An accident can have a devastating effect, not only on the injured person, but also on those close to them; sometimes changing lives forever. We know how daunting it can be to suddenly have to deal with hospitals, the police, insurance companies, or the courts. We can help you to manage this and support you through the process of bringing a claim to obtain much needed compensation.
Over the years we have acted for adults and children in personal injury cases involving many serious and complex injuries including:
We frequently achieve multi-million pound settlements for catastrophically injured people. For further information about compensation we have secured for clients who have suffered personal injury, see personal injury cases we have acted in.
We represent Armed Forces personnel in bringing personal injury and human rights claims against the Ministry of Defence (‘MoD’).
Often, military personnel are given the impression that they are not allowed to bring a claim against the MoD. This is not correct and claims can be brought in respect of injuries sustained during a training exercise and whilst on active duty. We act for Armed Forces personnel who have been unnecessarily exposed to dangerous / unsafe working practices and suffered injury as a result. This has included toxic exposure during military service.
We also have experience in bringing Human Rights Act 1998 claims against the MoD. See our Human Rights page for more detail of Kingsley Napley’s experience in human rights law.
Our experienced team frequently represents clients in claims related to sexual abuse. We are also able to assist with any related criminal proceedings, if that is an issue in your case.
For further information, see our Compensation for Sexual Abuse Claims page.
A 2024 Supreme Court Judgment in Paul and another v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has to some extent clarified the law in relation to claims made by ‘secondary victims’ – those who are not directly involved in an incident (a ‘primary’ victim) but suffer injury by witnessing it.
For more information, please see our Secondary Victim Claims page.
If you or a member of your family has been injured as a result of negligence, funds can be claimed to put in place an individualised package of care and support.
We work with experienced experts in rehabilitation, care, specialist equipment, adapted accommodation and various therapies, to enable the compensation to meet your needs.
Clients with life changing injuries may never return to work. When bringing your claim, we will include your loss of earnings and lost pension contributions.
If you were self-employed before the accident, we are able to value and assess your commercial losses, and build those into the claim for compensation.
Our aim is to provide you with financial security for the future.
We are committed to helping our clients access high quality rehabilitation at the earliest opportunity and are signatories to the Serious Injury Guide. The Guide applies to high value claims and encourages Defendants to agree to early access to rehabilitation (to maximise the chances of recovery), as well as encouraging early resolution of claims. Many Insurers are also signatories to this Guide.
There are strict time limits for bringing a personal injury claim in England and Wales. This is called the limitation period.
For adults, the usual rule is that a claim must be formally started at Court within three years of the date the accident or negligence occurred, or the date on which the injured person became aware that there might be grounds to bring a claim (if that date is later).
If a child is injured by negligence, they usually have until their 21st birthday to formally start their claim at Court.
Where the claim relates to someone’s death, the limitation period is three years from the date of death or from the ‘date of knowledge’ (if that is later).
There are circumstances in which the rules differ; for example, where the claim is for someone who does not have mental capacity to bring a legal claim.
The Courts also have the discretion to extend this time limit in certain circumstances. For example, this might occur in sexual abuse cases where someone has taken a long time to bring a claim.
Other types of claims have different deadlines. For example, claims under the Human Rights Act 1998 should usually be brought within one year of the date of breach of human right(s) or date of knowledge.
It takes time to investigate a claim, so you should contact our solicitors as soon as possible.
If a claim relates to injuries suffered by a child or an adult who does not have ‘mental capacity’; a family member (or other trusted person) can act as a ‘Litigation Friend’ and bring the claim on their behalf.
If you are unsure about whether you can bring a claim on someone else’s behalf, we will be able to advise you.
We start by obtaining evidence such as collision reports, CCTV, risk assessments, material prepared by the police or CPS, witness statements and expert evidence. This is used to prove that the accident was caused by negligence. If the cause of the accident is not clear, we may instruct an accident reconstruction expert to analyse the evidence and visit the accident scene or workplace.
We also calculate the amount of compensation that can be claimed. We often instruct experienced experts (for example in rehabilitative care) to maximise your level of compensation. We then try to reach a financial settlement with the Defendant (the individual or organisation legally responsible for your injury) or their insurer.
In some cases settlement is agreed at an early stage. In other circumstances, it may be necessary to begin Court proceedings.
For further information on this process, read our Guide to Making a Claim.
Probably not. The vast majority of personal injury claims are not decided by the Court.
Successful claims are usually resolved by settlement either before or during formal Court proceedings.
Occasionally, the Court will decide a case, if it cannot be resolved any other way.
Compensation should be tailored to meet the needs of the injured person.
The first step is to consider how the injury has affected your life and whether that will change in the future. We then calculate the amount of funds required to meet your additional needs and compensate you. Depending upon the circumstances, this may include funds for:
We regularly use leading experts and barristers to assist in identifying all aspects of an injured person’s needs.
Personal injury claims typically involve detailed investigation and expert evidence. They often take several years to resolve.
Our approach is to seek an admission of liability (i.e. confirmation that negligence occurred and caused injury) as early as possible in the process.
When liability is established, the Defendant usually has to make payment of part of the compensation immediately. This allows the injured person’s needs to begin to be met while the work to quantify the full amount of compensation continues.
Conditional Fee Agreements (known as ‘no win, no fee’ agreements) are the most common way that the medical negligence and personal injury claims we undertake are funded. This gives clients the reassurance that they will not (in almost all cases) have to pay any legal costs in the event that they are not successful with a claim. We will explain all possible funding options with prospective clients.
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Other types of personal injury claims we can help with include:
or call 020 7814 1200
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