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When the claim is settled and the only thing that’s left is for the cheque to be received, cashed, and spent, a lot of people get anxious and want to know how long it will take for the cheque to get from the insurers and in to their hands. The problem is that it can be hard to say.
We normally put insurers or solicitors to a deadline of around 14 – 21 days to get the cheque to us from the day they confirm the settlement amount, but all sorts of things can go wrong. The cheque itself may not be too easy to track.
It will normally have to be raised by the insurers or whoever is dealing with matters on the opponent’s side, sent out to your solicitors, and then sent to you. How long it takes the accounts department for the other side to raise a cheque is anyone’s guess. How long it takes the royal mail to get it to us and then for us to get it to you is again, difficult to predict. Second class doesn’t always get to its destination in time, and first class doesn’t always mean next day delivery.
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Psychiatric Injury Compensation Claims
Many types of accidents are a traumatic experience in some way, and I would say that even a minor accident can affect a person psychologically. Some psychiatric injuries can be long term and more sever and when there is a proper diagnosis of a recognised psychological condition, the Claimant can claim compensation for the psychological injuries sustained in addition to any physical injuries.
To get compensation for psychiatric injury there are a number of conditions a Claimant must satisfy. There must be an actual psychiatric injury (that is diagnosed) and mere fear, worry or grief is not always sufficient. Primary victims are those in the zone of physical danger.
Primary victims need to establish that physical harm was foreseeable and there is no need to establish that psychiatric injury was foreseeable.
Secondary victims are those not within the physical zone of danger but witnesses of a horrific events. Secondary victims must show that they are in a close tie of love and affection (with the primary victim), that they witness the event with their own unaided senses. There must be proximity to the event itself or its immediate aftermath and the psychiatric injury must be a result of a shocking event.
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Will my claim go to court? How long will my claim take? Will I win my claim? All common questions…
Sometimes people find themselves asking these questions; particularly if you feel your claim has been going on for longer than it should. However, the length of the claim can vary significantly depending on a few common factors:
The quality of the injury lawyer you have.
- The severity and length of your suffering.
- The laziness of the other side.
- Whether the other side is defending the claim or not.
- You!
How Good is Your Injury Lawyer?
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Ruptured Ligaments Injury Claims
This is a topic I feel I can advise you on with relative ease and compassion. For the sake of example, I will focus on ruptured knee and ankle ligaments, although it can apply to most other ligaments in the body. Having been through multi ligament rupture from a traumatic dislocation of the knee, I think I know a thing or two about the trials and tribulations involved when suffering with such an injury! Hopefully my experience and advice can help you too.
First and foremost, rupturing ligaments is normally bad news. Torn ligaments that are surgically repaired do not always heal well, so rupturing one normally requires some form of reconstruction surgery. Sadly that means suffering for months with an injury and a huge stretch in physiotherapy.
The wonders of medical science today mean that you don’t have to lose a limb when rupturing ligaments. A ligament rupture is usually defined by a ligament completely breaking to the point where it has been separated. It is not a case of just stitching it back together like you can with a bone; bone on bone heals normally quite well, but a ligament normally needs to be reconstructed.
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Third Party Capture at Christmas!
The festive season is very much upon us; but unfortunately, just because the decorations are up, doesn’t mean that the amount of accidents occurring goes down. At this time of year the roads can be treacherous and therefore accidents are more likely to occur and unfortunately result in nasty injuries to nurse over the festive period. This of course is the last thing you want to happen at this time of year when you’ve got the office Christmas party coming up or you’re travelling to see family and therefore you may wish to start a claim for compensation.
HOWEVER! Insurance companies know that at this time of year money can be tight and therefore take this opportunity to try and settle many claims for compensation directly and cheaply – for them!
This is known as third party capture and does not fill us with festive cheer here at The Injury Lawyers.
Third party capture is the process of the defendants insurance company contacting you directly to settle a claim. Of course, being offered money straight off is always a nice thing but it is important to properly consider the implications of accepting such a sum.
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Why accident claim payouts can be different for each case
Compensation is based upon the severity of your injuries and how long the injuries will affect your everyday life. As such, there is not really such a thing as a “standard” payout for any particular injury as everyone can be affected differently.
In law the defendant has to take the claimant as they find them – for example if your injury is an exacerbation of an existing injury this doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to claim as, of-course, if it wasn’t for the injury, your condition would not have been aggravated!
So how is a payout assessed? Well, put simply a payout is always assessed on the particular facts of each individual case. There is no such thing as one payout for this injury and another for something else – each case will have its own individual payout.
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Part 36 Offers! What are They?
A Part 36 offer in personal injury is normally an offer to settle a claim for compensation. Part 36 offers differ from non Part 36 offers in a number of ways. There are cost consequences in terms of Part 36 offers. I will attempt to explain the nature and consequences of Part 36 offers.
Part 36 offers are set out in the Civil Procedure Rules and can be made by both the Claimant and the Defendant.
Not all offers to settle a claim are Part 36 offers. To be a Part 36 offer the offer normally must:
- Be in writing;
- State that the offer is intended to be a Part 36 offer and to have the consequences of the same;
- Specify a period of not less than 21 days within which the Defendant will be liable for the Claimant’s costs if the offer is accepted;
- State whether the offer relates to the whole of the claim or part of it.
If an offer is to be a Part 36 offer, it must normally be made in writing. This obviously excludes offers made solely over the telephone. If an offer is made over the telephone and then confirmed to be a Part 36 offer, perhaps either in a written letter or email, this would then be written and could therefore qualify as a Part 36 offer, providing that the other points are complied with.
Dealing with Accidents in the Workplace?
Accidents in the workplace can result in severe injury, as of course many workplaces are filled with large equipment and a number of people working closely together. However, what is the procedure you should follow when wanting to pursue a claim for compensation? Many people are worried about doing so, as they feel it may jeopardise their job and of course this is a worry you could do without when you are already suffering from an injury.
Accidents at work can potentially be very good cases as your employer is obliged to have insurance to cover accidents under The Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. This is in place to ensure that should an employee have an accident they will be able to pay compensation. Therefore, in the majority of cases, we send the letter of claim of to your employer who just hands it across to their insurance and it is them that continue with the claim– your employer may even encourage you to bring a claim!
So there really is no need to worry. If you have had an accident there are a few things you should try to do and are the types of things we will ask on the initial call (mainly because we like to gather all the information we need straight away to ensure your claim gets underway ASAP.)
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The competition is tough out there for personal injury claims – however picking the right lawyers can affect both the way your claim is run and the final outcome.
We have worked hard here to make sure that we stand out from the rest and ensure a high level of client service along with our personal injury expertise.
We take a unique approach to our claims all aimed at ensuring that you receive the best support throughout your claim and ensuring you are on the road to recovery as soon as possible. We understand that making a claim can be a very stressful and daunting experience – as of course many people have never done this before. One thing that we constantly aim to do is not to throw a load of legal jargon your way. We understand that just because you wish to make a claim doesn’t mean that you also want a legal lecture! Clear information, quickly and efficiently – that is our aim!
Car in Wrong Lane for Exit on Roundabout Accident
Roundabouts can be huge and complicate or small on simple; but on occasions either can still be very confusing to motorists. This means that accidents on roundabouts are one of the most common types of road traffic accidents we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers.
The situation we are dealing with in this blog is when a vehicle is in the wrong lane for the exit off the roundabout; which happens more than you might think.
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