Personal Injury Claims Solicitors in Belfast & Northern Ireland

You have three years to begin legal action in a personal injury claim. The time limit usually begins from the time your accident occurred, but it can commence on a later date if you are not immediately aware of your injuries.

Personal injury claims for minors

If you were injured as a child, the three year time limit begins on your 18th birthday.

Issuing proceedings

Many believe they have three years to instruct a solicitor but this is incorrect. You must issue proceedings prior to the three year time limit running out so it is important to seek legal advice well in advance. If you fail in this, your case will very likely get statute-barred, preventing you from claiming.

Expired limitation periods

In some specific circumstances, a Judge does have discretion to permit a claim after the limitation period has expired. You should therefore obtain specialist legal advice even if three years have passed since you were injured.

Learn more about personal injury claims limitation periods

You can find out more about personal injury claims limitation periods by reading our blog on the topic: How long do I have to claim?

The length of time varies from case to case. We typically find that the length of time it takes to bring a case from instruction to settlement or hearing is intrinsic with the complexities of a case. In most instances, a straightforward case will conclude quicker than a complex case.

Three months to several years

In instances where a case is relatively straightforward, we often bring it to conclusion in as little as three months. Personal injury cases of a more complex nature can take several years to conclude. This is due to the severity of the injuries sustained and the number of medical reports required to progress the case.

Personal injury claim delays

Whether the defendant accepts or denies liability will also factor in how long it can take. In some rare instances, the defendant’s insurer or solicitor can cause avoidable delays. For example, they may fail to respond to letters in a timely manner. We have the expertise and experience to mitigate against such delays should they occur.

The length of time required to conclude a personal injury case is also subject to court availability should the case be required to proceed to a hearing. This is particularly amplified when the courts are experiencing a backlog.

We are personal injury specialist solicitors

Our solicitors have a reputation for progressing personal injury claims quickly and ensuring any unnecessary delays are avoided.

The amount of compensation is linked to the injuries sustained and the amount of time that was required for you to recover.

Brackets of personal injury compensation

We get an idea of how much compensation our personal injury clients are entitled to by referring to the Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases in Northern Ireland from The Judicial Studies Board for Northern Ireland. This is also known as “The Green Book”. It provides brackets of compensation for all injuries ranging from soft tissue injuries such as whiplash to serious and lifechanging injuries such as severe brain damage.

It is important to note that The Green Book is a guide. There are lots of other factors that may be factored in that could impact the level of compensation. This depends on your unique set of circumstances and how the injury was sustained.

General damages and special damages

The guide also only refers to general damages. This is the compensation that you’re entitled to for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries. You may also be entitled to special damages. These are designed to compensate you for things like your loss of earnings, damage to your property and even opportunities you missed.

You may still be able to make a claim for compensation when you are partly liable for the circumstances surrounding how you became injured. This is called contributory negligence.

Contributory negligence

If the personal injury claim is successful, the amount paid to you in damages would be reduced in line with how responsible you were. For example, if it could be determined that you were 20% responsible, you would receive 20% less in compensation than you would have got had the defendant been entirely responsible.

Always speak to a personal injury solicitor

It should be noted that sometimes people think they were responsible or partly responsible for an accident when the facts of the matter would suggest otherwise. You should always seek independent legal advice from a personal injury solicitor before conceding liability.

It is not uncommon for insurance companies or other organisations to contact you shortly after an accident in the hope to dissuade you from claiming or to make you an offer. This is known as third party capture and rarely has your best interest at heart. It is important that you obtain independent legal advice before accepting any offers or deciding whether you would like to claim or not.

More on third party capture

You can learn more by reading our blog post on the dangers of third party capture.

We offer a free initial consultation that allows us to establish if you have a viable personal injury claim or not.

The losing party pays

In personal injury litigation, the normal rule is that the losing party pays the legal costs of the winning party. This is also what usually happens when a case is settled outside of court, even if it settled without admission of liability. If a case proceeds to court, the courts can usually be expected to order the loser to pay the winner’s legal costs. This typically means that there is no cost to you when pursuing personal injury compensation.

No win no fee in Northern Ireland

The payment structures in Northern Ireland differ from conditional fee arrangements. The Law Society of Northern Ireland, our governing body, does not permit its members to operate using conditional fee agreements, more commonly referred to as no win no fee arrangements. You can learn more about why this is so and what alternatives exist at No Win No Fee Northern Ireland.

Legal Aid and legal expenses insurance

We may be able to apply for Legal Aid on your behalf. Or we might be able to secure After The Event (ATE) legal expenses insurance which means you only pay a small premium should the claim be unsuccessful. However, most of the time, our expert personal injury solicitors can predict the outcome of a case with great accuracy and advise you accordingly. Your solicitor would provide you with a range of options and ensure you fully understand each of them.

No hidden fees

There are no hidden fees or unexpected bills during any part of the McCartan Turkington Breen client journey.