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… sadly, its kicking off in a way similar to Jonny Wilkinson’s in England’s Rugby World Cup opener against Argentina last Saturday; in the wrong way!

My recent articles have centred on the fantastic news that insurer’s referral fees will finally be banned following a parliamentary plan to initiate the practice becoming an illegality in the (hopefully) near future.

We, as an independent firm of specialist personal injury lawyers, have always spoken out against the practice of referral fees. We firmly believe, and have seen evidence proving the fact, that referral fees not only add no value to the claim of an injured victim, but they have the potential to destroy it.
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OK – so over the last few months I have been praising former Justice Secretary Mr Jack Straw for exposing the insurance industries “dirty secret” that they are responsible for the exponential increases in insurance premiums by selling claims on to lawyers for pure profit.

When the insurance companies have been telling you that the increase in premiums as a result of personal injury lawyers and claims has resulted in increases of up to 30%, it transpired that this was largely a symptom of your own insurance company encouraging potentially scrupulous claims by pushing you in to making one so they can cash in on up to £1,000 for referring your claim. Even if you’re genuine, they’ll make you claim using their referral fee solicitor; not because they are doing you a favour, but because they get paid to pass your personal details around.

We have spoken out against this on hundreds of occasions, as we never involve ourselves in referral fees, and have advised many victims of the referral fee system to change lawyers as soon as they can after they have been subject to poor service levels and potentially low payouts because their referral fee solicitor is too cash strapped to act for them in the right way thanks to wasting a huge portion of their budget on paying the fee.
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The roads and streets can be a dangerous place – having worked in this industry for as long as I have, you tend to pick things up most people would miss. Next time you are out and about shopping, walking your dog, or visiting your friends and family, take notice of what’s on the ground you are walking on. It goes without saying that I ask you not to concentrate too hard to ensure you don’t walk in to anything or walk in to the road; but, if you can, just have a look at what’s around you on the streets and roads.

You will probably notice raised paving slabs, cracked concrete, gaps in the kerb, or the dreaded pothole in the road. Normally, these aren’t things you would look out for or particularly spot when you are out and about; but, if it’s in the back of your mind, you will probably begin to notice a lot of dangerous defects out there.

That, ladies and gentleman, is the reason why people end up making a claim against the council. Claims for compensation in general, but particularly council tripper claims, have a bad reputation for some unknown reason (although it probably has something to do with the way our lovely media paint a council claim). If you work in this industry, consciously try and look out for, or have tripped over a defect in the past, you will likely notice the extent to which they litter our pavements and traffic routes.
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Whilst I don’t want to put a downer on everyone’s September by mentioning the looming winter months as we approach colder climates and shorter days (which I can’t believe how quick the nights are drawing in – I say this every year…), but summer is really over, and we should probably begin preparing for potentially serious adverse conditions given the last two winters of snow and ice.

I’m sure you all remember last year don’t you? The day Britain came to a standstill when we were pummelled with an insane amount of snow. I certainly remember my six hour journey (one that normally takes me 20 minutes) where I had a real concern that I would be involved in an accident or stuck out all night on the roads. With this kind of weather that we may now have to learn to expect in Britain, there is a lot we have to do to prepare ourselves for the worst.

So – what can you do to make sure you don’t end up in a car accident as wet weather and colder conditions commence their grim approach?
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Over the past few years or so, we have seen an increase in personal injury claims stemming from poor quality services in the beauty industry that have left people bruised, burned, scarred, and emotionally down when they end up injured through a beauty treatment gone wrong.

One of the more common ones is treatment involving hair extensions that have gone wrong; so, if you have stumbled upon this article because you are looking for some information on this topic, look no further, and know that you are not alone!

We have had claims ranging from hair dye gone wrong, where skin testing has not been completed correctly or at all, to hair extension treatments performed incorrectly resulting in patches of baldness, uncomfortable head, irritations, and scarring.
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The referral fees involved in personal injury claims is a topic we have blogged about and condemned on so many occasions. We, as in independent firm of specialist personal injury lawyers who hate the concept of referral fees where middlemen profit from injury victims in return for passing details around, are proud to have never been a part of it.

Just in the last few months we were ecstatic to hear that our former Justice Secretary Mr Jack Straw had exposed what has been called the insurance industries “dirty little secret” when he investigated how the details of one of his constituents was passed around for profit following a road accident. We were overjoyed to hear the investigations concluded that the real reason for insurance premiums being driven up was a symptom of the referral fees rackets.

Now, it appears we are finally making some headway in ridding the country of the referral fee disease.
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There are several ways of making compensation claims, and there are several companies you could enlist to help you. In fact, the world of compensation claiming can be made so confusing when you have no idea what to do or where to turn.

So – to help you out, read this guide on the best ways of making a claim, and what to look out for when deciding who should represent you.

At the end of the day, you’ve been injured at no fault of your own, and you are legally entitled to recover compensation for your injuries and losses (losses such as lost earnings or medical expenses).
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Yes – there is a time limit in which to make a claim for compensation. The limit your claim will fall in to depends on a number of general factors; so really, the best thing you can do is speak to an injury lawyer direct to find out when the limit runs out for your claim.

As a general rule – THE QUICKER YOU CLAIM, THE BETTER! Events will be fresh in your mind, and you can get access to private medical care to help you recover quicker with a good injury lawyer on board.

How Long Do You Have to Claim?
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Should I make a claim for compensation? This is a common question asked to us when we are advising people about the merits of any potential claim they think they might have. Ultimately, it’s your life, and therefore your decision – no one can take that away from you, or force you in to making a claim.

So, as the decision is entirely yours, here are a few positive reasons why making a claim for compensation is a good thing.

Compensation Payout
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So you’ve had an accident at work and you want to know how much your claim could be worth. Then you should check out our Accident at Work Compensation Calculator found under the FREE INSTANT VALUATION tab on this page. Just select your injury, answer a few questions and the calculator will text your free valuation intsantly to your mobile or landline mumber. Its as simple as that!
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