Czech Personal Injury Solicitors in London

Do Czech Nationals Have the Right to Claim?

Yes — and in full. Your nationality does not limit your legal rights when it comes to personal injury compensation in England and Wales. If you were injured in the UK due to someone else’s negligence, you have the same right to claim as any other person.

Personal injury law in England and Wales is based on tort law — specifically the law of negligence. This system works differently from Czech civil liability law under the Nový občanský zákoník. One of the most significant differences is the level of compensation: English courts award considerably higher damages for pain, suffering and long-term disability than Czech courts typically do. The process is also more structured, with established procedures for gathering evidence, engaging medical experts and negotiating with insurers.

Our Czech solicitors help you navigate this process from start to finish.

Types of Personal Injury Claims We Handle

Workplace Injuries Affecting Czech Workers

Czech nationals in the UK work across a wide range of sectors — IT, education, hospitality, healthcare, retail and construction among them. Whatever your profession, if your employer failed in their legal duty to protect you from foreseeable harm and you were injured as a result, you can claim.

Employers’ liability insurance is compulsory for all UK businesses. When a valid claim is made, it is the insurer — not the employer personally — that pays compensation. This means that making a claim is unlikely to damage your employment relationship, and UK employment law specifically protects workers from dismissal or detrimental treatment for pursuing a legitimate injury claim.

We handle Czech clients’ workplace injury claims across industries including:

• IT and office environment injuries — repetitive strain, display screen injuries, trips on poorly managed cables
• Hospitality injuries — burns, slips, back injuries from heavy lifting
• Healthcare and care worker injuries — musculoskeletal strain from patient handling, needlestick injuries
• Retail and warehouse injuries — forklift and racking accidents, manual handling injuries
• Construction site accidents — falls, structural collapse, machinery incidents

Road Traffic Accident Claims

If you were involved in a road traffic accident in the UK and another driver was at fault, you are entitled to compensation for your injuries. This applies whether you were driving, cycling, riding a motorcycle, walking or travelling as a passenger.

We deal with all communication with the at-fault driver’s insurer on your behalf. Where the at-fault driver is uninsured, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau can still be required to pay.

Czech clients often ask whether they can claim after a minor accident as well as a serious one. The short answer is yes — even injuries that feel modest at the time can have lasting effects, and it is always worth getting advice.

Slips, Trips and Public Place Accidents

Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act, businesses, landlords and local authorities have a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe. When they fail and someone is injured, a claim can be made against the responsible party.

Common claims from Czech clients include:

• Slips on wet floors in supermarkets, cafés and restaurants
• Trips on broken or uneven pavements
• Falls in poorly maintained stairwells or car parks
• Injuries in rented properties caused by the landlord’s failure to carry out repairs

If you are unsure whether a business or local authority is responsible for the place where you were injured, we can help you identify the right defendant.

Serious Injury Claims

We handle serious personal injury cases for Czech clients, including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, serious orthopaedic injuries and those involving permanent disability. These cases require specialist expertise in medical evidence and long-term financial planning — both of which our serious injury team provides.

How Personal Injury Compensation Is Calculated

Compensation in English personal injury law covers two types of loss:

General damages — the effect of the injury on you as a person:

• Physical pain and suffering (assessed using Judicial College Guidelines)
• Psychological harm, including anxiety, depression and PTSD following the accident
• Loss of ability to enjoy hobbies, sport, family life or social activities
• Scarring and disfigurement

Special damages — your actual financial losses:

• Lost earnings while you were unable to work
• Future loss of income if your capacity to work has been permanently reduced
• Private medical treatment and physiotherapy costs
• Travel expenses to medical and legal appointments
• Care costs (including care from family members)
• Adaptations to your home or vehicle where necessary

Our Czech solicitors work through both categories with you so that the compensation claimed reflects your full experience of the injury.

The Claims Process — Step by Step

Consultation. You speak to one of our Czech-speaking solicitors about your accident. We assess your claim honestly and explain the likely process and timescales.

Building the evidence. We gather documentation to support your case: accident reports, witness statements, GP and hospital records, employer records and photographs.

Medical assessment. We instruct an independent medical expert to examine you and prepare a report on your injuries, prognosis and future care needs.

Formal notification. A Letter of Claim is sent to the defendant setting out the basis of your claim. They must respond within a prescribed period.

Negotiation. We present your evidence and negotiate a fair settlement. Most claims are resolved at this stage without the need for a court hearing.

Court proceedings. If the defendant denies liability or makes an inadequate offer, we are prepared to take the claim to court and represent you throughout.

No Win, No Fee Agreements

Our Conditional Fee Agreement means:

• No upfront costs. You do not pay anything to begin your claim.
• No fee if you lose. If the claim is unsuccessful, you do not owe us for our legal work.
• A success fee if you win. Agreed before we start, deducted from your compensation, capped by law.
• After the Event insurance. We can arrange a policy to cover disbursements and the defendant’s costs if the claim fails.

We explain this clearly at the outset — in Czech if that is more comfortable — so you know exactly what you are agreeing to.

Confirmed by Independent Legal Experts

A glimpse of what leading directories such as Chambers UK and Legal 500 say about our Personal Injury lawyers:

“Osbornes has a well-regarded personal injury practice well equipped to advise on high-value and high-profile claims, including fatalities and severe injuries regarding the brain and spinal cord.”
– Chambers UK

“This team is growing in profile all the time. The firm now has many of London’s leading personal injury solicitors.”
– Legal 500

“The team offers specialist expertise in cycling-related injury claims and regularly acts for foreign nationals.”
– Chambers UK

“Osbornes fields a specialist personal injury team with standout expertise in catastrophic trauma, regularly securing multimillion-pound settlements in spinal, brain, and amputation cases.”
– Legal 500

Stay Connected With Our Czech Team

Follow our Czech team on Facebook to stay up to date: @CeskypravnikvUK.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to bring a personal injury claim in the UK? The standard time limit is three years from the date of the accident. Exceptions apply — for example, children have until three years after their 18th birthday. Act as soon as possible; early evidence is better evidence.

Can I claim if my accident happened while I was working as a self-employed contractor? Possibly. Whether you are classified as an employee, a worker or a contractor affects who owes you a duty of care and under what legal framework. This is something we assess at the outset. In many cases, self-employed contractors can still bring valid injury claims.

I only have minor injuries — is it worth claiming? Often, yes. Compensation for soft tissue injuries, whiplash and minor fractures can still run to several thousand pounds once lost earnings and expenses are included. We can give you an honest view of value in your first conversation.

What happens if the accident was partly my fault? You may still recover compensation, reduced in proportion to your share of responsibility. English courts apply this principle (called contributory negligence) regularly. Only being entirely at fault would normally prevent a successful claim.

Will I need to take time off work to pursue a claim? Rarely. Most of the process is managed by us on your behalf, with minimal input required from you beyond the initial consultation and the medical appointment. We make the process as straightforward as possible for working clients.