How Often Do Personal Injury Claims Go to Trial – Answered by the Experts

Personal injury claims are made when someone is injured as a result of negligence on the part of another person or organisation. There are several different types of personal injury claims. Your compensation claim could be due to an injury sustained in a road traffic accident, a slip or fall accident, or as a result of negligence on the part of a medical professional.

The vast majority of personal injury claims are settled out of court. This means that the claimant and the defendant reach an agreement on compensation without having to go to trial. However, there are some cases where it is necessary to go to court in order to resolve the claim. Within this article, we will look at the reasons why a personal injury claim may or may not go to court.

If you suffer an injury because of the negligence of an individual or organisation, the first step to take is to contact a personal injury solicitor. Most personal injury solicitors provide their services on a no win no fee basis allowing you to start your claim without paying anything up front. At Tylers Solicitors, we are are the leading personal injury solicitors in Manchester, offering our No Win, No Fee services to individuals across the UK.

 

Table of Contents

• How many personal injury claims go to court?
• Why do most personal injury claims settle out of court?
• What to do if your personal injury claim does go to court
• Contact a personal injury solicitor

 

How many personal injury claims go to court?

According to the Ministry of Justice, in 2021/22 there were 21,000 personal injury claims started in the County Court. Of these, only 2% of them actually went to trial which highlights that the vast majority of personal injury claims are settled out of court.

 

Why do most personal injury claims settle out of court?

There are a number of reasons why most personal injury claims settle out of court. A lot of cases are settled out of court because of something called personal injury pre-action protocol. This is designed to help solicitors representing the claimant and defendant come to an agreement without the need for court proceedings. It is usually better to avoid a court hearing if at all possible to keep legal costs as low as possible which is beneficial for both parties.

However, unfortunately not all cases can be settled amicably. There are a number of factors that can increase the likelihood of a personal injury claim going to court. These include:

• Liability is disputed: If the defendant denies liability for the accident, the claim is more likely to go to court.
• The claim is complex: If the claim involves multiple injuries or a high value of compensation, it is more likely to go to court.
  
• The parties cannot agree on the value of the claim: If the claimant and the defendant cannot agree on how much compensation should be paid, the claim is more likely to go to court.

 

What to do if your personal injury claim does go to court

If your personal injury claim does go to court, there are a number of things you can do to prepare. In the majority of cases, claimants are represented by a personal injury solicitor, but there are things you can do to help.

• Gather your evidence: Make sure that you have all of the evidence that you need to support your case. This could include medical reports, witness statements, and photographs of the accident scene.
• Be prepared to testify: You will need to testify in court and tell the judge what happened. Be prepared to answer questions from the defendant’s solicitor.

If you have any questions about the personal injury claims process or what you should do in the event of your claim going to court, your solicitor will be able to advise you.

 

Contact a personal injury solicitor

Statistics prove that the majority of personal injury claims are settled out of court. One of the main reasons for this is that both parties will usually see the benefits of settling out of court. If you suffer any kind of injury that you believe wasn’t your fault, contact Tylers Solicitors right away, and we will be happy to help.