Making a personal injury claim
You can make a personal injury claim if you’re involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault and have suffered an injury. You have up to three years from the date of the accident to make a claim.
What evidence do I need to be able to make a personal injury claim?
Gathering sufficient evidence is key in being able to bring a successful personal injury claim.
You should photograph your injuries and keep a detailed record of what has happened and the injury or accident you have suffered.
Types of Personal Injury:
- Accidents at work
- Road Traffic Accidents
- Product Liability
- Psychological Injuries
Here are our top tips to help you get compensation for your personal injury claim:
- Get medical attention straightaway. All medical professionals must keep records of their appointments with patients. They will keep a record of your injuries and the treatment you need, which will be essential evidence to help with your claim. The record of a doctor is much more important than that of a lay person and carries weight in any decisions. Sometimes injuries can be worse than they might originally seem and a medical professional can identify exactly what’s wrong and offer the right help. They can continue to keep records as time goes by and if new problems are identified, showing an account of your progress or lack of it.
- Report the accident as soon as you can and make sure your report is recorded.
- Wherever the accident occurs, for example if it’s at work or in a public place, you should report the incident to the relevant people. If the accident is a road traffic accident, for example, it should be reported to the police. They too will keep records.
- Take photographs of the location of the accident. Pictures taken of the location at the time of the accident can be used as evidence to show the circumstances and help identify any negligence or wrongdoing which could have caused the incident. For example, maybe you can illustrate a chaotic work area with dangerous stacking, a wet slippery floor or a lack of safety features. If you’re involved in a road traffic accident, ensure you take pictures of the damage to any vehicles involved and other damage, for example if property is damaged. Tripping or falling are common causes of accidents and often occur as a result of negligence or maintenance issues. Maybe you tripped over something that should not have been there, or became a hazard over time but not dealt with.
- Take measurements where possible. If it’s a tripping accident take and record measurements of the defect and photograph it. Make a note of the measurements to go along with your photo of the location. If you can use a ruler or measuring tape to show the actual measurement in a photo all the better.
- Get photographs of any injuries. You should take pictures of the injuries you sustained from the accident. As your injuries may heal and fade it is important to keep a record. Make sure you can show when the photo was taken. Take photos over time as bruises develop and change as they heal. It’s better to have too many pictures than too few.
- Keep all receipts and invoices of any costs and expenses. Keep a tally of any costs and expenses arising from any tasks or care you were unable to carry out yourself, because of the injuries. For example taxi fares, bus tickets, loss of income. These can help with your claim and you could get compensation to cover the expenses.
- Keep a record of any care provided to you following the accident by family and friends or paid for care. Keep the record going over time as you recover. A timeline of how long the care was required and the kind of tasks performed is very helpful to prove aspects of the compensation amount.
- Remember it’s always best to seek professional, specialist advice from a solicitor before starting a claim. They have specialist personal injury lawyers who will understand the nature of your claim and help you get the right amount of compensation.
How can ONRECORD help with my personal injury claim?
ONRECORD will help you to collect, record and store evidence. Developed by a lawyer and a doctor, ONRECORD will allow you to gather sufficient evidence and make your personal injury case.