When negotiations with a liable party break down, or when the other party in a personal injury claim denies their liability, the case must proceed to court. Your solicitor will prepare formal claim documents and file them with the court, at which point we’ll wait for the court to assign a date for a hearing. While this can introduce delays into the process, and it can be frustrating to wait for the court date to arrive, your solicitor will continue negotiating during this time to resolve your claim more quickly.

It may also be possible to secure interim payments, which means you’ll receive a portion of your compensation early. This can help to address any immediate financial needs. The team at Switalskis has helped many people in the aftermath of an injury to understand their needs and find solutions to challenges. Compensation can cover the costs of treatments, tools, adjustments to your home and vehicle, and other things you might need to adjust to overcome an injury or adjust to new circumstances.

Much of the next stage of the claims process relies on your solicitor’s negotiating ability and the evidence you’ve already collected. You may need to attend the court but, if this is necessary, we’ll work with you to help you understand what to expect and prepare for the experience.

Filing paperwork

When your solicitor files paperwork with the court, this is the first step in initiating proceedings and resolving the claim through litigation. However, this doesn’t mean it’s too late to resolve your claim through negotiation, and we’ll try to maintain discussions with the other parties involved to see if we can reach a settlement before the court date arrives.

Your solicitor will prepare several formal claim documents to prepare for court proceedings. These include:

• Claim form (Form N1), which is the basic form that initiates proceedings. It summarises the parties and the nature of the claim.
• A detailed statement, referred to as “particulars of the claim”, which sets out the facts, allegations of negligence or breach of duty, the nature of the injury, and the basis of the compensation claim.
• A schedule of loss, which breaks down the financial losses you’re claiming (including both past and future losses).

Some types of evidence may also be appended to the paperwork when it is submitted to the court, including expert medical reports that illustrate the nature and extent of the injury. These documents are filed at the appropriate civil court (usually the County Court, or the High Court for higher-value or complex claims). A court fee may be payable based on the value of the claim.

Defendant’s response

The court issues the claim and serves the documents on the defendant when it receives the relevant paperwork. The defendant must acknowledge the service within 14 days, and then issue a response within 28 days. This is another opportunity for the defendant, their solicitor or their insurance company to admit liability in full or in part and avoid the need to go to court. Alternatively, they deny liability by filing a defence, or dispute the value of the damages.

At this stage, the court will determine where the hearing should take place, which type of judge will oversee the case and how urgent a priority it should be. All of this will affect the timetable of the claim, but your solicitor will always focus on securing the maximum amount of compensation for you, no matter how long things take to resolve.

If the defendant fails to respond, this can result in a judgment in favour of the claimant by default. It can also lead to costs penalties being imposed or parts of the claim/defence being struck out.

Preparing for court

While evidence has already been gathered and built into a strong case, there is more work to do to prepare for the court hearing. Each party must disclose relevant documents before going to court, which your solicitor will then analyse and incorporate into your case or refute as necessary.

Evidence that may be exchanged during disclosure includes:

• Accident reports
• CCTV footage
• Emails, maintenance logs and internal records
• Medical records and employment evidence
• Witness statements
• Expert evidence

Each party submits signed witness statements for themselves and any witnesses they intend to rely on at trial. These should cover the factual details of the incident, the impact of the injury on the claimant’s life and any observations from those who witnessed the event or aftermath. These should be filed during disclosure.

Where needed, we’ll instruct experts to provide statements, potentially including medical experts, engineers, safety specialists or other qualified individuals. These experts will prepare written reports that can be disclosed.

However, experts and witnesses may need to attend the court hearing for cross-examination unless their evidence is agreed in advance. Their overriding duty is to the court, not the party who instructed them.

All of this evidence should be compiled into a list of documents, with copies provided to the other side. Before the trial, the parties must agree a trial bundle, which is a paginated collection of all evidence and documents as above.

The trial

Trials are usually heard in the county court, or high court in larger cases before a district judge or circuit judge. Your solicitor will open the case by summarising the claim and presenting evidence. You may then be asked to give evidence and be cross-examined by the defendant. Any witnesses or experts who are to be cross-examined will then also give evidence.

The defendant’s solicitor then presents their case in the same format, and may also call witnesses. Each side then makes closing submissions, with reference to case law, evidence and the Judicial College Guidelines.

The judge may deliver judgment immediately after hearing all evidence (especially in shorter cases), or reserve the judgment and deliver it later, in writing. There are final opportunities during this process to reach a settlement with the other party and your solicitor will determine the best course of action to deliver the maximum amount of compensation for you.

The judgment

When the judge delivers their judgment, the claim is resolved. The judgment will cover liability for the accident, including a determination on whether the defendant is responsible, and if contributory negligence applies. It will also outline the amount of damages awarded, with a breakdown by category (including general damages and special damages like lost earnings and care costs). It may also assign the obligation to pay legal costs to one party or the other.

If damages are ordered to be paid by the defendant, this should usually be done within 14 to 28 days, unless the court sets a different deadline. Interest may be awarded from the date of injury or claim.

In complex or high-value claims, the court may order interim payments. This is a partial payment made before the final settlement, available when liability is admitted and damages are reasonably expected. If the claimant has urgent financial needs (e.g. for medical treatment or loss of income), their solicitor may request an interim payment. The court can also order:

• Periodical payments, a form of ongoing compensation that may be required in severe injury cases.
• Protected awards for minors or people lacking the capacity to make their own decisions. This means that the court oversees how funds are held or used on behalf of the person.

If you’ve claimed under a conditional fee agreement, you’ll also pay any outstanding legal costs at this point. Your solicitor will take a success fee, which is a percentage of the overall compensation awarded that should be agreed in advance.