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What Are The Different Types Of Personal Injury Claims?

In this guide, we look at a few different types of personal injury claims and when you might have good grounds to seek compensation. You may have been injured in a road traffic accident, whilst in a public place or in a workplace accident. In any of these scenarios, you might be able to file a personal injury claim against the liable party. However, you will need to meet specific criteria. You will need to prove that:

  • The defendant had a legal obligation to your safety, known as a duty of care. In this guide, we explore the duty of care that individuals such as road users or organisations such as businesses owe to you in different scenarios.
  • There was a breach of duty. We will look at different scenarios where a duty of care has been breached throughout this guide.
  • You sustained injuries as a result of this breach. Additionally, we discuss a few examples of accidents that could result in injury and when you might be eligible to seek compensation.

To conclude, we look at how you can instruct a solicitor to support your claim on a No Win No Fee basis.

If you have any questions about the personal injury claims process, an advisor from our team could help. Additionally, they can assess your eligibility to claim and advise on whether you have a valid case. If you do, they can help you get a personal injury claim started today.

Get in touch with Legal Expert by:

  • Calling one of our advisors on 0800 073 8804.
  • Making a claim online by sending us a message.
  • Discussing your case with an advisor using the live chat.

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Road Traffic Accidents

Drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians owe each other a duty of care to use the roads in a manner that avoids harm to other road users and themselves. To uphold their duty of care, they should comply with both the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.

In order to make a road traffic accident claim, you need to show that another road user has breached their duty of care (such as by failing to observe the Highway Code or Road Traffic Act), causing an accident which injured you.

Car Accidents

Car accidents could happen in a variety of ways. Examples of types of accidents involving vehicle collisions may include:

  • A T-bone accident caused by a driver speeding through a red light. The driver and passengers of the car that was crashed into sustained multiple serious injuries, including brain damage and spinal cord injuries.
  • Where a driver has failed to stop at a junction. If a driver does not pay due care before exiting a junction they could strike an oncoming vehicle.

Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle accidents could involve riders, occupants of other vehicles and even pedestrians. You could be injured in a motorcycle accident as a rider in circumstances such as:

  • Where the driver of a car is distracted (such as by using a mobile phone) and swerves into your lane. They could crash into you head on, or strike you on the side knocking you off your bike.
  • A driver may fail to check their mirrors when changing or merging lanes on a dual carriageway and strike you.

You can find out more about how to claim for a motorbike crash in our dedicated guide.

Cycling Accidents

Cyclists are some of the most vulnerable road users. According to the Highway Code rule 204, cyclists require extra care from road users that can cause the greatest harm. Examples of when you could make a cycling accident compensation claim include:

  • A vehicle occupant does not check before opening a vehicle’s door and strikes a passing cyclist, knocking them off their bike. This causes the cyclist to suffer a broken or fractured bone.
  • Vehicles may pull out of a side road without checking for traffic from both directions and drive straight into a passing cyclist, causing them to suffer broken bones and a head injury.

Pedestrian Accidents

As with cyclists and motorbike riders, pedestrians are considered vulnerable road users in the Highway Code. Examples of when you might have a valid pedestrian accident claim include:

  • A driver runs you over at a crossing when they speed through a red light. This results in multiple broken bones.
  • A car driver swerves onto the pavement, knocking you down. You sustain tooth damage, cuts, fractured facial bones and a broken wrist in the incident.

If you have been injured in a road traffic accident, you could be owed compensation. Contact a member of our team to discuss the types of personal injury claims.

Firefighters attend the scene of a car accident.

Accidents At Work

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) states that employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of employees carrying out work duties. As part of this duty of care, employers must ensure that they adhere to all relevant health and safety legislation.

For example, employers should conduct risk assessments to identify potential hazards and take steps to ensure your safety. In a warehouse or factory, a risk assessment may identify a need to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) such as protective boots. However, in a different work setting, such as an office, a risk assessment may identify trailing wires that need to be made safe, either by moving or covering them. Once risks have been identified, reasonable steps should be taken to eliminate or reduce them.

If your employer breaches this and you sustain injuries as a result, you could claim compensation.

Next we look at different types of accidents where employers could be liable for an accident at work.

Manual Handling Accidents

According to statistics collected and published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), manual handling accidents are among the incidents reported most by employers under the Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).  The HSE monitor workplace health and safety in Great Britain.

Examples of how you could be injured in a manual handling accident could include:

  • If you were not provided with the right manual handling training at work, you could try to lift items using the incorrect technique and suffer a back injury.
  • Unsafe manual handling practices, such as not properly securing loads in a roll cage, could cause a foot injury, such as a crushed foot if the load falls over while being moved.

Construction And Building Site Accidents

Building and construction site accidents can happen if proper risk assessments are not carried out and if proper HSE guidance is not followed. Types of accidents on building and construction sites could include:

  • Failure to provide necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) such as a hard hat. This can cause a head injury along with brain damage if falling objects land on you.
  • Failure to ensure that safety equipment provided was functional. For example, if a harness is showing signs of wear and tear, it should be taken out of use. If an employee were to use it, they could sustain broken bones in a fall from a height.

Office Accidents

As with any workplace, offices must be maintained as a safe working environment. If they do not, accidents such as slips, trips and falls, typically the leading causes of non-fatal injuries reported under RIDDOR, could occur. Examples of office accidents which could happen include:

  • Trailing wires left across the floor of an office or walkway may be a trip hazard. An employee could trip and fall over, suffering a broken wrist.
  • Manual handling injuries could occur where employees have not been provided with training in safely lifting and carrying office equipment, resulting in musculoskeletal injuries.

To further discuss the types of personal injury claims for an accident at work, contact a member of our advisory team.

A construction worker sits on the floor with a bandaged knee.

Public Liability Accidents

The party responsible for a public space is referred to as the ‘occupier’. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, they have a duty of care to ensure the safety of members of the public who are using the space for its intended purpose. If an accident occurred due to a breach of this duty and you sustained an injury as a result, you could have a valid reason to seek compensation.

Below, we look at examples of different types of personal injury claims for accidents in a public place.

Slips, Trips And Falls

Occupiers must ensure that pavements, flooring, walkways, stairs and other spaces where people may walk are correctly maintained and free from hazards. If floors are damaged, stairs broken or spillages are left uncleaned, members of the public could be injured. Examples include:

  • Where an occupier was aware that a staircase was damaged. A person could trip and fall on a broken stair and suffer a bone fracture.
  • Where a spillage in a shop has not been either marked or cleaned up and a member of the public slips over, suffering a head injury.

Accidents In Schools

Schools have a duty of care to staff, pupils, parents and other people on the school site. If they do not maintain facilities and people are injured, they may be held liable. Examples of accidents in schools could include:

  • A school may be aware that chairs are defective or broken. If they allow children to use them and they break, injuring the child, you could claim compensation.
  • Children could contract food poisoning if spoiled or improperly prepared food is served to pupils.

Accidents In A Public Park

A local authority may be responsible for maintaining parks and any facilities within, such as playground equipment. If they fail to correctly maintain it, children or adults may be injured. Accidents in public parks may include:

  • Slips, trips and falls could be caused by a failure to maintain pavements in the park. A person may trip on broken or damaged pavements and sustain an ankle injury.
  • Playground equipment that has not been properly installed or maintained could cause injuries, such as a swing collapsing, causing a child to fall from it and suffer a back injury.

Find out more about different accidents which could happen in public places and how to claim for them by contacting our team today. They can discuss the types of personal injury claims and help assess whether you have a valid reason to seek compensation.

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No Win No Fee Solicitors For Different Types Of Personal Injury Claims

Those looking for expert guidance might want to find solicitors who specialise in all types of personal injury cases to get the best possible support. Our solicitors have years of combined expertise and have helped claimants collect millions of pounds in compensation.

Should one of our No Win No Fee solicitors take on your case, they would offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA is a type of deal that means you:

  • Won’t pay a penny upfront for your solicitor’s fees.
  • Don’t get charged solicitor fees during the claims process.
  • Aren’t out of pocket for their work at all if the claim doesn’t succeed.

Even if your solicitor helps you win your personal injury claim, you aren’t out of pocket for their fees. This is because they take a percentage from the compensation award before sending the rest to you.

This percentage, known as the success fee, is legally capped because of The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. This means you would keep the majority of the payout.

You can contact us whenever you like to get answers about all types of personal injury claims. Our help service is totally free and offers the opportunity to reach an expert solicitor if our comprehensive assessment finds that you have a valid case. You can get started right now if you choose one of these options:

  • Ask about your claim online so we can call you.
  • Start an instant live chat by clicking the button at the bottom of this page.
  • Use our free helpline, 0800 073 8804.

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Read More About The Types Of Accidents You Could Claim For

Below you can find further resources from across our site:

  • Learn about playground accidents and how to claim compensation for your child.
  • If you were hit by a car at a zebra crossing, you could make a claim against a driver.
  • If you were injured lifting at work our team could help you to make a manual handling accident claim.

Additionally, you may find these sites useful:

To learn more about the different types of personal injury claims and when a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you, please contact an advisor today.