Compensation Claims UK

What is a compensation claim?

A compensation claim is a legal action brought by an individual or group of individuals against another person or group of persons, or organisation. The aim of the compensation claim is to recover compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity suffered and/or injury suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence. There can be many types of compensation claim but most are made as a result of personal injury of some kind. The injured person might seek compensation from another individual or an organisation. There are also examples of groups of people making a compensation claim as a result of personal injuries received in the workplace or in an accident.

If you want to bring a claim for compensation you would proceed through the civil courts. However if you are the victim of a crime may have been involved in a police prosecution in the criminal courts and you may be entitled to receive compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. If a major accident results in criminal proceedings then the personal injury payments might well be part of a larger settlement that could see company directors prosecuted for manslaughter-though this is not common. The most important thing to prove when making a compensation claim is that your injury and/or suffering was caused in some way be another person or group of persons’ negligence.

If you can prove that someone was negligent and that the damage was as a direct result then you can bring a claim and if you can bring a claim you have a chance of succeeding in winning some compensation. To prove negligence you have to show that someone owed a duty of care and that that duty of care was breached and this resulted in loss. For example if I trip on a broken paving stone and injure myself I could make a compensation claim against the local council for negligence. They have a duty of care to make sure the pavement is in a reasonable goods condition and they may have failed to do this.

When making a compensation claim it is important to remember that there are formal complaints processes that you need to go through. Depending on the value of the claim it may be necessary to contact a lawyer. There are also time limits that dictate how long you have from the time of injury to making a claim. It is a complex area of law and you may need to prove your case with support from experts in a variety of areas. In some instances it may be very simple as an admission of liability may be made and the compensation award agreed upon and paid quickly. In other cases the process could take some years to complete.