The Personal Injury Glossary – Understanding Your Claim

If you’ve just launched, or are thinking of launching, a personal injury claim then you may have found that there are a wide array of technical legal terms that you don’t understand.

Here at Tranter Cleere we are personal injury solicitors with many years of experience behind us, and as such we understand that what our clients want most from us is reassurance and support, and this means that we endeavour to explain everything in plain English.

With this in mind, we’ve taken the time to compile this glossary of personal injury legal terms to ensure you understand everything about your claim.

Causation – In relation to personal injury and civil cases the “balance of probabilities” test is applied, that is to say, is it ‘more likely than not’ that this loss was incurred because of this incident.

Claim Form – Contains basic information pertaining to the claim, and is used to commence any civil legal proceedings.

Damages – The damages awarded following a personal injury case are also known as the compensation.

‘No Win, No Fee’ (aka Conditional Fee Arrangements) – As it sounds, a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement means that, should your case be unsuccessful, there will be no obligation to pay any of our fees. However should your claim be successful, you will be required to make a contribution to these costs, as outlined in the Legal Aid, Sentencing & Punishment of Offenders Act. The law states that this contribution cannot exceed 25% of the damages awarded to you.

Particulars of the Claim – This is a separate document to the Claim Form in personal injury cases, and includes details of why the Claimant holds the Defendant responsible for the injury and the compensation which is sought.

Pain, Suffering & Loss of Amenity – This legal term refers to the damages that are awarded for the injuries themselves, however there are no fixed figures for these and the amount awarded will typically be down to the judge’s discretion.

Personal Injury Protocol (aka the Pre-Action Protocal for Personal Injury Claims) – This protocol represents the code of procedure all parties must follow prior to the issuing of formal court proceedings. Launched in 1999, the Personal Injury Protocol was introduced to encourage better communication earlier between both parties to ensure the exchange of information and better investigation of claims, increasing the possibility of reaching a settlement before court proceedings become necessary.

Schedule of Special Damages (aka a Schedule of Loss) – This document will often be served alongside the Particulars of Claim and is used to detail any financial losses that were incurred due to the injury sustained by the Claimant.

If you have any other questions related to personal injury claims give our experienced and knowledgeable team a call today on 0800 6 12 11 13. We’re waiting to take your call.