What should you do now? If you have been injured in an accident, particularly a road traffic accident, you may just be about to be hailed with offers left right and centre from companies who want to deal with your claim! And with so many lawyers out there, what should you do!!??
Well, we here at The Injury Lawyers like to do one thing for people out there who are thinking of claiming; give you free, honest, no obligation advice! So here’s some now:
No Win No Fee and 100% Compensation – How it Works….
No Win No Fee: It’s actually quite straight forward! The majority of good solicitors only take on a case with good prospects of success – that is how we can offer the no win no fee – because quite simply we don’t expect to lose your case!
100% Compensation: How is this guaranteed? – Well, the majority of good solicitors recover legal costs from the other side (in most cases the defendant’s insurers). We can do this because it certainly wouldn’t be fair if you had to pay some of the compensation you are entitled to for legal fees. If you did, you wouldn’t be fully compensated and would still have lost out!
A little piece of advice: Make sure that you fully assess any paperwork sent out to you offering the no win no fee. Ensure it states in black and white, and in clear, plain English, that you do not pay if the case is lost. Most solicitors in their agreements for 100% compensation state that they only “seek to recover” the legal costs. Technically, under this agreement, they could charge you if their legal fees are not agreed with the other side! That’s not to say they will charge you; in most instances they don’t!
But we at The Injury Lawyers decided to change this! Under our agreement, we actually restrict our legal fees to whatever we can recover. What this means is that if we can’t recover all of our legal fees from the other side, under our agreement we can’t charge you any surplus; therefore guaranteeing you 100% compensation!
Road Traffic Accidents – so what should you do?
Choose a Solicitor – But Be Warned!
There are a lot of firms out there who will promise to give you the best representation for your claim. But be warned! Find out exactly what you will be getting from the firm you choose.
- Avoid claims management companies: in the majority of instances, the only representation you will have is a young, unqualified “claims handler” with a huge case load and not a great deal of experience! You need an actual solicitor to represent you if you are to get the maximum compensation in the quickest possible time!
- Speak to a few firms: and make sure they offer you the complete no win no fee and 100% compensation; and a fully qualified solicitor representing you for your case!
Your Insurers – Be MORE Warned!
- Your insurers may kindly offer to deal with your personal injury claim for you. But in the majority of cases, they’re not doing this to be helpful! In fact, they more often than not they will sell the rights of your claim on to a third party solicitor (sometimes paying up to £800 for your claim!). What this means is that the firm they sell your claim to has already spent a huge amount of money on your claim and in our experience they offer a poor service as they try to recover their legal fees as quickly as they can!
- Its often called Legal Expense Insurance (or LEI); and it may be on your insurance policy. But remember; this usually means your claim is sold to a solicitor you haven’t even chosen! How do you know they are the best to deal with your claim when you didn’t even get a say in their involvement!
And… how do you know where their loyalties truly lye; they are buying your claim from an insurance company, remember…
Third Party Capture – Be VERY Warned!
- You may be very quickly contacted by the insurers for the person at fault offering you a lump sum cash amount to compensate you for any injuries you have sustained; usually its £1,000. If you take this, you are often vastly under settling your claim for compensation! I know it may sound friendly them offering a quick lump sum cash to you, but your claim is likely to be worth much much more!
In fact, minor whiplash claims statistically settle on an average of £2,500 – £5,000. How do the insurers know your are entitled to £1,000 when they don’t even know the extent of your suffering? The only way to truly know how much you are entitled to is with medical evidence; and any good solicitor will advise this to you!
Dealing with TP directly
You really should avoid this! In the majority of cases they will try to under settle your claim – how would you know any better without a fully qualified personal injury solicitor representing you?
So, if you are looking for representation for your claim for personal injury, we suggest you look around for the best advice, and speak to an expert independent firm of specialist personal injury solicitors – for the right and honest advice!
