Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Defendant's guide to responding to personal injury letters of claim: investigation, disclosure, privilege, counterclaims, ADR, and drafting a compliant letter of response (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note sets out a succinct overview of the points to address when a personal injury letter of claim arrives and you must respond. For top-level guidance on drafting such a letter, see Practice Note: How to prepare a personal injury letter of claim. For direction on replying to a clinical negligence letter of claim, see Practice Note: How to respond to a letter of claim in clinical negligence claims.

Initial considerations

whether the claimant appears to have a viable cause of action — can you form an early view on their legal case and/or any potential defence (for instance, whether it might be out of time under the relevant limitation period)
the likely quantum of the purported claim, which will typically shape what steps are proportionate at the pre-action stage
whether the correspondence meets the requirements of any applicable pre-action protocol — note that the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols (the Practice Direction) contains provisions to be considered in all matters
who you need to engage with from the outset — can you...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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