provision that draws patients and staff from across Lancashire, all sitting alongside real manufacturing in aerospace components, automotive and precision engineering. That combination produces a very broad spread of workplace claims, from the manual handling, aggression and clinical risks of healthcare and the office, administrative and education injuries of a big public sector, through the machinery, guarding, metals, fume and thermal hazards of engineering, to the site and plant injuries of construction. The city also sits on the Ribble, and its docks and marina, the Lancaster Canal and the Ribble Link, and parks like Avenham and Miller with their steep terraces and steps give it genuine river, dock and canal frontage in public use, so falls on waterside paths and steps form a real share of local claims.
Accidents at work
A large public sector, a regional hospital, a university, aerospace and precision engineering and construction produce a very broad spread of claims.
Road traffic accidents
At the meeting point of the M6, M55 and M61 with the West Coast Main Line running through, carrying exceptional freight and cross country traffic.
Slips, trips and falls
A historic Fishergate core with older paving and level changes, plus the Ribble, the docks, the canal and Avenham and Miller parks.
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 Preston?
The process is the same whether you are in Preston 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 Lancashire we help clients from
We act for clients across the whole of Lancashire. These are the other areas close to Preston, and you can see every part of the county on the Lancashire page.
Personal Injury Solicitors LancashirePersonal Injury Solicitors BlackpoolPersonal Injury Solicitors BlackburnPersonal Injury Solicitors BurnleyPersonal Injury Solicitors LancasterPersonal Injury Solicitors ChorleyPersonal Injury Solicitors AccringtonPersonal Injury Solicitors MorecambePersonal Injury Solicitors Lytham St Annes
Personal injury claims in Preston: frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Preston?
No. We do not have a physical office in Preston, 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 Preston and the whole of Lancashire. 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 Preston?
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 matters where a condition arises from dust, fume, asbestos, noise or vibration in engineering, manufacturing, construction or dock work over years, and because much of that work ran through works that have since closed or changed hands and relied heavily on contractors, employment and exposure records can be genuinely difficult to obtain. A practical point matters as well: Preston's position at the meeting point of the M6, the M55 and the M61 means a very high proportion of the collisions here involve drivers who were not local and often several vehicles, so it is worth taking advice early in that situation while dash camera footage and vehicle data can still be preserved.
Can I claim if I was injured in a collision on the M6, the M55 or the M61 around Preston?
Yes, if another road user's negligence caused your injuries. Preston sits at the meeting point of the M6, the M55 toward Blackpool and the M61 toward Bolton and Manchester, with the West Coast Main Line running through the city, so the network around it carries an exceptionally heavy volume of freight, distribution, commuter and cross country traffic, much of it long distance rather than local. That produces a collision profile dominated by congestion, junction and merge conflicts, sudden braking and lane changing, often involving several vehicles rather than a single at-fault driver. 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 multi vehicle collisions it is worth taking advice early, because establishing how responsibility divides between several drivers takes investigation.
Can I claim if I was injured working at the hospital, the university or in the public sector in Preston?
Yes, where the injury was caused by unsafe working conditions, inadequate training, defective or unsuitable equipment, an unsafe system of work or a failure to assess and manage a known risk. Preston is the county town, with a large administrative and public sector base, a university, and a hospital with regional specialist provision that draws patients and staff from across Lancashire. Claims from that work commonly involve moving and handling injuries from moving patients and service users and from lifting where hoists, slide sheets and other equipment were unavailable or unsuitable, slips and trips in corridors, kitchens, bathrooms, laboratories and wet areas, sharps and clinical waste, aggression and violence from patients, service users or members of the public, exposure to infection, chemicals and biological materials, and the musculoskeletal, repetitive strain and equipment injuries of prolonged office, administrative and display screen work. Those are risks the employer is expected to assess and manage rather than unavoidable features of the job, and the moving and handling assessments, training records, staffing levels, COSHH assessments, equipment records and incident reports usually become the central evidence.
Can I claim if I was injured in engineering or manufacturing work in Preston?
Yes, where the injury was caused by unsafe working conditions, inadequate training, defective or unguarded machinery, exposure to a substance or a thermal hazard that should have been controlled, or a failure to provide a safe system of work. Preston has real manufacturing, including aerospace components, automotive and precision engineering, with the machinery, presses, production lines, guarding, precision tooling, metals, thermal processes, dust, fume and heavy components that go with it, along with highly repetitive assembly work and substantial manual handling. Claims commonly involve machinery and guarding injuries, crush and nip injuries from presses, rollers and moving components, burns and scalds from hot equipment and processes, chemical burns and skin and respiratory conditions from oils, solvents, coolants and metalworking fluids, musculoskeletal injury from lifting, handling and repetitive work, and hearing loss from sustained machine noise. Those claims turn on guarding and maintenance records, risk assessments, COSHH assessments, fume and dust extraction, exposure monitoring, hearing tests, health surveillance and training documentation rather than on anything visible at the scene. Much of this work sits in a supply chain, through contractors and agency labour, so establishing who actually employed you and who controlled the task is often the first question in a claim.
How much compensation could I receive for an injury in Preston?
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 Preston?
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 Preston has its own combined court centre serving the city and the surrounding area, with the wider Lancashire court centres also available. Where a hearing is needed, we explain what is involved in advance.
What evidence should I keep after an accident in Preston?
Keep anything that records what happened and what it cost you, and gather it early. Photographs of the machine, the guarding, the tooling, the vehicles and their positions, the surface, the step 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 engineering or manufacturing work, keep any risk assessment, COSHH assessment, guarding or maintenance record, fume or dust extraction record, exposure monitoring, hearing test, health surveillance or training record you have, and note who employed you, who controlled the task and which contractor or agency was involved. In healthcare or public sector work, keep the moving and handling assessment, training record and incident report, and note the staffing at the time.
Can I claim on a No Win No Fee basis in Preston?
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 Lancashire?
Yes. We act for clients across the whole of Lancashire, including Chorley, Blackburn, Blackpool, Lancaster, Burnley, Accrington, Morecambe, Lytham St Annes 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 Lancashire.
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 Preston?
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.