Time to claim
3 years
exceptions apply
Fall risk, age 65+
1 in 3
fall each year
Who can claim
You or
someone on your behalf
Upfront cost
£0
No Win No Fee
Personal Injury Solicitor at Claim Time Solicitors, Birmingham. Handling personal injury and child injury claims across England and Wales on a No Win No Fee basis.
Every guide is reviewed against current UK law before we publish it, and updated when the law changes.
Yes. An elderly person can make a personal injury claim in the same way as anyone else, provided someone else was at least partly responsible and the claim is brought, in most cases, within three years. Age does not prevent someone from claiming compensation. If the injured person cannot manage the claim because of dementia, reduced mental capacity or a serious injury, a family member or another trusted person may be able to act on their behalf. The best first step is a free, no-obligation consultation with a personal injury solicitor to discuss the claim.
A fall or accident in later life can affect a person’s confidence as much as their health. A broken wrist or hip may mean weeks in hospital, a lengthy recovery, and sometimes a lasting change in how independently someone can live. When the injury was caused by someone else’s carelessness, whether through an uneven pavement, an unsafe care home, or a driver who was not paying attention, the injured person may have the right to seek compensation.
Many families are unsure whether a personal injury claim for elderly people is possible, or worry that pursuing one will be stressful or disruptive. This guide answers the practical questions calmly and clearly: who can claim, the situations in which a claim may arise, how the process works, how long you have, and what compensation is intended to cover.
None of this replaces tailored legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. What follows should help you understand your options so you can decide what to do next with more confidence.
What a personal injury claim for elderly people means
It is a legal claim for compensation when an older person is injured because another person or organisation failed to take reasonable care. The claim covers the injury itself and the financial impact of it.
Definition
Negligence
In plain terms, negligence means someone owed a duty to keep another person reasonably safe, fell short of that duty, and caused injury as a result. A council that leaves a paving slab dangerously raised, or a care home that ignores a known falls risk, may be negligent.
A personal injury claim for an elderly person works on the same legal principles as any other injury claim. The question is not the age of the injured person. The question is whether someone else, a business, a council, an employer, a driver or a care provider, had a responsibility to keep them safe and did not meet it.
Older people can be more seriously affected by an accident that a younger person might recover from quickly. A fall that causes a minor bruise at 40 can cause a fractured hip at 80. The law recognises this. Compensation is assessed on the real effect the injury has had on that individual, including a longer recovery, a loss of independence, or the need for care and support at home.
Common situations where you can claim
Pavement trips, care home and hospital falls, accidents in shops and public places, and road accidents are the most common. If someone else was responsible for keeping the area or the person safe, there may be a claim.
Older people come to us after a wide range of accidents. The setting matters, because it usually decides who is responsible and who their insurer is. These are the situations we see most often.
Trips and falls on pavements or public paths
An elderly person knocked off balance by a raised paving slab, a pothole or a badly maintained path may have a claim against the local council or the body responsible for that highway. These claims turn on whether the defect was serious enough, and whether the council had a reasonable system for inspecting and repairing it.
Falls in a care home or nursing home
Care homes have a duty to assess each resident’s risk of falling and to put reasonable measures in place. When a home ignores a known risk, leaves a resident unsupervised against their care plan, or fails to act on repeated falls, and injury follows, the family may be able to claim. You do not have to prove the home is generally bad, only that it fell short in this resident’s care.
Falls or injuries in hospital
Hospitals also assess falls risk and are expected to act on it. Where a preventable fall happens on a ward, or care falls below an acceptable standard and causes harm, this can lead to a medical negligence claim rather than a standard injury claim.
Accidents in shops, supermarkets and other public places
A wet floor with no warning sign, a trailing cable, or a cluttered aisle can cause a serious fall. The occupier of the premises has a duty to take reasonable care for visitors’ safety under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.
Road accidents, including as a pedestrian
An older person hurt as a pedestrian, a passenger, a cyclist or a driver can claim against the driver at fault in the usual way. If the driver was uninsured or untraced, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau may still allow a claim to proceed.
Accidents at work, including after State Pension age
There is no upper age limit on an accident-at-work claim. If you are still working, whether full time, part time or casually, and you are injured because your employer did not keep you reasonably safe, you have the same rights as any other worker, whatever your age.
| Situation | Claim possible? | Usually responsible | What helps your case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trip on a raised paving slab | Often | Local council / highway authority | Photos with the defect measured |
| Fall in a care home | Yes, if care fell short | The care provider | The resident's care plan and falls records |
| Wet floor in a shop | Yes, if no warning | The occupier of the premises | CCTV and accident book entry |
| Pedestrian hit by a car | Yes | The driver's motor insurer | Police report and witness details |
| Injured at work over 65 | Yes | The employer's insurer | Accident report and medical record |
This table is a general guide. Whether a specific claim succeeds depends on the full facts, which is why an early conversation with a solicitor is useful.
Claiming on behalf of a parent or relative
Families often ask whether they can start a personal injury claim for elderly people in their care, particularly when a parent or relative cannot deal with the process themselves. In most cases, the answer is yes.
A person is presumed to have capacity unless it is established otherwise. Capacity is assessed in relation to the particular matter and at the relevant time. A person may therefore be able to make some decisions but not have capacity to conduct complex legal proceedings.
If the injured person has capacity to conduct the claim, the decision to pursue it remains theirs. A relative may provide practical support, but should not make legal decisions without the person’s authority.
If the injured person lacks capacity to conduct the proceedings, a litigation friend will normally be required. The litigation friend must meet the formal requirements explained below and must act in the injured person’s interests throughout the case.
You do not need a formal Power of Attorney to start an injury claim for a relative who has lost capacity. The litigation friend route is designed for exactly this situation, and a solicitor will guide you through it.
How the claim process works
Get medical help, record what happened, keep any evidence, then speak to a solicitor. Most of the work after that is handled for you, and many claims settle without ever going to court.
1. Look after health first
The priority is always medical care. Seeing a GP, a hospital or a paramedic also creates a medical record, which quietly becomes important evidence of when the injury happened and how serious it was.
2. Record what happened
Where possible, note the date, time and place, and what caused the accident. Photos of a defect, a wet floor or the scene are valuable. So are the names and contact details of anyone who saw it.
3. Report it and keep the paperwork
Ask for the accident to be logged, in a care home’s records, a shop’s accident book, or with the police for a road accident. Keep letters, receipts and anything else connected to the injury.
4. Speak to a solicitor
A solicitor will review whether there is a claim, explain your funding options including No Win No Fee, and then take over the correspondence. From that point the aim is to keep things as calm and simple as possible for you and your family.
| Stage | What it involves | Who leads |
|---|---|---|
| Free assessment | We review the facts and check whether a claim is realistic | Solicitor |
| Getting started | Sign a No Win No Fee agreement, gather documents | Joint |
| Letter of claim | Formal claim sent to the other side's insurer | Solicitor |
| Medical evidence | An independent expert reports on the injury and recovery | Solicitor |
| Negotiation | Offers are exchanged and, in most cases, a settlement is agreed | Solicitor |
“Families often expect a fight. In practice, most of these claims are resolved through correspondence, and the injured person rarely has to set foot in a courtroom.”
Proving negligence, and mistakes to avoid
You need to show someone else was at fault and that this caused the injury. Evidence gathered early makes that far easier. A few common mistakes can weaken an otherwise strong claim.
To succeed, a claim has to show two things: that another party failed to take reasonable care, and that this failure caused the injury. Good evidence is what turns an account of what happened into a claim an insurer takes seriously.
Evidence that helps:
- Photos of the hazard, ideally showing scale, such as a coin next to a raised paving edge
- The care home or hospital records, including the falls risk assessment and care plan
- An accident book entry, incident report or police reference number
- Names and contact details of witnesses
- Medical records that link the injury to the accident
- Receipts for anything you have had to pay for as a result
Mistakes that can weaken a claim:
- Waiting too long, so the hazard is repaired and witnesses move on
- Accepting an early offer before the full effect of the injury is known
- Not seeking medical attention, which leaves a gap in the record
- Throwing away receipts or replacing damaged items without a photo
Time limits and when they change
You need to show someone else was at fault and that this caused the injury. Evidence gathered early makes that far easier. A few common mistakes can weaken an otherwise strong claim.
For most personal injury claims, the law gives you three years from the date of the accident to start court proceedings, under the Limitation Act 1980. It is best not to leave it that late, because evidence is strongest early on, but three years is the general rule.
Two exceptions matter a great deal for older people. First, if the injured person does not have the mental capacity to conduct a claim, for example due to advanced dementia, the three-year clock does not run for as long as that remains the case. Second, where a person has died, the three years usually runs from the date of death or the date the family knew the death was linked to the injury. Because these rules can be complex, it is worth checking the position early rather than assuming a claim is out of time.
Around a third of people aged 65 and over, and about half of those aged 80 and over, have a fall at least once a year. Councils, care homes and insurers keep records for a limited time. The sooner a claim is looked at, the more likely it is that CCTV, inspection logs and care notes still exist.
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What compensation can cover
Compensation is meant to put the injured person back in the position they would have been in, so far as money can. It covers the injury itself and the financial costs that flow from it, including care.
Definition
General and special damages
General damages are for the injury itself, the pain, and the loss of the ability to do things you could do before.
Special damages are the financial losses you can prove with paperwork, such as care costs, travel to appointments and adaptations to the home.
For older people, the special damages side is often the most significant part of a claim, because a serious fall can change how much support someone needs day to day. Compensation can take account of the cost of care at home, aids and equipment, adaptations such as a stairlift or grab rails, and in some cases a move to supported accommodation, where these are needed because of the injury.
The amount depends entirely on the individual: the type and severity of the injury, how long recovery takes, and the real costs involved. Courts and solicitors assess the injury itself using the Judicial College Guidelines, currently in their 18th edition, alongside comparable past cases. We do not put a figure on a claim until an independent medical expert has reported, because doing so any earlier risks under-settling.
Compensation for care costs can interact with local authority care funding and means-tested benefits. In many cases a personal injury trust can protect an award so it does not reduce entitlement to support. This is something to raise with your solicitor early, so the award does the job it is meant to.
Summary
An older person has the same right to claim compensation as anyone else. What often makes these cases different is the impact: a fall or accident in later life can affect independence and health for a long time, and compensation is assessed on that real effect, including the cost of care.
If the injured person cannot manage a claim themselves, a relative can usually act for them. The general time limit is three years, with important exceptions where capacity is affected. And because most claims settle through correspondence, pursuing one is rarely the ordeal families expect.
Key takeaways
- Age is not a barrier to a personal injury claim
- Common causes include pavement trips, care home and hospital falls, public place accidents and road accidents
- A family member can claim for a relative who has lost capacity
- The usual time limit is three years, but exceptions apply
- Compensation can cover care, equipment and home adaptations, not just the injury
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Falls: applying All Our Health (GOV.UK). Around a third of people aged 65 and over, and about half of those aged 80 and over, fall at least once a year.
- Limitation Act 1980, sections 11 and 28, on time limits for personal injury claims and the position where a person lacks capacity.
- Occupiers' Liability Act 1957, on the duty owed by occupiers of premises to visitors.
- Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases, 18th edition.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority Standards and Regulations.
Statistics were checked against the cited GOV.UK source at the time of writing. Please re-verify figures and the current Judicial College Guidelines edition before publishing, as these are updated periodically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you sue a nursing home for a fall?
Can I make a claim for a work accident if I am over 65?
Can I claim for my elderly parent who has dementia?
Will compensation affect benefits or care funding?
It can, because a lump sum may affect means-tested benefits and local authority care funding. In many cases this can be managed by placing the award in a personal injury trust, which is designed to protect it. This is best discussed with your solicitor early, so the compensation supports care rather than reducing other entitlements.
