A list of the most common types of personal injury claims in the UK


Accidents happen daily, and anyone can be a victim. More than once in your life, you’ll probably find yourself in an undesirable situation. Sometimes it can be due to your actions, but you can often find yourself in an unfortunate situation due to someone else’s actions.

In 2019/20, 111 people died at their workplace and over 693.000 experienced non-fatal injuries or illness related to work conditions. 50% of the fatal injuries resulted from two kinds of accidents, a moving vehicle struck them, or they fell from a height. Statistics show that 25% of fatal cases were the result of falls from height (with most cases in the construction sector) and 19% of a hit caused by a moving vehicle. When it comes to non-fatal injuries, trips, slips or falls on the same level caused 29% of cases.

Besides work-related accidents, in 2019, there were 153.158 casualties in road traffic accidents, and 1752 people died due to car crashes. Car occupants continue to be the most considerable portion of victims of road accidents with 736 passengers getting killed in 2019. The list could continue with examples from accidents in public and medical negligence.

You could claim for compensation if you suffered illness or injury because of another’s negligence. It implies making a claim against the individual who is at blame for your injury to redeem financial compensation to help you recover and cover for your loss. This article documents the most common types of personal injury cases from Great Britain.

Road traffic accidents

Considering the high number of road traffic accidents, it’s no surprise that car crashes count for the vast majority of personal injury cases in the UK. Drivers involved in a car accident, pedestrians hit by a vehicle, passengers injured in a crash, or motorcyclists and cyclists injured in an accident can claim compensation if they aren’t at fault.
The most common personal injury cases of road traffic accidents include:
– Hit and run accidents
– Joyriders
– Read end collisions
– Drunk drivers
– Reversing
– Concertina accidents
– Collisions at roundabouts or junctions
– Excessive speed
– Lane-changing crashes
– Accidents caused by uninsured drivers
– Crashes cause by overtaking
A victim involved in a car accident can sustain from slight injuries (like bruising and sprains) to life-threatening conditions (like broken bones and organ damage) and even death.

Accidents at work

Employers have the legal duty to provide their staff with a safe and secure work environment that protects their health. But even if Great Britain has stringent health and safety regulations, workplace accidents happen all the time and employees suffer injuries or even death. The most common causes that trigger work accidents are:
– Faulty equipment, loose cables, wet or uneven floors that cause falls, trips, and slips
– Falls from height
– Lack of training
– Dangerous working procedures or practices
– Exposure to harmful substances that cause occupational illnesses
– Defective machinery or equipment
The cost of workplace ill-health and injuries in 2018/19 was £16.2 billion with ill health cases counting 66% of the total expenses. However, despite the higher costs of ill health, injuries account for a greater number of cases. After suffering an accident at work, people can determine how much personal injury compensation they deserve by accessing a resource like the Compensation Calculator UK that provides them with tools to gain insight into how compensation is calculated. It’s smart to read guides and example case studies because they offer information on how payment is calculated according to the type of injury they experience.

Accidents in public

Public liability claims imply accidents that happen on private or public property like falls, trips, and slips in car parks, restaurants, supermarkets, shops, pubs, and other leisure facilities. Property owners are obliged to provide their visitors with safe premises. If they fail to do it and accidents happen, the victim can claim compensation from the property owner, business, or insurer. The most common causes of accidents in public are:

– Falling items
– Unexpected obstacles
– Uneven flooring
– Poorly lit passageways
– Failure to announce hazards
– Wet floors

A specialist in accident injuries can work with the victims who suffered an injury in a public space to get compensation. Most times, these accidents can be avoided if the public facility takes more care. It’s best to work with an expert because they can help the victim prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accident wouldn’t have occurred if the building management, property owner, or service provider had adhered to the health and safety regulations.

Medical negligence

Personal injury specialists use the term medical negligence to refer to accidents, mistakes or poor care administered by private health organisations, the NHS, or medical staff. Statistics show that the NHS treats 1 million people every 36 hours, and inevitably, complications happen when dealing with so many patients in so little time. But when avoidable errors affect patients’ standard of life, they should receive compensation.

Here are some examples of negligent medical treatment:

– Misdiagnoses or delay in diagnosing. Most times, healthcare professionals misdiagnose conditions like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson, cancer, stroke, meningitis, or diabetes.

– Surgical error causing further health issues, patient suffering or even injuries. Most common surgical errors include leaving a foreign object in the patient’s body, nerve damage or injury to organs, incorrect operations, operations done on wrong body parts.

–  Birthing negligence before, during, or after childbirth that can affect the mother or baby’s health. These cases often include stillbirth, brachial plexus injuries, failure to identify and manage congenital disabilities, and failure to spot and treat haemorrhages.

– Doctors prescribe the wrong treatment or make errors while treating health conditions. Healthcare professionals often make errors when dispensing or prescribing medications, and the results of these actions can trigger other illness, and sometimes death. Common mistakes include mixing up prescriptions, prescribing treatment that causes an adverse reaction to existing medication, prescribing the wrong medication or dosage, or prescribing medication to a patient allergic to it.

Last thoughts

If you feel you have a personal injury claim or are unsure, get in touch with an expert to determine if you should make a claim and help you calculate compensation.


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