Personal Injury Lawyers

Serious injury claims which our personal injury lawyers handle

Our team focuses on the cases where the stakes are highest, injuries that reshape your life, your capacity to work, and your long-term care needs. Below are the the types of serious injury claims we regularly handle.

• Brain and head injury claims: Traumatic brain injuries demand the most experienced personal injury lawyers. Whether caused by a road traffic accident, a fall from height, or a workplace incident, the consequences can include permanent cognitive change, altered personality, and a lifetime of care needs. We work with leading neurological experts and rehabilitation specialists to build claims that reflect not just your immediate medical costs, but the full lifetime impact on you and your family.
• Spinal cord injury claims: Spinal injuries including those resulting in partial or complete paralysis, require expert legal handling from the outset. We work alongside leading spinal injury consultants to build a comprehensive picture of your long-term needs, securing compensation that covers specialist rehabilitation, home adaptations, assistive technology, and ongoing care, as well as lost earnings and future financial provision.
• Amputation claims: Losing a limb, whether through traumatic accident or medical negligence, is life-changing in every sense. Our personal injury lawyers work with prosthetic specialists, occupational therapists, and care experts to ensure your claim reflects every aspect of your changed circumstances, from immediate rehabilitation to long-term equipment and support needs.
• Fatal accident and wrongful death claims: When negligence costs a life, we support bereaved families through one of the most difficult legal processes there is. We pursue compensation under the Fatal Accidents Act for dependency losses, bereavement awards, and the wider financial impact of losing a loved one, handling every stage with the sensitivity your family deserves.
• Serious road traffic accident injuries: Road traffic accidents are a leading cause of catastrophic injury in the UK from whiplash to catastrophic spinal damage. Our personal injury lawyers handle severe orthopaedic injuries, polytrauma, and life-changing head injuries arising from car accidents, motorcycle collisions, HGV incidents, and pedestrian accidents. Where liability is disputed or injuries are complex, we work with accident reconstruction experts and specialist medical consultants to build the strongest possible case.
• Serious workplace injuries: When an accident at work results in life-changing harm, including crush injuries, falls from height, or dangerous substance exposure, the legal and medical complexity of the claim increases significantly. We have extensive experience handling high-value employers’ liability claims, working with health and safety experts to establish exactly how the accident occurred and what preventative measures should have been in place.
• Public liability and premises accident claims: Property owners have a legal duty to keep premises safe. Our personal injury lawyers handle slip and trip accidents, falling objects, defective stairs, and accidents in shops and public spaces, investigating maintenance records and risk assessments to establish whether that duty was met.
• Product liability and defective product claims: When a faulty product causes injury, manufacturers, importers, and retailers can all be held liable. We represent individuals injured by defective machinery, contaminated food, faulty medical devices, and unsafe consumer goods, working with technical experts to pursue compensation from the right parties.
• Criminal injury compensation claims: Victims of violent crime deserve proper financial recognition for what they have suffered. Our personal injury lawyers guide clients through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) scheme, managing the application, gathering evidence, and appealing inadequate awards where necessary.
• Holiday and travel accident claims: Accidents abroad introduce complex jurisdictional and insurance considerations that many firms are not equipped to handle. We pursue holiday accident claims involving food poisoning, accommodation accidents, transport incidents, and injuries during organised activities, understanding tour operators’ responsibilities under UK consumer law and coordinating with overseas lawyers where required.
• Sports and leisure activity injury claims: Whilst sport carries inherent risk, organisers have a duty to maintain reasonable safety standards. We represent individuals injured during organised sport, fitness classes, and leisure activities where negligence contributed to a preventable injury, including cases involving inadequate supervision, defective equipment, and dangerous playing surfaces.
• Occupational disease and industrial illness: Industrial diseases, including mesothelioma and other asbestos-related conditions, industrial deafness, and occupational lung disease often take years or decades to manifest. Our personal injury lawyers handle these medically complex, multi-defendant claims with specialist knowledge, tracing exposure history across employers and building the causation evidence your case requires.

How our personal injury claims process works

We handle serious injury claims with a structured approach designed to maximise your outcome whilst minimising stress at every stage.

1. Free case evaluation: We assess your claim quickly and honestly, examining the circumstances of your accident and the full impact of your injuries. Our personal injury lawyers explain the legal process, discuss the evidence needed, and give you a realistic picture of your prospects, without jargon, and without obligation. We’ll also explore whether an interim payment can be secured early, so you can access rehabilitation and specialist care without waiting for your claim to settle.
2. Evidence gathering and investigation: Strong cases are built on solid evidence, and we act immediately to preserve what matters. Our team collects accident reports, witness statements, photographic evidence, and medical records. We move quickly to recover CCTV footage and secure witness accounts before memories fade, because in serious injury cases, the quality of early evidence can be decisive.
3. Medical assessment and expert evidence: We instruct leading consultants across neurology, spinal medicine, orthopaedics, psychiatry, and care to properly document your injuries and map your long-term prognosis. We also work with care experts, occupational therapists, and independent financial advisers to build a whole-life picture of your future needs, from care costs and home adaptations to loss of earnings and pension impact. This evidence is the foundation of a properly valued claim.
4. Negotiation and settlement: We negotiate robustly with insurers, understanding their tactics and the full value of what you are owed. Our personal injury lawyers are fully prepared to take your case to trial if a fair settlement is not offered, and in our experience, that preparedness consistently strengthens our negotiating position.

Why choose Nelsons as your personal injury lawyers?

We are one of the UK’s leading firms for serious and catastrophic injury claims, with a track record that speaks for itself.

• Nationally recognised for serious injury: ranked by both The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, with both specifically citing our expertise in severe and catastrophic injury cases including brain, spinal, and orthopaedic injuries and Commended in The Times Best Law Firms 2025.  We are also members of the Law Society Personal Injury Panel, a specialist qualification held only by experienced personal injury solicitors, and we are on the Headway Solicitors Service panel.
• Expert legal team: Led by specialists including Lisa Preece, our personal injury solicitors bring decades of combined experience to serious and complex workplace injury claims, with particular expertise in brain injury, severe orthopaedic injuries, and cases where long-term rehabilitation is central to the outcome.
• Over 40 years of specialist experience: handling complex, high-value personal injury claims across the East Midlands, from serious road traffic accidents to multi-millionpound catastrophic injury cases involving lifelong care needs.
• A whole-life approach to compensation: we work with care experts, independent medical consultants, and financial advisers to ensure your settlement accounts for every future need, including long-term care, home adaptations, lost earnings, and pension impact.
• No win, no fee with full cost protection: conditional fee arrangements backed by after-the-event insurance, so there is no financial risk to pursuing your claim.

Start your serious injury claim today

If you or a member of your family has suffered a serious or catastrophic injury, speak to one of our specialist personal injury lawyers today.

Call 0800 024 1976 or complete our online enquiry form. Offices in Derby, Leicester, and Nottingham.