What are the different types of personal injury claim?
Personal injuries can have a significant impact on your life, both in the short-term and the long-term. Every personal injury is different, ranging from minor bruising or soft tissue damage, to more serious, life changing injuries.
Personal injuries can affect any area of the body, including the head, back, neck, limbs and internal organs. Below are some common personal injury categories:
Head and neck
Common head and neck injuries include concussion, whiplash and spinal cord injuries. They often happen due to road traffic accidents (RTAs), workplace accidents or slips, trips and falls.
Arms, legs, hands and feet
Some injuries that may affect your arms, legs, hands and feet are fractures, strains and sprains or soft tissue damage. You may experience these personal injuries playing sports, if you've had an RTA, a workplace accident or a fall.
Back
RTAs, heavy lifting, or playing sports may cause back injuries such as spinal injuries, back pain or slipped discs.
Internal organs
You may suffer injury to your internal organs such as your kidneys or liver. This could be due to things like medical negligence, RTAs or workplace accidents.
Soft tissue damage
Slips, trips and falls, burns or workplace accidents could cause scarring, burns or lacerations.
Psychological injuries
If you've experienced a particularly traumatic physical injury or have witnessed a traumatic event, this could cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety or depression.
Compensation for Personal Injuries
How is accident injury compensation structured?
Because there are many types of personal injury claims, the amount of compensation you may receive, also varies. It depends upon factors like the severity and area of injury and the circumstances in which it occurred. Here, we explain how the area of injury can affect the compensation that you might receive.
Compensation is made up of general damages, which cover pain, suffering and loss of amenity, and special damages, which deal with direct financial losses that have been incurred because of your personal injury.
General Damages and the Judicial College Guidelines
The Judicial College is part of the Ministry of Justice. It publishes detailed guidelines that explain how much you might receive in general damages, i.e. compensation to cover the physical and psychological injury you've experienced, and the impact the personal injury has had on your life.
Special Damages
Any direct financial losses you've experienced are called special damages. These include things like medical or treatment, travel costs and adaptations to your home or car. Your solicitor will assess these in addition to the general damages when making your no win no fee claim.
Below we've included some examples of general damages taken from the 17th edition of the Judicial College guidelines that cover different personal injury claim types:
Injury | Guide amount |
Minor brain or head injury | £2,070 - £11,980 |
Fractured cheekbone | £2,180 - £9,570 |
Mild tinnitus to total deafness | £14,300 - £133,810 |
Whiplash | £240 - £4,345 (with recovery in 1-2 years) |
Serious shoulder injury | £15,580 - £23,430 |
Back injury causing permanent symptoms | £15,260 - £33,880 |
Hip or pelvis injury with little or no residual disability. | £4,820 - £15,370 |
Simple fractures of the forearm | £8,060 - £23,430 |
Wrist injury | £4,310 - £73,050 |
Hernia | £4,140 - £29,490 |
Moderate ankle injury | £18,110 - £31,960 |
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | £3,710 - £56,180 |
While this list covers several areas of injury, it's not exhaustive. Don't worry if your injury isn't included: the guidelines are very comprehensive and contain all manner of physical and psychological harm, so your personal injury will be included.
We categorise accident injuries from head to toe. Find out more using the links below:
If you'd like to learn more about different types of personal injury claims, or even just want some free advice about your eligibility to make a claim, give us a call on . Our expert personal injury advisors will talk through your circumstances with you confidentially, establishing who's at fault for your injury and whether you can claim compensation.
If you're eligible and decide to make a personal injury compensation claim, we'll put you in touch with one of our specialist no win no fee solicitors. We choose solicitors from a nationwide network of trusted and experienced personal injury law firms who work to the highest ethical standards, so you can be sure you're in safe hands.
Meet the team

John Kushnick
Legal Operations Director
With extensive personal injury legal and senior management experience, John oversees the optimisation of the customer journey - from the start of a claim through to final settlement.
View profileMeet the teamHow much compensation am I likely to get?
Because every personal injury claim is different, we can't accurately tell you how much compensation you're entitled to at the beginning. As outlined above, the compensation settlement you might receive will depend on how your injury has affected you physically, psychologically and financially. Your no win no fee solicitor will gather all of this information and build your claim, considering how long your recovery may take, and how your personal injury might affect you in the future.
Whilst we can't give you an accurate figure at the beginning, our compensation calculator can give you an idea of how much you might receive in general damages. It doesn't take long: by answering a few simple questions, it will give you an estimate of what you might be able to expect.
With over years_since years of experience in helping people with personal injury claims like yours, you can be sure that our specialist solicitors will give you the best chance of success.
If you qualify to make a claim, your solicitor will be able to give you an accurate valuation after they've collected the evidence and started negotiating with the other side's insurers.
Did you know?
There were over 447,973 accident injury compensation claims registered in 2024/25.
That's an average of over 1,227 every day. They spanned all types of accidents, including those on the road, at work, in public, in hospital, under care or professional medical supervision and even those at home.
Source: The Compensation Recovery Unit at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Are there time limits for making a no win no fee personal injury compensation claim?
Ever claim is different, but generally, claims are required to either have been settled within three years, or for court proceedings to have been started. The sooner you start the claim process by getting in touch with us, the better.
Once you speak to our team, we'll take care of everything to ensure that your no win no fee claim is settled, or court proceedings have been started, within the three-year deadline. This period is often referred to as the limitation period.
There are some exceptions to the three-year rule:
- You can claim on behalf of a child at any time before their 18th birthday, as a ‘litigation friend'. Once they reach 18, they then have the usual three years to settle the claim or for court proceedings to start.
- If someone doesn't have the capacity to manage their own case, there are no time limits to claim on their behalf. This is assessed on a case-by-case basis and if they regain capacity at any point after the accident, even briefly, the three-year period starts from that date. This means that the claim must be settled, or court proceedings must be initiated within three years of them regaining capacity.
In most cases, you won't have much involvement in the court process at all, as most claims settle without the need for a final hearing.
Making a personal injury claim
How do I start a personal injury claim?
Starting a personal injury claim with us is very straightforward. If you think you may be eligible to make a compensation claim, it's important that you seek professional advice to give yourself the best chance of success.
The first step is to give our friendly personal injury advisors a call, and they'll talk things through with you, letting you know whether you're eligible to make a no win no fee personal injury claim. There's never any pressure to make a claim though - that's entirely your choice.
If you decide to go ahead, we'll connect you with one of our specialist no win no fee personal injury solicitors. They'll let you know if they can handle your claim and will explain the next steps to you.
Can I make a no win no fee personal injury claim?
At National Accident Helpline, we specialise in no win no fee claims. A no win no fee agreement is a contract between you and your personal injury solicitor. It means that if you lose, you pay nothing. If you win, any costs and fees, including your solicitor's success fee, come from your compensation. This means that you're never out of pocket.
On rare occasions, you may not be eligible for a no win no fee agreement. If this applies to you, your personal injury solicitor will explain your options to you at the outset, so there's no need to worry. Only once you're both happy to proceed will your solicitor start working on your claim.
Can I make a personal injury claim on behalf of someone else?
In some circumstances, you may want to make a claim on behalf of a loved one. This is possible in some circumstances:
- If you're making a claim on someone who is under 18.
- If you're making a claim on behalf of someone who does not have the mental capacity to make a claim independently.
- If the person who suffered the injury has passed away.
Why should I choose National Accident Helpline?
Our experience with personal injury claims
- Personal injury claims can cover a whole range of accidents and medical negligence, and there are many types of injury. As the UK's leading provider of personal injury advice, services and support, we've helped recover thousands of pounds in compensation for those who have experienced all types of injury.
- We choose solicitors form an approved panel. All of our partner solicitor firms are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority and The Law Society, the independent governing body regulating the professional conduct of personal injury solicitors in England and Wales. In Scotland, our partners are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland.
- We've got an ‘Excellent' rating on TrustPilot, so you can be confident that we'll always strive to get the best outcome for you.
Get in touch with us today
Whatever the circumstances of your accident, we may be able to help you make a no win no fee claim for compensation. Call us today on and tell us what happened and how it has affected you. We'll let you know if you qualify for compensation and give you the free advice you need to decide on your next steps.