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Have You Suffered Financial Losses as a Result of an Accident?
Many clients that approach The Injury Lawyers are aware of their right to claim compensation for their injuries. However, upon beginning to advise or clients regarding the other losses they may be able to claim for, there seems to be a lack of knowledge and understanding. We believe that all our clients, as well as any potential claimants out there, should have a good understanding of what they are entitled to claim for.
Claiming for losses in a claim for personal injury can be a complex issue – so it is always advisable to seek advice from a specialist personal injury lawyer. A lawyer should be able to fully advise you regarding your losses. Once a lawyer has gained information about your losses, they should collate these in a document known as a Schedule of Loss. This document will only contain your financial losses as a result of your accident; the compensation for your injuries alone will be dealt with separately.
Below, I have listed many of the more common items you see on a Schedule of Loss. This list is by no means exhaustive – full advice regarding losses should be gained from a specialist personal injury lawyer.
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A Quick Guide to Road Traffic Accident Claims
So, you have been involved in a minor road traffic accident, and as result your vehicle has been damaged, and you have been injured. Well, in all likelihood, if the road traffic accident was not your fault, or even if it was only partly your fault, you are entitled to make a claim for compensation. After all, you have suffered an injury at the hands of a negligent third party driver.
So – how do you go about this? The first thing you should do is get all the other drivers details and then attend your GP or hospital so that they can check you over and make sure that you are okay, and provide any medical treatment if needed. Then, once all this is done, you should get in touch with an independent, quality personal injury lawyer, like those at The Injury Lawyers, with plenty of experience in this area of law and who can provide you with legal representation at no cost to you. Once you have done this, your professional injury lawyer will be able to guide you through the claims process which I will now outline:
On the 30th April 2010 the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents deals with your compensation claim. Where your injury is likely to be worth less than £10,000, this Protocol outlines the process that your lawyers must carry out to help you get your compensation as fast as possible! You will firstly be asked to fill out a Claims Notification Form (‘CNF’). It is a straightforward form but do not worry if you get stuck at any point – The Injury Lawyers are just a phone call away from being able to happily assist you. We always review your form in any event so you have nothing to worry about.
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I would hazard a guess that many of you reading this blog may think you know what ‘no win, no fee’ means. The title seems fairly self-explanatory – i.e. if you do not win your case then you do not have to pay a penny.
Well, I suggest that you consider the following scenarios:
What do you have to pay if you win?
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A common problem with road traffic accidents is that neither party wish to accept fault for the accident. I know of many clients who after a car accident which may be obviously the other drivers fault but upon speaking to them they not only say it was not their fault but also try and pass the blame onto you. This can often lead to lengthy negotiations in personal injury claims and sometimes fault may be split in terms of a ratio say; 70/30 or 60/40.
Obviously we want to prove that the other is 100% at fault for the accident, and in many cases this can be a straight forward and relatively simple process. The topic of this blog is Rear – End Shunts – the reason being that liability in rear end shunt cases is usually easy to establish. A rear end shunt is a term used to describe a car hitting another car from behind. In these cases, it is highly likely that liability will be admitted by the other side, as it is often fairly apparent that fault lies with the driver who came from behind and hit the car in front.
Because of the straightforward nature of these types of cases, most of our clients who have been involved in rear end shunt accidents have a speedy and successful conclusion to their case. Accidents that happen after the 30th April 2010 are in a simpler more streamlined system which means that insurers have to respond with their liability decision within 15 days of the claim notification form being sent. This is opposed to the nearly 4 month period they had under the old system. This means that many of our clients who have been in rear end shunt accidents after the above get their claims concluded in a much quicker time frame.
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At The Injury Lawyers, many of our clients suffer from the painful and frustrating condition known as whiplash. Whiplash is a condition which is not so plain to see a scar or a broken bone, and so many people may discount it or devalue it in their minds. At The Injury Lawyers, we know the pain our clients suffer through whiplash and the destructive effect the condition can have on their lives; we therefore treat the condition extremely seriously and with the importance it deserves.
Symptoms
The symptoms of whiplash can be felt differently by different people. However, for most, the symptoms do not become apparent until around 6 – 12 hours after the accident – they may then increase in severity for up to one week. A sufferer may feel tenderness, stiffness, and/or numbness in their neck which may radiate to other areas such as in the shoulders or back. Sufferers can have decreased mobility in their neck, or in more extreme circumstances, have no mobility at all.
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I read today in the Great Yarmouth Mercury that a lady has been awarded over £300,000 in compensation after having to have her leg amputated as a result of a road traffic accident. It is reported that 27-year-old Emma Woolnough was hit by a motor vehicle driven by an elderly gentlemen. It is suggested that the negligent driver accidentally used the accelerator instead of the break pedal and ended up mounting the pavement on which Miss Woolnough was a pedestrian.
Miss Woolnough, who was making her way to work, was forced against a wall as a result of the accident and severely injured her leg. Consequently, Miss Woolnough suffered horrific injuries and has gone through three unsuccessful operations to save her leg. Miss Woolnough has also had more surgery and has sustained psychological injuries as a result of the accident. The negligent driver has since been given a suspended sentence for dangerous driving, fined £2,000.00, and banned from driving for three years.
If you have had a similar experience or indeed have been involved in any kind of road traffic accident which you do not believe to be your fault, or even if you only consider yourself only partly to blame, then it is likely that you may deserve compensation for the injuries you have subsequently sustained.
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We have many clients approach us after tripping on a defect on a public highway. After a harsh winter and the coming of Spring, I feel it is a good time to address the issue of claims against the Council for accidents stemming from a defected highway. Potholes can occur for a multitude of reasons – but after a long harsh winter, it is highly likely to be due to frost. The frost and ice seeps into small cracks in the highway which then expands to form larger cracks which can further crumble away to form large pot holes. These pot holes can form a major hazard to pedestrians on the pavement, or to vehicles if on the road. Vehicles which are especially vulnerable to pot holes are motor bikes, mopeds, and bicycles, which can be easily knocked off course due to a defect in the road surface.
What to do
If you have had an accident stemming from a defect on the road and it was not your fault, then you may have a claim for compensation.
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Bus and coach accidents are something which may be overlooked when considering personal injury claims. This is because when we hear about road traffic accident claiming it is often regarding car or motorbike accidents. We hear advertisements on television all the time asking if we have had a road traffic accident; for some reason I guess we would usually associate this with a car accident.
Bus and coach accidents may be less common than car accidents, but we still have many clients approach us after being injured whilst on a bus. If you have been injured on a bus and it was not your fault then you may have a claim for compensation. Whether the road traffic accident was the fault of the bus driver or another car and you, there is a high chance you have a claim. If the fault was with the bus driver you may be able to bring a claim against the bus company. Bus companies are often vicariously liable for the actions of their drivers – meaning the bus company is responsible for the actions of the bus driver involved, and you can be compensated through the company insurance.
On the other hand, if fault lies with another driver, you may be able to bring a claim against them. Either way you may have a valid claim.
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Supermarket Accidents and Third Party Capture
Supermarkets of one of those necessary hassles of modern life. Back when I was young there were not some many of these and people would spend maybe a couple of hours going from their bakery, to their butcher, and to their fishmonger. Now it seems the modern fast paced lives of today demand everything under one roof and with lots of choice and convenience.
Saying this, many people love the convenience the supermarket offers – many however would not anticipate having an accident in one which was not their fault. Many clients come to us at The Injury Lawyers after suffering an accident in a supermarket; these accidents can range from a slip on a spillage to a trip on an item negligently left in an aisle or an item falling on them from a poorly stacked shelf. Whatever the accident, as long as it was not your fault and it has caused you an injury, you may have a claim for compensation.
If you have an accident in a supermarket it is advisable to report it as they may need to place a note of it in their accident book. This entry in the accident book can also serve as evidence that the accident did actually take place. Although it is advisable to report the accident, this allows the Defendant to be put on notice of the accident, so to speak. Shortly after the accident, many of our clients have then been approached by the supermarkets with a goodwill gesture of money or vouchers. This can end up with a Third Party Capture situation whereby the Defendant may be attempting to settle your claim on a full and final basis before it goes any further and you instruct a solicitor to begin a personal injury claim. If you accept this offer you may be settling any potential claim you have; you would not be able to make any further claim. Without legal advice you do not know what your potential claim is worth, and so by accepting this early (and often small) offer, you may be under valuing your claim.
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If you have been unlucky enough to have had a road traffic accident which was not your fault and you have ended up being injured in this accident, in all likelihood you will be entitled to compensation. Do not fear then if you have been involved in a road traffic accident whereby the other negligent driver was uninsured or did a runner. You are still able to make a claim for compensation! This is because of an organisation called the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.
This organisation has been set up so that those victims of road traffic accidents where the other party is uninsured and untraced and who have sustained an injury do not lose out on the compensation they would be able to obtain had the other negligent driver stuck around or had insurance. So, if you are one of the 23,000 unfortunate people a year who are the victims of uninsured or untraced drivers, it is important that you are aware that you are still able to make a claim for compensation – This entitlement does not disappear. Please do get in touch with a quality personal injury lawyer who will be able to provide you with some free legal advice and make sure that you get that maximum compensation you deserve.
Because the other negligent driver does not have insurance or has decided not to do the right thing and stick around does not mean that you are to be left uncompensated. I am not sure many of you will know this, but roughly £15-30 of each person’s vehicle insurance premium goes go an organisation called the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (‘MIB’). With this money, the MIB are able to pay the compensation you deserve if you have been the unfortunate victim of a road traffic accident out of which you sustained an injury.
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