Welcome to: Claims 4 Compensation

Filing the claim for injuries is only the first part of the personal claims process in the United Kingdom. An injury claim starts the day that someone injures another person, but it will go on to involve more persons than just the claimant and the defendant.

When you are claiming damages as an injured party, your injury claims should have first been fully documented on the injury documentation form.

That form has given you the chance to personalise the story of your personal claim and to give detailed descriptions of the injuring that occurred. It may have been an agonizing process that had the claimer reliving their personal injury and considering advertising in the personals for someone to fill all of the information in for you. But what happens after the form is finished?

First, the plaintiff should bring or mail two copies of the form to the court in Great Britain where they want to initiate legal action. Filing the form will also require the payment of a fee that varies according to the amount of money that is being claimed. The fee may be waived, however for some people who are receiving some kind of government income support or credit. The clerk will provide the individual filing with a notice of issue, which is an official document that has the case number printed on it.

Next, they will send a copy of the documents to the defendant, unless you request to serve the papers yourself. If the defendant agrees that they did injure the filing party and they agree with the amount that he or she is requesting, they should at that point mail it directly to the plaintiff. However, they may also propose some sort of payment arrangement that the injured party can accept by requesting a 'judgement on admission' from the court. No agreement between the parties can be legally enforced in the U.K. without this document. Then, should the defendant default on the payment arrangements, there is a legal means of recourse.

If the injured party does not accept the payment offer, they must explain the reasons for the rejection to the court. The court will then make a decision as to reasonable payment arrangements and notify both parties of the decision via a 'judgement for claimant after determination.' The plaintiff has the right to appeal the decision of the court in writing, a copy of which should also be sent to the defendant. A judge will then review the arguments from each side and make a decision as to reasonable payment instalments and time frame.

If the defendant is arguing that they are not responsible for the other party's injuries, they have fourteen days from the date of receiving the form to respond. Along with the form, the defendant will have received a defence form, which they will need to fill in and send back to the court. If the defendant fails to send it back to the court within the specified time frame, the injured party can ask that a judgement is found in their favour. Once the defence form is received, the court will send an allocation form to both parties. How this is filled in will determine to which court track the case is eventually allocated.