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.
West Midlands
Personal Injury Solicitors Solihull
Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Solihull and the surrounding part of the West Midlands. 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.
Solihull is a large town in the east of the West Midlands with one of the most affluent and car dependent populations in the region, a substantial professional, business and office economy, and Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre and the M42 and M40 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 Solihull and Greater London
- 30+ years' collective legal experience
Can I make a personal injury claim in Solihull?
Yes, if you were injured in an accident caused by someone else's negligence in Solihull or the surrounding area. Personal injury solicitors acting for Solihull 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.
Solihull is served by the M42 running north toward Tamworth and south west toward Redditch and the M5, the M40 toward London, the A45 running west toward Birmingham and east toward Coventry, the A41 toward Birmingham and the A34 toward Shirley and Stratford-upon-Avon, and rail services from Solihull station and Birmingham International on the Chiltern and West Coast lines. Solihull sits between the M42, M40 and A45 east of Birmingham, and it contains Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre and the main rail and motorway interchange serving them, so the town and its surrounding network carry a volume of long distance, freight, airport and exhibition traffic exceptional even by national standards.
Solihull's economy is built on professional, business, financial and office services, a substantial corporate and headquarters presence, aviation and airport related employment, exhibitions, hospitality and conferencing at the NEC, automotive engineering and manufacturing including the Solihull vehicle plant, construction, and retail, with a large car dependent population commuting to Birmingham, Coventry and beyond. Accidents at work reflect that mix, with machinery, production, guarding, tooling, metalworking and manual handling injuries in automotive manufacturing, slips, trips, manual handling, baggage and vehicle movement risks in aviation and airport work, and slips, trips, manual handling and aggression risks in exhibitions, hospitality and retail.
The town centre produces the usual public place claims, and Solihull has a substantial shopping and commercial core with extensive pedestrian areas and changes of level, alongside largely twentieth century residential development and its older village cores at Knowle, Dorridge, Hockley Heath and Meriden, which retain older paving and narrower lanes. Falls on those surfaces and at changes of level are common, as are trips on the footways, car parks and forecourts across the town, and the town has a very high level of car dependency, which shapes both its collision profile and the volume of pedestrian and vehicle conflict at its retail, business park and station entrances. The River Blythe and the canal network run through the borough with towpaths and riverside routes that are often uneven and affected by water, and the wider area includes old mining and quarry ground where subsidence affects some roads and paths.
Key takeaways
- Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Solihull and the West Midlands.
- We help clients in Solihull. We do not have an office in Solihull 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 Solihull
We provide access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Solihull and the surrounding part of West Midlands. 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 Solihull. We do not have an office in Solihull 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
- M42
- M40
- A45
- A41 and A34
- Birmingham Airport
- The National Exhibition Centre
- Solihull and Birmingham International stations
- The River Blythe and the canal towpaths
What types of accident are most common in Solihull?
What stands out in Solihull claims is an affluent, heavily car dependent borough built around airports, exhibitions, offices and a major vehicle plant. Solihull contains Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre and the principal motorway and rail interchange serving them, so aviation and airport related employment is a genuine local claim category, involving baggage handling, vehicle and aircraft ground movement, aircraft turnaround, working at height on stands and machinery and equipment around the terminal. Beyond that, the borough rests on professional, business and office services with a substantial corporate and headquarters presence, one of the largest vehicle manufacturing plants in the country, and a very high level of car dependency by national standards, which shapes both the collision profile and the volume of pedestrian and vehicle conflict at retail, business park and station entrances. The NEC and the airport together bring very heavy footfall and long distance traffic into a borough of this size. Its older village cores at Knowle, Dorridge, Hockley Heath and Meriden retain older paving and narrower lanes, and the wider area's mining and quarry ground affects some roads and paths.
Accidents at work
Automotive manufacturing, aviation and airport work, the NEC, offices and retail produce machinery, baggage, vehicle movement, manual handling and slips claims.
Road traffic accidents
Between the M42, M40 and A45 with the airport and NEC interchange, carrying heavy long distance, freight, airport and exhibition traffic on a car dependent network.
Slips, trips and falls
A substantial shopping core with pedestrian areas and level changes, older village cores at Knowle, Dorridge and Meriden, and towpaths affected by water.
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 Solihull?
The process is the same whether you are in Solihull 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 West Midlands we help clients from
We act for clients across the whole of West Midlands. These are the other areas close to Solihull, and you can see every part of the county on the West Midlands page.
Personal Injury Solicitors West MidlandsPersonal Injury Solicitors BirminghamPersonal Injury Solicitors CoventryPersonal Injury Solicitors WolverhamptonPersonal Injury Solicitors WalsallPersonal Injury Solicitors West BromwichPersonal Injury Solicitors DudleyPersonal Injury Solicitors StourbridgePersonal Injury Solicitors Halesowen
Personal injury claims in Solihull: frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Solihull?
No. We do not have a physical office in Solihull, 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 Solihull and the whole of the West Midlands. 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 Solihull?
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. Where an injury happens at or around an airport, there is an important qualification: where it happens on board an aircraft, or in the course of international carriage, international conventions can impose shorter time limits and different rules from the ordinary three year period, and it is worth taking advice quickly for that reason. The date of knowledge point can also matter where a condition arises from dust, fume, solvents, noise or vibration in manufacturing or engineering work over years. Because CCTV at airports, stations and exhibition venues is often overwritten quickly, evidence should be requested early.
Can I claim if I was injured working at the airport or the NEC?
Yes, where the injury was caused by unsafe working conditions, inadequate training, defective or unguarded equipment, a failure to control vehicle or aircraft movement, or a failure to provide a safe system of work. Solihull contains Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre, so aviation, airport and exhibition work is a genuine part of local employment. Airport and ramp claims commonly involve baggage handling, aircraft and vehicle ground movement, aircraft turnaround, working at height on stands and around aircraft, machinery and equipment in the terminal, and the specific manual handling risks of baggage and freight. Exhibition and conference work brings heavy footfall, temporary structures, manual handling and unloading and the aggression and slips risks of a large visitor venue. Those claims turn on the employer's risk assessments, safe systems of work, training records, maintenance and inspection records and traffic and turnaround procedures rather than on anything visible at the scene. Because these sites operate through a mixture of direct employees, contractors and third party handlers, establishing who actually employed you and who controlled the task is often the first question rather than an afterthought.
Can I claim for an injury on an aircraft or at an airport?
It depends where exactly the injury happened, and this is one area where the ordinary rules do not always apply. An injury on board an aircraft, or in the course of international carriage, can be governed by international conventions rather than by ordinary English negligence law, and those conventions impose their own time limits, which in some cases are shorter than the usual three year period, along with their own rules on who can be sued and what can be recovered. That does not mean a claim is not possible, but it does mean the deadline can be shorter than you would expect, so it is worth taking advice quickly rather than waiting. An injury in the terminal building, a car park, a forecourt or on the approach roads is generally dealt with under ordinary occupiers' and highway law, where the question is whether the responsible body maintained the surface, the lighting or the hazard to a reasonable standard.
Can I claim if I was injured in a collision on the M42, the M40 or the A45?
Yes, if another road user's negligence caused your injuries. Solihull sits between the M42, the M40 and the A45 and contains the principal motorway and rail interchange serving Birmingham Airport and the NEC, so the routes around the town carry a very heavy volume of long distance, freight, airport and exhibition traffic, much of it from outside the region. 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, and the high level of car dependency in the borough means a great deal of local movement is by car on a congested network. 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.
How much compensation could I receive for an injury in Solihull?
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 Solihull?
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 Solihull and Birmingham court centres serve the borough. Where a hearing is needed, we explain what is involved in advance.
What evidence should I keep after an accident in Solihull?
Keep anything that records what happened and what it cost you, and gather it early. Photographs of the surface, the step, the equipment, the vehicle or the defect, details of any witnesses, medical records, receipts for treatment and travel, and a note of the days you could not work are all useful. Where the accident was at the airport, the NEC or a station, note the terminal, hall, stand, time and flight or event, and ask whether CCTV exists, because those systems overwrite quickly. In manufacturing or engineering work, keep any risk assessment, COSHH, maintenance or training record you have, and report the 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 Solihull?
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 the West Midlands?
Yes. We act for clients across the whole of the West Midlands, including Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall, Dudley, Wolverhampton 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 the West Midlands.
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 Solihull?
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.