Making a personal injury claim in Wales

If you have been injured in an accident anywhere from Cardiff and Swansea to Wrexham and Bangor, it is natural to wonder whether claiming in Wales differs from claiming in England. For the core law, the answer is no — Wales and England form a single legal jurisdiction. But Wales is a nation with its own devolved government in the Senedd, its own NHS, and a living language with protected legal status, and those facts shape how a claim feels and works in practice. This guide focuses on the real Welsh distinctions so you can act with confidence. We explain the system and signpost you to regulated professionals; we do not act on claims.

Same jurisdiction as England — with real local differences

Personal injury in Wales is governed by the law of England & Wales. The legal foundation is negligence: to claim, you generally have to show that someone owed you a duty of care, breached it, and thereby caused your injury and losses. The statutes, the courts and the procedure are the same ones used in England, and our making a claim in England page sets out that shared machinery in full.

So why a separate page for Wales? Because devolution and language create differences that matter to real claimants: which health body you deal with after a clinical error, the language in which your case can be heard, and which government department is responsible for the road or public land where you were hurt. These are practical, not jurisdictional, but they are genuine — and they are why a Welsh claim should not be treated as identical to an English one.

Your right to use the Welsh language

One of the clearest differences is language. Under the Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, you have the right to use Welsh in legal proceedings in Wales. In practice that means hearings can be conducted in Welsh, documents can be produced in Welsh, and interpreters or simultaneous translation can be arranged by the court at no cost to you. The principle is that Welsh and English are treated on a basis of equality in the courts of Wales.

Medical claims and NHS Wales: "Putting Things Right"

Health is devolved to the Welsh Government and the Senedd, so the NHS in Wales is a separate system from NHS England. If your injury results from medical treatment, your claim will usually involve NHS Wales bodies — principally the Local Health Boards that run hospital and community services across the country — rather than NHS England or NHS Resolution.

Wales also has its own statutory route for raising clinical concerns, known as Putting Things Right. This combines the NHS complaints process with the investigation of possible negligence, and in some cases an offer of redress, all under one arrangement. It is distinct from how clinical claims are handled in England. Importantly, using Putting Things Right does not remove your right to bring a court claim — a solicitor can help you decide whether the redress scheme, a formal claim, or both, is the right path for your circumstances.

Time limits, the portal and the whiplash tariff

Because Wales shares the law of England & Wales, the deadlines and procedures are the same as in England. The usual limit is three years under the Limitation Act 1980, counted from the date of the accident or your date of knowledge that a significant injury was linked to someone's fault. The court has a discretion under section 33 to allow a late claim in exceptional cases, children's three years run from their 18th birthday, and there is no time limit while a person lacks the mental capacity to conduct a claim.

Crucially — and unlike Scotland or Northern Ireland — the fixed whiplash tariff and the Official Injury Claim portal introduced by the Civil Liability Act 2018 (in force from May 2021) do apply in Wales. Low-value road traffic soft-tissue claims fall within the tariff, the small-claims limit for road traffic injuries is £5,000, and the non-road injury small-claims limit is £1,000, exactly as in England. The difference, as above, is that the portal is offered in Welsh as well as English.

Courts, roads and public land in Wales

Your claim, if it is issued at all, will be dealt with in the County Court (or, for higher-value or complex cases, the King's Bench Division of the High Court) — the same civil courts as in England, sitting at court centres across Wales. The person bringing the claim is the claimant. As everywhere, most claims settle by negotiation with the defendant's insurer long before any hearing.

Where Wales differs administratively is responsibility for infrastructure. The Welsh Government and Welsh local authorities are responsible for trunk roads, council-maintained roads and much public land in Wales, so a pothole, pavement-defect or highway-maintenance claim is brought against the relevant Welsh body rather than an English authority or National Highways. This rarely changes the legal test, but it does change who the defendant is and which organisation's records you will need.

What to do after an accident in Wales

The practical steps mirror good practice across the UK, with a Welsh flavour:

1. Get medical help. Use your GP, an NHS Wales minor injuries unit or an emergency department — major hospitals include the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in the north, Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor and the Grange University Hospital near Cwmbran. Your medical records anchor any claim.
2. Record what happened. Photograph the scene and your injuries, note the date, time and conditions, and gather witnesses' details.
3. Report it. Log a workplace accident in the accident book; report a road collision to your insurer and, where required, to the police.
4. Keep receipts. Track lost earnings, travel, treatment and care costs to support the financial part of your claim.
5. Get advice early — in Welsh or English. An SRA-regulated solicitor can confirm whether you have a claim, explain funding, and tell you whether the Official Injury Claim portal or a solicitor-led route suits you.

For the general process that applies across England and Wales, see how to make a claim and how compensation is worked out.

Funding and "no win, no fee" in Wales

Funding works exactly as in England. Most injury claims in Wales run on a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) — "no win, no fee". If your claim fails you normally pay nothing for your solicitor's time; if it succeeds, the solicitor may take a success fee capped at 25% of your general damages and past financial losses in a personal injury case, often alongside after-the-event insurance to cover the other side's costs. Ask for a written breakdown of any deductions before you sign. Our no win, no fee guide explains the detail.

Finding a regulated solicitor in Wales

We are not a law firm. We don't take on claims, sell leads or recommend particular firms — we point you to official, free bodies you can trust. To check that a solicitor is genuinely regulated, use the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA); to find an accredited personal injury specialist — including firms that work in Welsh — use the Law Society's "Find a Solicitor" service. For free, impartial help with your rights, Citizens Advice Cymru is a strong starting point, and the Welsh Government and GOV.UK host official information, including the Putting Things Right arrangements for NHS Wales.

Frequently asked questions

Compare the other UK systems: making a claim in England, in Scotland, or in Northern Ireland. City-specific guidance for Cardiff is linked from our homepage.