You will probably come across a number of different professionals during the course of your serious injury claim – but how do you know who they are and what they are doing to assist your claim?

A Solicitor is the person who will have day to day contact with you, and is your main point of contact for your claim. They will organise the other professionals who will be needed to assist with the claim. Your Solicitor should preferably be local to you so that you can speak to them face to face in the event that you do have any concerns, or just wish to see how the claim is proceeding.

A Barrister is likely to be involved quite early on in a serious injury claim. They will provide advice on the evidence and tactics with regard to the claim. They may meet with you, along with your Solicitor, to advise you in person and to find out more about the claim and injuries. The Barrister will usually be involved at certain stages of the claim and will usually draft the court papers and Schedule of Loss (setting out the value of your claim) if the claim has to be issued at Court. For more information on this, please refer to our Guide on Issuing the Claim and the Court Process. The Barrister will also usually be the person who presents the claim to a Judge at the Trial. For more information, please refer to our Guide, Trial.

An Expert will be needed for various reasons and will prepare a report on a certain issue in the case. Experts can be medically trained professionals or other professionals, depending on what evidence is needed to support your case. Our Guide on Expert Evidence provides more information on this.