Accident Line
Advocate
Advocacy
After the event insurance (ATE)
Allocation questionnaire
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers)
Application notice
Balance of probabilities
Barrister
Before the event insurance (BTE)
Breach of duty of care
Burden of proof
Causation
Civil proceedings
Claim form
Claimant
Clinical negligence
Compensation
Conditional fee agreement (CFA)
Contributory negligence
Counsel
Counterclaim
Court fees
Criminal injuries
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)
Damages
Default judgment
Defendant
Disbursements
Disclosure
Duty of care
Employer’s liability
Evidence
Expert witness
Fast track
General damages
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Industrial disease
Infant approval
Infant
Interim damages
Judgment
Law Society
Legal expenses insurance
Letter of claim
Listing questionnaire
Mediation
Medical negligence
MIB (Motor Insurance Bureau)
Multi track
Negligence
No win no fee
Part 36 offers
Particulars of Claim
Personal injury protocol
Plaintiff
Pre action disclosure
Product liability
Quantum
RIDDOR
Road traffic accident (RTA)
Small claims track
Special damages
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
Stay of proceedings
Success fee
Tomlin Order
Without prejudice communications
Accident Line
The Law Society Conditional Fee scheme operated by specialist accredited Personal Injury solicitors.
Advocate
The title of a specific person who is authorized / appointed (in some way) to speak on behalf of a person in a legal process. i.e. the solicitor or barrister presenting your case in Court.
Advocacy
The act of arguing or pleading in favour of something. A key skill for barristers and solicitors.
After the event insurance (ATE)
An insurance policy that is purchased following an accident (i.e. after the event) that offers protection against losing a claim and covers your opponents legal costs.
Allocation questionnaire
A questionnaire issued by the Court after commencement of proceedings to ascertain the issues in dispute and the likely value of the claim so that appropriate directions to trial can be given.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
A means of settling a claim without the need for Court proceedings. ADR can consist of mediation, arbitration or negotiation and is intended to be less confrontational than a Court hearing. Some Courts now require parties to resort to ADR of some type, usually mediation, before permitting the parties’ cases to proceed to trial.
APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers)
A non-profit organisation set up to support injured people by campaigning for their rights and access to justice. Pickering & Butters have been members for many years and fully support their aims.
Application notice
A form filed in the course of proceedings to seek a Court order, e.g. for the disclosure of information.
Balance of probabilities
The preponderance of evidence i.e. that something is more likely than not to be the case (a better than 50:50 likelihood that something occurred). This is the standard of proof required in personal injury cases in the Civil Courts.
Barrister
A lawyer who is qualified to represent clients in the higher law Courts in England and Wales. A barrister will usually be instructed to present a case in Court at trial. Specialist barrister may also be instructed to provide assistance in the preparation of a claim for example advising on the value of the claim or on matters of evidence.
Before the event insurance (BTE)
An insurance policy that is in existence prior to an accident occurring, that offers protection against the costs of losing a claim. These are commonly found in household contents insurance, car insurance, holiday insurance policies and in certain credit / bank cards.
Breach of duty of care
A Defendant will be in breach of duty towards the Claimant if his / her conduct has fallen short of the standard that he / she was expected to meet in the circumstances. A claim cannot succeed unless the claimant establishes both that he or she was owed a duty of care by the Defendant, and that there has been a breach of that duty.
Burden of proof
In civil law cases, the “burden of proof” requires the claimant to satisfy the Court of the claimant’s entitlement to compensation. This means that the claimant must prove each element of the claim, or cause of action, in order to recover damages.
Causation
Establishing that the injuries sustained in an accident occurred as a result of the negligence / breach of duty of care.
Civil proceedings
Civil proceedings, such as personal injury claims, are issued in a Civil Court as opposed to a Criminal Court.
Claim form
The form by which civil proceedings for a personal injury damages claim is commenced. It contains details of the Claimant, Defendant, brief details of the claim and its estimated value.
Claimant
The person making a claim as a result of having suffered personal injury, loss or damage in an accident.
Clinical negligence
Professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient.
Conditional fee agreement (CFA)
In the English legal system this is generally referred to as “No win no fee”. The usual form of this agreement is that the solicitor will pursue a personal injury damages claim on the understanding that if lost, no payment is due.
However, if the case is successful the solicitor will be entitled to his normal fee based on hourly billing, plus a success fee. The success fee will be a percentage of the normal fee and is generally recovered from the losing party.
Contributory negligence
If an accident has been partly caused by the Claimant any damages awarded will be reduced by the percentage by which the Claimant has contributed to the accident.
Counterclaim
A claim made by a Defendant for his / her own personal injury, loss or damage where he / she seeks to blame the Claimant for the accident.
Court fees
Payable to the Court to progress the claim e.g. on issue of proceedings. These are payable by the Claimant but are recoverable from the opponent should the claim succeed.
Criminal injuries
Injuries sustained as a result of an act of violent crime.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)
A government organisation that compensates innocent victims of violent crime for their injuries.
Damages
Money paid or awarded to a person following a successful claim by that person in a civil action. The intention being to put the Claimant in the same or similar financial position had the accident not occurred.
Default judgment
Judgment made by the Court for payment of damages to the Claimant as a result of a defence not having been filed by the Defendant within the time allowed.
Defendant
The party against whom a claim is issued by the Claimant, being the person who is alleged to be at fault.
Disbursements
Payments which are made during the course of a claim. These can be claimed back from the opponent should the claim be successful. (These include fees for medical reports, Courts fee etc)
Disclosure
The provision of relevant documents by both the Claimant and Defendant which will assist in either proving or disproving a claim.
Duty of care
See “Breach of duty of care”
Employer’s liability
The responsibility for accidents occurring in the workplace or during the course of employment as a result of the employers breach of duty of care.
Evidence
The means by which a claim is proved. Evidence in a personal injury matter usually consists of witness statements of the event, medical reports to prove the extent of the injuries and various documents such as accident books, photographs of the scene etc. Should the matter proceed to trial, it also includes oral evidence given in Court.
Expert witness
A witness with a specialised knowledge of a subject who is allowed to discuss an event in court e ven though he / she was not present. For example, a medical expert will provide a report detailing the nature and extent of the injuries and their effect upon the injured person. Similarly an expert engineer may assist by providing a report as to the circumstances of an accident and whether or not duties of care have been breached, for example, where a back injury is sustained as a result of lifting at work, an expert engineer may be able to ascertain whether the load involved was excessive.
Fast track
The Court track into which claim between £5,000 and £25,000 will be allocated and where the trial is likely to last no longer than 1 day. The fast track is designed to have straightforward matters progressed quickly.
General damages
The damages that are awarded specifically in relation to the injuries sustained. These are for pain, suffering and loss of amenity and are usually quantified by reference to previous cases in which similar injuries have been suffered.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
A non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare.
Industrial disease
A term used to describe an ailment or injury resulting from long term exposure to an occupational hazard, such as a noxious substance. An example of this would be dermatitis or asbestosis.
Infant approval
A hearing to seek the Courts approval on the amount of damages to be awarded to an infant.
Infant
A person under the age of 18 has no legal standing and must be represented by a Litigation Friend as they are unable to act on their own behalf in personal injury claims. Any claim on behalf of an infant can only be settled with the Courts approval.
Interim damages
A payment or payments which relate to an early award made on account of final damages. Such amount(s) paid are deducted from the final damages agreed or awarded.
Judgment
The Court’s official decision on the matter before it.
Law Society
The representative body in England and Wales for solicitors. See also Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Legal expenses insurance
Pre existing legal expenses insurance often purchased or supplied with motor or household insurance. See also “Before the event insurance”.
Letter of claim
The initial letter that is sent to the opponent stating the basis on which the claim is made.
Listing questionnaire
A Court form to ensure that the parties to the proceedings are ready for Trial.
Mediation
An alternative method for resolving disputes without the need to go to Court. It involved in independent third party or “mediator” to bring both parties together in an attempt to settle the claim. See ADR.
Medical negligence
See “Clinical negligence”
MIB (Motor Insurance Bureau)
The Government body which deals with compensation claims for victims of both uninsured and untraced drivers.
Multi track
The track to which more serious and higher value (in excess of £25k) claims are allocated by the Court.
Negligence
See “Breach of duty of care”
No win no fee
See “Conditional fee agreement”
Part 36 offers
This refers to the mechanism which allows both parties to a claim to make offers of settlement.
Particulars of Claim
This is the document which is submitted to the Court outlining the basis on which a claim is being made.
Personal injury protocol
This is the Courts pre-action protocol set out within the Civil Procedure Rules to attempt to assist the parties in reaching a negotiated settlement without having to issue Court proceedings. It sets out time frames and the conduct expected of both parties involved in personal injury cases.
Pre action disclosure
A Claimant can see pre-action disclosure from his / her opponent in order to assist in assessing the merits of a case prior to issuing proceedings.
Product liability
The area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers etc, who make products available to the public may be held responsible for injuries caused by those products.
Quantum
The value of the damages.
RIDDOR
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 place a legal duty upon employers, self-employed people, and people in control of premises to report certain types of accidents.
Road traffic accident (RTA)
The term includes car, motorcycle and bicycle accidents as well as those involving pedestrians.
Small claims track
The English and Welsh Legal system is split into three tracks for personal injury compensation claims. The Small Claims track is the name of the system for cases where the value of the personal injury damage is less than £1,000.
Special damages
Money paid to cover financial losses such as loss of earnings, damage to property, costs of care etc.
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The independent regulatory body of the Law Society of England and Wales who have the responsibility for regulating solicitors.
Stay of proceedings
An order of the Court in civil proceedings, pausing further legal procedure. Often used to obtain time to negotiate settlement or await the outcome of medical treatment.
Success fee
Refers to the additional costs to which a solicitor is entitled under the terms of a Conditional fee agreement (No win no fee), where the injured party has been successful.
Tomlin Order
A Court order under which a personal injury damages claim is stayed on terms agreed between the parties i.e. where proceedings are resolved without going to trial.
Without prejudice communications
“Off the record” communications between the parties representatives to explore the possibilities of settlement of the claim without having to go to trial. Such communications cannot be relied upon in evidence and cannot be referred to in court if negotiations break down and settlement cannot be achieved.
