Compensation has been obtained for the family of a 15-year-old boy who died after being hit by a...
If you are injured through no fault of your own, it can have serious consequences for you and your loved ones. As well as living with the impact on your health, you might also find yourself unable to work, leaving you in real financial difficulties.
Claiming compensation can help you get your life back on track.
The CWJ team of personal injury solicitors in Kent are specialists in securing no-win no-fee compensation for injuries sustained that were not your fault. We deal with many hundreds of injury claims in Kent each year, both minor and severe, including brain injuries, spinal injuries and back injuries.
We will be able to advise you if we think you can claim compensation for injuries and can explore funding your injury claim on a no-win no-fee basis.
For a free initial consultation or to find out more about starting a claim, please contact our Orpington office or you can request a call back.
Why choose CWJ for your personal injury compensation claim?
Our team of personal injury solicitors is led by David Greenhalgh, a personal injury solicitor who has specialised in accident claims in Orpington and throughout Bromley and Kent for over 20 years. David has also been a member of the Law Society Personal Injury Panel since its inception in 1994, reflecting his exceptional expertise.
With a track record of successfully settling hundreds of personal injury claims, we have achieved compensation for clients ranging from damages for minor injuries to million pound awards resulting from catastrophic and fatal injury claims.
CWJ are members of Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA), and Headway, the charity for victims of head injuries.
We are able to provide initial advice about your injury claim without charge or obligation. We recognise that many people may find it difficult to fund a personal injury claim and we are able to explore and give advice on funding any compensation claim on a no-win no-fee basis.
Confused about how personal injury claims work? Please read our personal injury FAQs, which addresses questions such as “am I eligible to make a personal injury claim”, “how is my injury claim pursued”, “how long will my personal injury claim take” and “how much compensation will I receive from my injury claim”?
Our expertise with all types of personal injury claims
We can offer experienced legal expertise and practical support for all types of personal injury claims, including:
- Accidents at work
- Road accidents
- Tripping accidents
- Accidents in public places
- Medical negligence
- Severe traumatic injury during birth
- Serious injury cases
- Fatal accidents
- Industrial/occupational disease
- Brain injuries
- Cycling accidents
Personal injury claims explained
How to start a personal injury claim
You likely have a lot of questions, so we will start by offering you a free initial consultation to discuss your injuries and the circumstances that led to them. We can then give an opinion on whether we think your claim justifies further investigation and talk you through how the claims process works.
At this stage, we will also discuss the various funding options available, including conditional fee agreements (‘no win, no fee’), and the likely timescales involved in pursuing a claim.
The process for resolving personal injury claims
There are several stages to the claims process:
Establishing your eligibility for compensation – Before we can make a claim, we need to prove that your injuries were caused in whole or in part by the negligence or deliberate action of another party. This will involve looking at various types of evidence, such as CCTV, accident records, medical records and witness testimony to build a strong case for you.
Valuing your claim – Sometimes referred to as ‘assessing quantum’, this involves looking at both the financial and non-financial consequences of your injuries so we can make sure the compensation you receive reflects the true impact on your life.
Seeking an out-of-court settlement – We will always seek an out-of-court settlement where possible as this usually allows you to get fair compensation much faster, with lower legal costs and less stress. The vast majority of claims can be resolved this way, making the claims process much easier for you.
Initiating court proceedings – In those rare cases where we can’t reach an out-of-court settlement, it may be necessary to initiate court proceedings to make sure you get the compensation you deserve. Where this is required, we will support you through every stage of proceedings, making sure your case is presented effectively as well as providing you with sympathetic personal support every step of the way.
Funding a personal injury claim
There are various options for funding a personal injury compensation claim, including:
Conditional Fee Arrangements (CFA) – Commonly called ‘no win, no fee’, this arrangement means you don’t need to pay anything upfront towards the costs of making a claim and will only need to cover our fees if we secure compensation for you. This is the most common way to fund a personal injury claim.
Legal expenses insurance – This type of cover is sometimes offered alongside home insurance and car insurance policies. If you have the right type of policy, this may cover some or all of your legal costs
In some cases, some or all of your legal fees may be recoverable from the defendant, which can help to significantly reduce your costs.
Time limits for personal injury claims
In most cases, there is a time limit of three years to make a claim for personal injury compensation. This will be counted either from the date the negligence occurred or the date when you first became aware of it (known as the ‘date of knowledge’).
However, there are exceptions where you may have longer to claim, including:
If the claimant is under 18 – Their parents or guardians will have until the claimant turns 18 to bring a claim on their behalf. Once the claimant turns 18, they can then pursue their own claim up until their 21st birthday.
If the claimant lacks mental capacity – There is no time limit for someone else to pursue a claim on their behalf.
If you need to claim for someone who has died – You will usually have three years to do so from the date of death.
Understanding which time limit applies to your circumstances can be complicated, so we recommend getting in touch with our specialist team as soon as possible to ensure you don’t miss out on your chance to claim.
Managing personal injury compensation
Receiving compensation can potentially affect your right to means-tested benefits if the right steps are not taken, so we will be happy to advise you on what you need to do to protect your entitlement to any benefits you rely on or may need in future.
We can assist with options including placing your compensation into a personal injury trust, allowing you to use the funds while ring-fencing them so they do not count towards means-testing assessments.
Speak to our personal injury solicitors in Orpington today
If you have suffered from a serious injury that was not your fault, please get in touch to discuss how we can help you claim compensation.
To find out more about starting a claim, please contact our Orpington office or you can request a call back.