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Service · Injury claim referral
Injury Claim Referral
If you have been injured in a non-fault UK road traffic accident, you are entitled to bring a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver's insurer (or, where the driver is uninsured or untraced, against the Motor Insurers' Bureau). CityGrip Accident Claims does not handle personal injury claims directly. Where you report injury, we refer you - only with your separate written consent under UK GDPR Article 7 - to a panel solicitor firm authorised by the SRA, or for tariffed whiplash claims to the Official Injury Claim portal. You remain free to choose your own solicitor and we do not pressure the choice.
- Independent engineer (not insurer panel)
- Like-for-like replacement (ULEZ-compliant)
- Direct dialogue with at-fault insurer
- No success, No fee
24/7
Dispatch
£0
Upfront
PAS 125
Repair std
24/7
UK response
Recovery dispatch and live claim handlers, 365 days a year.
Response
<60m
First contact SLA
Cost
£0
Upfront to driver
Cost to you
£0 upfront · No success, No fee
Response time
Under 60 minutes, 24/7
Window of urgency
14-day CCTV retention
Coverage
UK-wide · 24/7
What is injury claim referral and when does it apply?
If you have been injured in a non-fault UK road traffic accident, you are entitled to bring a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver's insurer (or, where the driver is uninsured or untraced, against the Motor Insurers' Bureau). CityGrip Accident Claims does not handle personal injury claims directly. Where you report injury, we refer you - only with your separate written consent under UK GDPR Article 7 - to a panel solicitor firm authorised by the SRA, or for tariffed whiplash claims to the Official Injury Claim portal. You remain free to choose your own solicitor and we do not pressure the choice. It applies to: Any time injury is reported, whether the injury manifested at scene or in the following days; Where symptoms appear later - soft-tissue injuries, including whiplash, commonly take 12-72 hours to fully manifest; Where psychological consequence is reported alongside or in place of physical injury.
Ranking factors
What makes a injury claim referral claim stronger
These are the practical ranking factors our handlers look for before a injury claim referral file is sent to the at-fault insurer. They help the page answer search intent and help the claim itself stand up to scrutiny.
Liability clarity
Injury claim referral files rank strongest when the accident narrative, photos and third-party details all point to the same non-fault sequence.
fault position
Evidence speed
The first 72 hours matter because CCTV, dashcam and witness memory fade quickly. We prioritise consent record (the granular uk gdpr article 7 injury-referral consent, separate from data-sharing and marketing consents) and accident details - date, location, third-party driver, third-party insurer before the evidence window closes.
fresh proof
Mitigation and need
Replacement vehicle, recovery and storage costs must stay proportionate. The file is stronger when the reason for each cost is recorded before the at-fault insurer challenges it.
cost control
Repair standard
Independent engineering, PAS 125 / BS 10125 repair routing and clear total-loss notes help separate necessary work from insurer-panel shortcuts.
engineering
Communication record
Call notes, emails, consent records and insurer responses create a clean audit trail, especially where injury claim referral needs urgent action.
audit trail
Compliance boundary
We keep accident management, credit hire, repair and any personal-injury referral in separate consent lanes so the page and the claim remain clear.
regulated process
What this service is
Injury claim referral explained, in plain English
If you have been injured in a non-fault UK road traffic accident, you are entitled to bring a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver's insurer (or, where the driver is uninsured or untraced, against the Motor Insurers' Bureau). CityGrip Accident Claims does not handle personal injury claims directly. Where you report injury, we refer you - only with your separate written consent under UK GDPR Article 7 - to a panel solicitor firm authorised by the SRA, or for tariffed whiplash claims to the Official Injury Claim portal. You remain free to choose your own solicitor and we do not pressure the choice.
"Confirm the route - tariff-track via the OIC portal, or fast/multi-track via a panel solicitor"- handler note for injury claim referral
When it applies
Situations where injury claim referral fits
Not every collision needs every service line. Injury claim referral is the right route where one or more of the following applies:
- Any time injury is reported, whether the injury manifested at scene or in the following days
- Where symptoms appear later - soft-tissue injuries, including whiplash, commonly take 12-72 hours to fully manifest
- Where psychological consequence is reported alongside or in place of physical injury
- Where injury was caused by an uninsured or untraced driver (MIB route)
- Where a non-driver (passenger, pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist) is injured by a motor vehicle
How we help
The injury claim referral workflow, step-by-step
Each step below is something we actually do for you on this service line - not a generic claims-handling description. Each step is documented in the file we open in your name.
A
What we do
- 1
Confirm the route - tariff-track via the OIC portal, or fast/multi-track via a panel solicitor
- 2
For OIC-track cases, walk you through the portal at officialinjuryclaim.org.uk and explain what to expect
- 3
For non-tariff cases, introduce you to a panel solicitor in your region with experience in the relevant injury type
- 4
Provide the property-damage claim file (police reference, third-party insurer details, engineer report, photos) to the solicitor on your instruction
- 5
Where the at-fault driver is uninsured or untraced, route the case through the Motor Insurers' Bureau under their 2017 Untraced or Uninsured Drivers' Agreement
- 6
Provide ongoing safeguarding support for vulnerable customers and protected parties throughout the referral
B
What happens next
- 1
Solicitor contacts you within 24 hours of referral, by the contact method you specified
- 2
Initial conflict and ID check, then the solicitor sends their own client care letter and terms of business
- 3
You instruct the solicitor independently - we have no role in your engagement with the solicitor
- 4
Solicitor handles the injury claim end-to-end: medical evidence, schedule of loss, settlement negotiation, litigation if necessary
- 5
Settlement or judgment paid directly to you (or your solicitor's client account on your behalf)
Documents needed
What to gather before you call
You do not need to have everything to hand to open the file - but the more of the list below we have at intake, the faster injury claim referral runs.
Consent record (the granular UK GDPR Article 7 injury-referral consent, separate from data-sharing and marketing consents)
Accident details - date, location, third-party driver, third-party insurer
Police CAD or CRIS reference if attended
GP, hospital A&E or other medical record from the post-accident period
Description of injury and current symptom profile (in plain English; you do not need medical terminology)
Loss-of-earnings evidence where applicable (payslips or app earnings statements)
What to avoid
Injury claim referral pitfalls - what not to do
Each item below is a common, preventable mistake on injury claim referral. Most can be fixed if caught early; some - like premature repair before engineer inspection - cannot.
- Do not assume we provide legal advice - we do not, and we are not authorised to
- Do not assume injury claims are handled in-house - they are not, and any such suggestion would be a regulatory breach
- Do not let the 3-year personal injury limitation period (Limitation Act 1980 s.11) drift - it runs from the date of accident in most cases, with shorter periods for some claimants (children, protected parties run from age 18 / capacity restored)
- Do not settle the property-damage claim and assume the injury claim is bundled - they are legally separate heads
- Do not give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurer without legal advice - recorded statements taken at the third-party insurer's request before symptoms have fully manifested often cap the injury value below its true level
Compliance disclaimer
We do not provide legal advice or medical advice. We do not handle personal injury claims directly. Referrals are made only with your separate written consent (UK GDPR Article 7). The Limitation Act 1980 section 11 sets a 3-year limitation for personal injury claims from the date of accident (with extensions for children and protected parties). Whiplash and minor RTA injury claims are subject to the Civil Liability Act 2018 tariff and the Official Injury Claim portal small-claims protocol. Catastrophic, fatal-accident and clinical-negligence claims have specialist procedures.
We do not provide legal advice. Personal injury enquiries are referred only with your separate written consent (UK GDPR Article 7) to authorised legal or regulated partners.
Deep dive
Injury claim referral in detail
The three tracks for motor personal injury in England and Wales
Motor personal injury claims in England and Wales now run on three procedural tracks. The track determines who handles the case, how legal costs work, and how long the case takes to settle. Knowing which track your case is on is the first decision after injury is reported.
The first track is the Official Injury Claim portal small-claims track. Introduced by the Civil Liability Act 2018 and the small-claims track limit increase to £5,000 for RTA injury, this track handles whiplash and minor soft-tissue cases under the tariff regime in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. The tariff sets damages by injury duration - three months to two years, in defined bands. Cases on this track are typically run by the claimant in person, through the portal at officialinjuryclaim.org.uk, with the MIB acting as the portal operator. Solicitor fees are not recoverable on this track, which is why many OIC-track claimants self-represent. We provide a walkthrough where you want one.
The second track is the fast track - £5,000 to £25,000 in injury damages. Cases on this track are normally handled by a solicitor on a conditional fee agreement. Legal costs are recoverable under the fixed-recoverable-costs regime introduced in October 2023. Settlement typically runs 6 to 18 months. Most motor PI cases involving multi-week off-work periods, recurring physiotherapy, or lasting symptoms end up on this track.
The third track is the multi-track - £25,000+ in injury damages, complex liability, or catastrophic injury. Multi-track cases are litigated under Civil Procedure Rules Part 29 and can run 2 to 5+ years for the most complex cases (traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, fatal accidents). Specialist counsel and medical experts are routinely instructed. Settlement is often by structured periodical payment order rather than lump sum.
Limitation and the 3-year clock
Section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980 sets a 3-year limitation period for personal injury claims, running from the date of the accident in most cases. The limitation period is an outer wall, not a working timetable - letting a case drift close to the 3-year wall makes settlement substantially harder because the medical evidence record becomes harder to reconstruct, witness recollection fades, and the at-fault insurer's negotiating position hardens.
There are three material extensions to the 3-year rule. First, for child claimants the clock does not start until the child's 18th birthday - so a child injured at age 10 has until age 21 to bring the claim. Second, for protected parties (claimants who lack mental capacity within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005) the clock does not run while incapacity persists. Third, where the injury or its cause was not reasonably apparent at the time of the accident, the 3-year clock starts from the date of knowledge (section 14 of the Limitation Act) - but the date-of-knowledge extension is fact-specific and should not be relied on as a planning assumption.
For fatal accident claims under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, the limitation period is 3 years from the date of death or from the date of knowledge of those dependants who have an interest in the claim. Where the deceased had not brought a claim of their own before death, the dependants' time runs from death.
Our intake captures the date of accident and explains the limitation position at the consented referral stage. The panel solicitor handles limitation management from instruction onwards.
INJURY CLAIM REFERRAL
03
Section 3 of the walkthrough.
Consent - separate, opt-in, never bundled
Under UK GDPR Article 7(2), consent must be given by a clear affirmative act establishing a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 add further constraints for solicited communications. Consent for an injury referral is not the same as consent to handle the property-damage claim, and the two must not be bundled.
We capture three separate consents at intake: data-sharing consent (allows us to share your data with the at-fault driver's insurer for the property-damage claim); marketing consent (allows us to contact you about other services in the future); and injury-referral consent (allows us to share your contact details and case summary with a named panel solicitor firm). Each consent is independent. You can give one and decline the others, or vice versa.
The injury-referral consent is granular. It identifies the panel firm or firms by name, identifies what data will be shared (your name, contact details, accident date and location, third-party insurer details, brief description of injury), and explains your right to withdraw. None of the consents are pre-ticked, bundled or implied. The consent record is retained for 7 years and is auditable. If you change your mind, you can withdraw at any time by telling us in writing.
What recorded statements do to injury claims
The at-fault driver's insurer may approach you in the days after the accident with a request for a recorded statement. The pitch is typically that it 'speeds up the claim'. In practice, recorded statements taken in the first few weeks after an accident are one of the most common ways a non-fault injury claim is suppressed below its true value.
The reason is that soft-tissue injuries (whiplash, lower back, neck strain), psychological injuries (anxiety, sleep disturbance, intrusive thoughts) and some musculoskeletal injuries (rotator cuff tears, joint inflammation) commonly take 12 hours to 12 weeks to fully manifest. A statement given two weeks after the accident, before the full symptom profile is established, will commonly under-state both the severity and the duration of the injury. The insurer then uses the statement in the schedule of loss negotiation as the upper bound of the claim.
The right position on a recorded statement request is to decline politely until you have legal advice. The third-party insurer cannot compel you to give a recorded statement; the property-damage claim and the injury claim can both proceed without one. Our standard guidance to customers who report injury is: defer the recorded statement, obtain the medical evidence first, and let the solicitor handle the injury narrative through the proper schedule-of-loss process.
Quick eligibility check
Could you open a injury claim referral claim?
Three questions. If you can answer "yes" to all three, we can open a file for you in under five minutes - no upfront cost, no obligation.
- 1
Was the collision in the UK in the last 3 years?
Property-damage claims have a 6-year limitation; injury claims have 3 years from the date of accident under the Limitation Act 1980. Older incidents can still be reviewed - call us.
- 2
Is the other driver clearly at fault (or uninsured/untraced)?
Non-fault means the at-fault insurer pays the schedule. Uninsured / untraced is handled through the Motor Insurers' Bureau under the 2017 agreements.
- 3
Did you exchange details, or report the incident to police?
Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 covers the reporting duty. CRIS / CAD references are useful but not essential - we can request CCTV directly.
Why drivers switch to us
Injury claim referral with us vs the at-fault insurer's panel handler
The at-fault driver's insurer will offer to handle the claim through their own panel - repairer, hire company, engineer. That is their cost-control route. Below is what that route looks like, side-by-side with what we do for the same file.
| Decision point | At-fault insurer panel | With CityGrip |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer | Panel engineer paid out of cost-controlled budget | Independent engineer, retail repair scope |
| Replacement car | Class A economy courtesy car, 7-14 days max | Like-for-like credit hire, full repair window |
| Repair | Panel repairer to insurer time/cost SLA | PAS 125 / BSI 10125 partner, OEM parts where specified |
| Vehicle valuation | Trade / auction comparables | Retail comparables (Lagden v O'Connor) |
| Excess refund | You chase your own insurer | Recovered for you as part of the schedule |
| Schedule transparency | Bundled into a single offer | Itemised, disclosable on request |
| No-claims discount | Your own policy claim may impact NCD | Direct against at-fault insurer - NCD protected |
Source: panel-handling practice is documented across UK accident-management trade press and ABI GTA materials; our side reflects our standard service line.
Prefer to talk it through?
Speak to a UK accident handler now
We answer 24/7. No call queue, no recorded menu, no upsell. We take the details, tell you whether the claim is workable, and either open the file or point you to a route that suits you better. No obligation.
- Free 5-minute eligibility review
- Calls recorded for quality (notified before)
- Email / WhatsApp as an alternative
Tap to call
0330 043 3409
24/7 · UK accident handlers
Or email / form if you prefer asynchronous.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I choose my own solicitor?
- Yes - absolutely. You are free to choose any solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Our panel is a convenience, not a constraint. If you have a family solicitor, an existing PI solicitor or a specialist you want to instruct, we will pass the property-damage file straight to them on your instruction. The choice of solicitor is yours; the choice is not part of the property-damage handling.
- Do you handle injury claims directly?
- No. Personal injury claims are a separately regulated legal activity (reserved under the Legal Services Act 2007 in most material respects). We are an accident management partner - we coordinate recovery, storage, engineering, repair, replacement vehicle and the property-damage schedule. Injury claims are referred to authorised solicitor firms. The two tracks run in parallel but are operationally and legally separate.
- Is there a fee for the referral?
- No. We do not charge you for the referral. The panel solicitor's fees are their own matter - most solicitors handle motor PI on a conditional fee agreement ('no win, no fee') with a deduction from damages at settlement, subject to the cap in the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. Smaller cases inside the Official Injury Claim portal often do not need a solicitor at all.
- What is the time limit for an injury claim?
- Three years from the date of accident for most adult claimants, under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980. The limit extends for children (runs from their 18th birthday) and protected parties (runs from the date capacity is restored, if ever). Where the injury was not immediately apparent (e.g. latent damage manifesting months later), the 3-year clock starts from the 'date of knowledge' - but do not assume the date-of-knowledge extension; assume the standard 3 years from the date of accident and open the claim well inside that.
- What is the Official Injury Claim portal?
- The Official Injury Claim portal at officialinjuryclaim.org.uk is the online service for small-claims-track motor personal injury cases in England and Wales (under £5,000 in injury damages, set by the Civil Liability Act 2018 and the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021). It is operated by the Motor Insurers' Bureau on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and is designed for self-represented claimants. Many customers can run an OIC claim themselves without instructing a solicitor. We will tell you whether your case is in scope of the OIC track and walk you through the portal if you want to use it.
- What if the at-fault driver was uninsured or untraced?
- The Motor Insurers' Bureau operates two agreements with the Department for Transport: the Uninsured Drivers' Agreement 2017 (for claims against drivers who are identified but uninsured) and the Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2017 (for hit-and-run cases where the driver was not identified). The MIB stands in for the at-fault insurer for both property damage and injury claims, subject to the specific terms of each agreement. We route the property damage; a panel solicitor handles the injury.
- What about psychological injury or PTSD?
- Psychological injury - including post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder and anxiety - is recoverable under English law as a personal injury, provided it is medically diagnosed and proximately caused by the accident (Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992] sets the leading test for primary and secondary victims). Catastrophic accidents, fatal accidents and accidents involving family members commonly give rise to recoverable psychological injury. Our panel includes firms with specialism in psychological claims.
Built on UK standards
PAS 125 / BS 10125
Repair standard
ABI GTA
Credit-hire framework
ABI Salvage Code
Cat A/B/S/N
UK GDPR Art 7
Separate consents
MIB 2017
Uninsured / untraced
OIC portal
Tariff-track injury
Standards we work to. Not an endorsement by, or affiliation with, the named bodies.
Related service lines
Services that often run alongside injury claim referral
Non-fault accident claims →
End-to-end coordination for non-fault drivers.
Accident recovery →
24/7 dispatch to a CCTV-monitored partner yard.
Accident storage →
Daily-logged secure storage with photographic record.
Credit hire →
Like-for-like replacement vehicle subject to eligibility.
Repair management →
PAS 125 / BSI compliant approved partner repairers.
Engineer inspection →
Independent engineer, retail repair scope.
Talk to a real person
Ready to start a injury claim referral claim?UK accident support, end-to-end.
The fastest way is to call. Or start the digital accident form and our team will pick it up. Available across England, Scotland & Wales.
Calls may be recorded for quality and compliance. We do not provide legal advice. Personal injury enquiries are referred only with your consent to authorised partners.
Visit our team
London office
124 City Road
London, EC1V 2NX
Coverage
- Phone & accident form24 / 7
- Recovery dispatch24 / 7
- Repair coordinationMon-Sat 8:00 - 18:00
- SundaysEmergency only
45+UK cities
9vehicle types
GDPRcompliant
Tip: submit the accident form first - our team will call back with a reference and next steps.