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.
Greater Manchester
Personal Injury Solicitors Wigan
Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Wigan and the surrounding part of Greater Manchester. 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.
Wigan is a large town in the west of Greater Manchester with a deep coal mining, cotton weaving and engineering heritage, a substantial distribution, logistics, manufacturing and healthcare base, and the M6, M58, M61 and M62 all converging within a few miles of 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 Wigan and Greater London
- 30+ years' collective legal experience
Can I make a personal injury claim in Wigan?
Yes, if you were injured in an accident caused by someone else's negligence in Wigan or the surrounding area. Personal injury solicitors acting for Wigan 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.
Wigan is served by the M6 running north toward Preston and the Lake District and south toward Warrington and Birmingham, the M58 running west toward Liverpool and the docks, the M61 running north east toward Bolton and Preston and the M62 running east toward Manchester and Leeds, with the A49 running north toward Preston and south toward Warrington, the A577 toward Ormskirk and the A58 toward Bolton, and rail services from Wigan North Western on the West Coast Main Line and Wigan Wallgate on the lines toward Manchester, Southport and Kirkby. Wigan sits within reach of the M6, M58, M61 and M62, so the town and its surrounding network carry an exceptional volume of freight, distribution, commuter and cross country traffic for a town of its size.
Wigan's economy is built on distribution and logistics serving the M6, M58 and M61 with very large warehousing and fulfilment operations, manufacturing and engineering including textiles with a deep cotton weaving heritage, food and drink production, metals and precision work, healthcare with the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary and the wider Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Trust, construction, and retail and services across Wigan town centre and its districts at Leigh, Atherton, Tyldesley, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Standish, Orrell and Hindley. Accidents at work reflect that mix, with machinery, textile machinery, looms, food and drink processing, packaging, metals, dust, noise, guarding, very heavy manual handling and vehicle movement injuries in manufacturing, engineering and logistics, and manual handling, aggression and clinical risks in healthcare.
The town centre produces a substantial share of public place claims, and Wigan has a historic core around the parish church, the old market and the main streets with older paving, narrow streets and changes of level, alongside substantial post war redevelopment and extensive residential estates across the town 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 Douglas runs through the town with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the Bridgewater Canal and the Wigan flashes and flashes country park, and their towpaths, embankments and water margins are in heavy public use on surfaces that are often uneven, unlit and affected by water and vegetation.
Key takeaways
- Injury Law Specialists provides access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Wigan and Greater Manchester.
- We help clients in Wigan. We do not have an office in Wigan 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 Wigan
We provide access to personal injury solicitors acting for clients across Wigan and the surrounding part of Greater Manchester. 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 Wigan. We do not have an office in Wigan 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
- M58 to Liverpool
- M61
- M62
- A49 and A577
- Wigan North Western on the West Coast Main Line
- The Leeds and Liverpool and Bridgewater canals
- The River Douglas and the Wigan flashes
What types of accident are most common in Wigan?
What stands out in Wigan claims is that this is a town where the ground was worked for generations and the roads now converge from four directions, with a very large logistics industry built on top of it. Wigan stands within reach of the M6, the M58, the M61 and the M62, which makes it a genuine freight and distribution hub as well as a commuter town, so its road traffic claims involve a high proportion of heavy goods and commercial vehicles, depot and yard movements, and long distance as well as local traffic. Its large warehousing and fulfilment operations produce their own very high proportion of manual handling, vehicle and pedestrian movement, racking, forklift and slips and trips claims, and those turn on the risk assessments, training, traffic management plans and equipment records rather than anything visible at the scene. Wigan has one of the deepest coal mining heritages in the region and was also a major cotton weaving town, so where work involved coal dust, cotton dust, oil mist, noise or vibration over years, the date of knowledge rules matter, and because the pits and the mills have closed and the industry ran through many works that have changed hands, employment and exposure records can be genuinely difficult to obtain. Its canal network, the flashes and the water margins also give the town genuine water in the middle of it, and subsidence is a real issue on worked ground.
Accidents at work
Very large logistics and fulfilment operations, food production, textiles, engineering and a major hospital produce handling, vehicle, machinery and clinical claims.
Road traffic accidents
Within reach of the M6, M58, M61 and M62, making the town a genuine freight and distribution hub as well as a commuter town.
Slips, trips and falls
A historic core with older paving and level changes, plus canal towpaths, embankments, flashes and water margins in heavy public use.
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 Wigan?
The process is the same whether you are in Wigan 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 Greater Manchester we help clients from
We act for clients across the whole of Greater Manchester. These are the other areas close to Wigan, and you can see every part of the county on the Greater Manchester page.
Personal Injury Solicitors Greater ManchesterPersonal Injury Solicitors ManchesterPersonal Injury Solicitors SalfordPersonal Injury Solicitors BoltonPersonal Injury Solicitors StockportPersonal Injury Solicitors OldhamPersonal Injury Solicitors RochdalePersonal Injury Solicitors BuryPersonal Injury Solicitors AltrinchamPersonal Injury Solicitors Sale
Personal injury claims in Wigan: frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Wigan?
No. We do not have a physical office in Wigan, 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 Wigan and the whole of Greater Manchester. 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 Wigan?
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 is especially important in Wigan, because the town's coal mining, cotton weaving and engineering heritage exposed people to coal and cotton dust, oil mist, diesels and exhaust fumes, noise and vibration over long periods, and conditions of that kind develop over decades. The three year period may run from when you first knew or should have known rather than from the exposure itself, so an old exposure is not necessarily a closed door, and it is worth asking specifically when that point was reached in your case. A practical point matters too: the pits and the mills have closed, and the industry ran through many works that have changed hands or gone out of business, so employment and exposure records and even the identity of the correct employer can be genuinely difficult to establish years later, which is a reason to take advice early and to keep any payslip, contract or works document you still have.
Can I claim for a condition caused by coal dust, cotton dust or noise exposure in mining or textile work?
It may be possible, and it depends on the exposure, the duration and the medical evidence, so it needs individual advice. Wigan has one of the deepest coal mining heritages in the region and was also a major cotton weaving town, and work in the pits and the mills involved coal and rock dust, cotton dust and lint in the air, oil mist and diesel fumes, very high noise levels from machinery, conveyors, looms and cutting equipment, and vibration from hand tools and machinery over long periods. Claims of this kind are usually brought on the basis of the employer's failure to control a known hazard and to provide suitable protective equipment and health surveillance, and they turn on the employer's records: dust suppression, extraction and ventilation, exposure monitoring, hearing tests and the provision of protection. Because these conditions develop over years or decades, the date of knowledge rules are central, and the three year period may run from when you first knew or should have known rather than from the exposure itself, so it is worth taking advice even if the exposure was a very long time ago, and even where the pit or the mill closed many years ago.
Can I claim if I was injured in a warehouse, a distribution centre or a fulfilment operation in Wigan?
Yes, where the injury was caused by unsafe working conditions, inadequate training, defective equipment, an unsafe system of work or a failure to assess and manage a known risk. Wigan has a very large distribution and logistics sector serving the M6, M58 and M61, and claims from that work commonly involve heavy and repetitive manual handling of stock and pallets, forklift truck and other vehicle movement on site, being struck by a moving vehicle or a falling load, racking and stacking, collapses of overloaded or damaged racking, slips and trips on warehouse floors and in loading bays and yards, and injuries in confined or congested picking areas. Those risks are ones the employer is expected to assess and manage rather than unavoidable features of the job, and the risk assessments, traffic management plans, racking inspection records, forklift training and competence records, handling assessments and incident reports usually become the central evidence. It is worth reporting the incident in the accident book or incident system immediately and asking for a copy of the entry.
Can I claim if I was injured on a canal towpath, at the flashes or in Wigan town centre?
Yes, where the body responsible for that surface, step, embankment or structure 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 Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the Bridgewater Canal, the River Douglas and the Wigan flashes give the town genuine water in the middle of it, and their towpaths, embankments and water margins are in heavy public use on surfaces that are often uneven, unlit in places and affected by water, vegetation and root growth. Wigan's historic core around the parish church and the old market combines older paving and changes of level with substantial redevelopment, all carrying heavy footfall. Identifying who is responsible is often the first step, because a canal towpath is frequently the responsibility of the Canal and River Trust, a river bank or a road may belong to the local authority, and a private forecourt or a country park may have a different owner again.
Does subsidence affect a claim in Wigan?
It can, and it is worth knowing about before you assume there is nothing to pursue. Wigan's ground was worked for coal for generations, and worked ground can move and can affect structures, surfaces and the level of footways and paths. What that means in law is not that the presence of old workings makes anybody automatically liable. It means that a body responsible for a surface or a structure may need to show that it took reasonable care to inspect and to identify a defect, and the fact that a defect developed where a normal inspection cycle would not have expected it can itself be a relevant point. Because the pattern of working and the exact location of shafts and galleries is not always easy to reconstruct, a subsidence element in a claim is usually something to investigate rather than something to assume, and early advice is worthwhile where there is no obvious other explanation for a defect.
How much compensation could I receive for an injury in Wigan?
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 Wigan?
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 Wigan has its own court provision with the Liverpool and Manchester court centres serving the wider area. Where a hearing is needed, we explain what is involved in advance.
What evidence should I keep after an accident in Wigan?
Keep anything that records what happened and what it cost you, and gather it early. Photographs of the surface, the step, the towpath, the embankment, the racking, the forklift, the machinery, the guarding, the water damage 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 warehouse and logistics work, keep any risk assessment, traffic management plan, racking inspection record, forklift training record and incident report you have, and note the vehicle and driver involved. In mill, mining related or engineering work, keep any exposure monitoring, hearing test or health surveillance record, note who employed you and who gave you instructions, and because so many works have closed or changed hands, keep any payslip, contract or works document you still have.
Can I claim on a No Win No Fee basis in Wigan?
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 Greater Manchester?
Yes. We act for clients across the whole of Greater Manchester, including Salford, Bolton, Leigh, Atherton, Tyldesley, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Standish 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 Greater Manchester.
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 Wigan?
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.