Do I have to go to court to contest my personal injury claim?

For larger claims, a joint settlement meeting is a meeting that your personal injury solicitor can call for to help to settle the claim faster. Both sides meet to discuss whether they can reach an agreement without the injury claim going to court. Your solicitor will represent you at the meeting and report back to you after so that you can tell them how you feel about what was discussed. Often, joint settlement meetings result in an agreement.

At any stage of your claim, the other party might make a 'Part 36 offer'. This is an offer to pay you compensation as an alternative to going to court. Crucially, this is an offer to pay without accepting liability for your injury. We would advise the client on Defendant P36 Offers and if we advised to reject then they are protected from costs awards by the no win no fee agreement.

• For Defendant beating an offer means that the Claimant isn't awarded more.
• For the Claimant beating means being awarded more than the offer.
• If we make a P36 offer for the Claimant and we beat that offer then the other side has to pay interest on their compensation from the date of the offer and extra legal fees so an incentive for them to settle early.

You have 21 days to accept a Part 36 offer. After this period, the other party can withdraw it. You may not want to accept it, as the offer could be less than the compensation you might receive if you took the claim to court. Either way, your solicitor will advise you on the options available.

Part 36 offers and joint settlement meetings reduce the chances of an injury claim going to court. However, there are a few circumstances in which your claim might go to court.

Although the thought of your injury claim going to court can be daunting, be assured that only approximately 5% of cases go to court, and your solicitor will only suggest it if it's the best chance of securing your compensation.

Your claim is more likely to go to court if:

• The defendant denies liability for your injury
• You suffered from a complex or serious injury
• The other party is slow to respond or refuses to negotiate with your solicitor

It's important to remember that, even after court proceedings begin, your claim can still settle out of court.

If your solicitor and the defendant's representative aren't able to reach a settlement, then your solicitor will begin court proceedings. The court proceedings take place in a civil court. There's no jury, just a presiding judge and both parties' lawyers.

The judge will listen to the facts of the case, sequence of events and statements from witnesses and experts. These will account for both your version of events and the defendant's.

Once the judge has seen and heard all the evidence, they'll decide who is liable for the claim and the amount of compensation that is due.

Whether you need to go to court in person depends on the amount of compensation for which you're claiming.

Clients have to go to court unless the process is designed for a paper hearing, such as claims that start in the Ministry of Justice Portal for admitted claims valued between £5k-£25k whereby court hearings do not require the claimant to attend. In all other cases they would have to attend.

If your claim is categorised as multi track or intermediate track, there's a higher chance that you'll need to go to court in person. This is in order to answer questions about the circumstances regarding your injury, asked by both party's representatives.

Claims starting in the Ministry of Justice process where liability has been admitted (valued between £5-£25k) are designed for a paper hearing and don't require you to attend. Cases outside of this will require court attendance.

We understand that you might feel anxiety about going to court, yet it isn't something that you'd ever have to face alone. We would instruct counsel in these matters that will be there with you every step of the way. They'll make sure that you're ready to answer any questions that you might be asked. And the lawyers on both sides will discuss everything long before your case reaches court, ensuring that there won't be any nasty surprises.