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I was doing a regular shop over the weekend at one of my favourite supermarkets for something to have for Sunday dinner. In the end, we decided to go for a Chinese instead! But that’s irrelevant: as I was exiting the store, I suddenly tripped. I didn’t fall – I managed to step back in to stride and didn’t injure myself whatsoever. Before I even looked down to find out what hazard almost had me lying on the floor, my brain had already registered it from the feel of it on my foot at the moment I tripped; a scrunched up section of carpet surrounding a flower display.
The section on the edge of the carpet had, for whatever reason or another, scrunched up and caused a lip – and subsequently a tripping hazard. Having been in this industry for years, I automatically said (quite out loud) “that’s a claim!” The concerned look on the faces of the two staff members nearby as they flattened the carpet back down to remove the hazards was rather priceless!
This whole minor incident did serve to remind me of something – just how easy it is to end up injured whilst out and about doing your daily business. I could have ended up falling on my knees and sustaining considerable damage to the ligaments and tendons inside my knees; I could have broken a bone; I could have knocked my head and been out cold for minutes, or even hours. Ultimately, the ‘what ifs’ of this incident are often the result for many of our injured victims here.
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OK – so you’ve had an accident that wasn’t your fault. Perhaps you were hit from behind by another car, you fell in a supermarket, or you have been injured at work. If the accident wasn’t your fault, you are entitled to make a claim for compensation – and you should be successful.
The problem is – what do you do? You probably know that you should always get a lawyer involved; but with so many of us out there, who on earth do you chose? I can’t make this decision for you, but I can give you some advice on what to look for to make sure you get the best service and 100% compensation guaranteed.
First things first – make sure you do actually get a lawyer. Never deal with the third party (person / company at fault) directly, and never deal with their third party insurers, claims handlers, or solicitors directly either. You must get an injury lawyer to represent you – otherwise, you are flying solo with no one to represent you and look out for your best interests. It’s highly likely you will end up with an under settled claim.
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Nowadays, people are becoming more and more aware of the potential to make a claim for compensation where they have been injured at the hands of a negligent third party. In all likelihood, this is probably due to the fact that there has been an increased campaign by personal injury law firms to attract clients. However, although more people have the knowledge that they may be entitled to compensation, not so many know exactly how the process of making a claim works, and how to go about starting this process. This blog is intended as a short guide to your personal injury claim.
If you have been involved in an accident then in all likelihood your claim will be dealt with under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury claims. This is a streamlined process for your claim, setting out a series of steps to bring it to an efficient and effective conclusion within the shortest time possible. The first stage is the creation of your Letter of Claim. This outlines all the details of your accident; for instance, the accident itself, the nature of your injuries, and the losses you have suffered as a result of your accident. By way of example, when you ring The Injury Lawyers, we will take all the details we need, leaving no stone unturned, and then go about producing a thorough letter of claim. In this way, the other side, the negligent third party, will know all about your accident and can get on with their investigations straightaway.
Once your Letter of Claim is submitted, the Defendant has a period of 21 days in which to acknowledge it. In most cases they will pass this letter to their Insurer or Solicitor who will investigate your claim on the Defendant’s behalf. A maximum of three months is permitted for investigation of your claim. This is not to say that your claim will take nearly four months from the date the letter of claim was sent, but to say that this is the period of time the law allows the other side to come back to your legal representatives with their position on liability.
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Compensation Advice – Proving Your Claim
People are often concerned that they may not be able to prove their claim and make it successful. People are often worried that the insurance companies or the company / person responsible for the accident will try and do all they can to undermine the accident victim and prevent a payout.
Well, in all honesty; you probably should be worried
In my experience, insurance companies, claims representatives, solicitors, and the company / person responsible for the accident will do all they can to prevent a payout. If they believe they can defend the claim, they will – regardless of whether your claim is genuine or not. Its possible those on the other side will even lie, or bend the truth in order to defend the claim. We’ve seen it happen – and the truth has come out.
So – how do you prove your claim and win the case? Here are some tips on protecting your position and making sure there is no way your genuine claim can be undermined by the other side!
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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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I hear some scary stories about No Win No Fee agreements; largely from accident victims who have heard them down the grapevine. It all places a significant amount of mistrust in lawyers from accident victims, and unfortunately victims are quick to accept what other people and insurance companies tell them.
So – here are some of the myth statements I have heard from people, together with the real explanation:
“If your claim loses under a No Win No Fee agreement, you still have to pay the insurance fees to your solicitor, or pay out for your own policy of insurance to cover any fees you may be liable for” – FALSE
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What am I Entitled to Claim For?
Did you know that if you have been involved in an accident that was not your fault you may be entitled to compensation? I would say that most of you are aware of this given that there has been a lot of advertising on this matter in recent times. However, are you aware that the compensation that you could be awarded does not solely relate to the injuries you have suffered? I would hazard a guess that most are probably unaware of this. The reality is that if you have been involved in an accident that was not your fault, you are entitled to make a claim for compensation to cover ALL of your losses.
What do I mean by all of your losses? Well, here is a very quick example – if you have had to take time off work because of your accident, it may be that you have only been paid statutory sick pay and that you have lost out on a certain amount of wages. Your lawyers can make a claim for this loss of earnings to make sure that you are put back in the position you would have been in had the accident not have occurred. So what else can a claim for compensation incorporate? Here is a quick guide:
Loss of earnings
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Personal Injury Claims Advice – When Should I Claim?
The clocks moving forward (ugh, an hour gone! But hurray for longer daylight hours!) got me thinking about how fast time moves. It only feels like yesterday since the clocks were being put back in preparation for Christmas. Christmas only feels like two minutes ago! It’s true; as you get older, time flies faster.
This, amongst several other reasons, is why a claim for compensation needs to be pursued sooner rather than later. There are strict time limits for people to claim; you’ve probably heard of the line “have you had an accident in the last three years?” It’s because, in most cases, you only have three years from the date of an accident to bring a claim for compensation. If you miss this vital deadline, your claim could become statute barred – meaning you cannot continue with a claim or make a claim at all.
You may think three years is a long time; and you may then think you should wait a little while to mull things over. It’s always advisable to have a think about things before going ahead with your claim, but realistically, you should launch your claim as soon as possible.
Why?
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OK – so I’ve been doing this for a while, and I know exactly how it works. So it should come as little surprise to me when I ask accident victims what they understand of the No Win No Fee system before I move forward to explaining it.
Yet I do still find myself slightly surprised to learn that most people still think there is a deduction from your compensation for a winning claim with any firm. This probably stems from the term No Win No Fee itself; it tells you there is no fee for a lost claim, but it tells you nothing about what happens if it wins?
The common questions:
Q: “What percentage of my claim do you take?”
Q: “How much is it to claim?”
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No Win No Fee Solicitors – Real Injury Lawyers
If you really do your homework about which lawyer you want to represent you for your claim for compensation, you may end up locking yourself in a small room and screaming for a little while after discovering there are literally HUNDREDS of us out there!
So – Who on earth do you choose to represent you for your claim?
Well, here’s a little advice about what you should and shouldn’t look for in an Injury Lawyer that should get you the best service and the maximum payout. So, if you’ve finished screaming, take a breather and digest this advice:
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