What happens when someone suffers an accident or injury through no fault of their own but fails to claim for there injuries or report the events to a local authority or even an employer. Are we running the risk of allowing that accident to happen again? We all have an obligation to avoid causing harm to others and preventing accidents happening to someone else.
An Accident Waiting To Happen
You do have a legal right to make a claim if you have been the victim of events out with your control. Its estimated that there are around 2.5 million accidents in the UK every year. Less than a third of that figure actually seek some form of compensation for there injury.
Understanding the claim process is not only there to provide compensation but also stops similar instances from happening again providing safer environments for everybody. Failing to act after an accident allows for the probability of a similar accident happening to someone else.
Allowing for accident black spots in differing environments that go unreported is in itself a ticking time-bomb. A person may get away with what we like to term as a “close shave” but what about the next person – will they be as lucky?
So, what stops a person from making a claim?
Here is a list of a few general reasons why an individual may not seek compensation for their injuries:
Cost – some people still think they have to fund their claim since ‘legal aid’ was withdrawn in 2000. This is not the case as many personal injury lawyers now offer No Win No Fee Claims.
Fear of losing their job – It is illegal for an employer to threaten an employee with the threat of being fired if they make a claim against them, in any case your employer will have special insurance to cover accidents within the workplace.
Bad Advice or experience – There are lawyers and firms out there that do not offer the best advice available, its always best to do research on the firm that you are looking to hire.