ACCIDENT TYPES
A personal injury occurs when a person has suffered some form of injury, either physical or psychological, as the result of an accident or medical malpractice.

The most common type of personal injury claims are Road Traffic Accidents (RTA), Accidents at work, Tripping accidents, Assault claims, Accidents in the home, Defective product accidents and holiday accidents. Indeed, there are a multitude of types of accident and the term personal injury also incorporates medical and dental accidents (which lead to numerous medical and dental negligence claims every year) and conditions which are often classified as industrial disease cases. Industrial disease type cases include asbestosis and mesothelioma, chest diseases (e.g. emphysema, pneumoconiosis, silicosis, chronic bronchitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic obstructive airways disease), vibration white finger, occupational deafness, occupational stress, contact dermititus, and repetitive strain injury cases.

Where the accident was the fault of someone else, the injured party may be entitled to monetary compensation from the person whose negligent conduct caused the injury.

In England and Wales, under the limitation rules, where an individual is bringing a claim for compensation, court proceedings must be commenced within 3 years of the date of the accident, failing which the claimant will lose the right to bring their claim. However, if the injured party was under the age of 18 at the time of the accident, then they have up until the day prior to their 21st birthday to commence proceedings. Legal Aid for personal injury cases was largely abolished in the late 1990s.

Road Traffic Accident
If you have been injured in a road traffic accident, whether as a driver, passenger, pedestrian or cyclist, you may have an accident compensation claim against the driver responsible for the accident. Drivers are required by law to have insurance and the claim is to be dealt with by the responsible driver’s insurance company. In case the responsible driver is not insured you may still make a road traffic accident claim against the Motor Insurers Bureau. MIB is an organisation established to compensate the victims of uninsured and untraced drivers.

Accident at Work
If you have been injured in an accident at work or working elsewhere you may have a claim against a group or individual responsible, including your employer. Employers are required by law to have Employer Liability Insurance and the insurance company will deal with your claim for compensation for injury and losses, including loss of earnings. Even if your accident hasn’t caused you to take time off work, you can still claim compensation for the physical pain and suffering of your injury.
Accidents at work can happen in various ways and even if you think no-one was necessarily to blame, you may have a claim, involving defective equipment or machinery, inadequate training in the use of machinery, lifting heavy objects, using dangerous machinery, faulty, damaged or slippery flooring, careless acts by other workers causing an accident, lack of safety clothing for example.

Tripping & Slipping Accidents
If you have had a fall in a public place such as a supermarket, an office or in the street and this is caused for example by a defect or hole in the floor or ground, a wet floor or a protruding object you may have a claim against the person or group responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the area where it happened.

Product Liability
If you have been injured by a faulty or defective consumer product, health and safety law gives you the legal right to pursue a claim for compensation for those injuries from either the manufacturer or supplier of those goods.