After being involved in a road traffic accident you may be unsure as to whose fault it was; it may be a case that both you and the other driver are partially at fault, or immediately after the crash the other driver may try and pass the blame onto you when it was very obviously their fault.  It is true in some road traffic accident cases the person at fault is sometimes difficult to ascertain and sometimes fault can be split by way of a ratio; such as 70/30.

This being said however, in certain types of road traffic accidents, it is extremely easy to see who is at fault – rear end shunts being one of these. A rear end shunt is basically a term used in the legal world to describe a vehicle hitting the back of another vehicle. In these types of situations the car doing ‘the hitting’ so to speak is usually the car at fault.  Therefore, in situations such as rear end shunts where you are injured, it is highly likely that you may have a personal injury claim for compensation.

Many clients that approach The Injury Lawyers commonly report having whiplash as a result. Whiplash can be a frustrating and painful condition which can have a destructive effect on your working, domestic and/or social life; as such we take whiplash extremely seriously at The Injury Lawyers.  Through our relationship with our private medical partners we are able to arrange private treatment for our clients from the outset of the case; this treatment may include physiotherapy, osteopathic and/or chiropractic treatment. This means that our clients will not have to wait on the sometimes lengthy waiting lists of the NHS. This side of our service, for some clients, can be as important as the compensation. Any treatment we arrange would be payable by the other side if you win your claim, or by insurance if you lose.
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I can hear many of you out there when you see personal injury advertisements on the televisions saying – ‘claiming for compensation is easier said than done’. Well, if you end up making a bad decision and instructing the wrong law firm where you have to always chase them for information or for things to be done, then that may be the case.

However, if you chose the right solicitor you may get an all together different experience. At The Injury Lawyers we like to give our clients the most hassle free experience we possibly can – we feel that you have already been through the trauma of an accident, so you shouldn’t have any further unnecessary hassle or bother. Much of the hassle and frustration can stem from not knowing what is going on with your claim and feeling out of control. Well at The Injury Lawyers we update our clients every 2 weeks whether something has happened on the claim or not – this keeps you in the know and so reduces any worry or uncertainty.

When you first approach a law firm with a claim, a solicitor will ask you the accident circumstances in order to assess whether there is a claim and it has good prospects of succeeding – we do not want to waste your time or give you false hope on a claim which will not succeed. If the claim is then taken on and you agree to instruct the solicitor, a Letter of Claim will be produced – this is the first document the other side will receive regarding your claim. The letter will set out the circumstances of your claim as well as request any documents we need in order to assess the case.
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The Oxford Mail has reported that a self-employed builder has been awarded over one million pounds in compensation having suffered a horrific injury whilst working on a building site.  It is said that Dean Winstone sustained spinal injuries having tripped and fallen from scaffolding whilst doing up someone’s home back in 2007.  Mr Winston is now paraplegic and requires the use of a wheelchair fulltime.  Mr Winston was in hospital for over a month initially, and has been there back and forth for nearly two years.  Sadly for Mr Winstone he will never be able to work again.

Mr Winstone was awarded £1.25million in compensation this week by a judge in the High Court in London.  This is to help put Mr Winstone back in the position he would have been in had the accident not have occurred.  In other words he was compensated for his terrible spinal injuries and his future loss of earnings that have resulted from him not being able to work again because of the nature of the injuries he suffered. 

In fact, the compensation also takes into account the fact that Mr Winstone will need further medical treatment in the future.  So part of this £1.25million is to help him pay for those future medical costs.  This was necessary because the medical experts that have aided Mr Winstone’s recovery have noted that he is likely to need a greater amount of help in the future owing to the worsening of his condition as he gets older.
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Where you have been involved in an accident and sustained a personal injury through no fault of your own it is likely that you will be entitled to compensation.  This is because you will have been put out and should be placed back in the position you would have been in had the accident not have occurred. 

It is not uncommon following an accident that the other side’s insurers may contact you to offer you this compensation.  In fact, the thought of receiving compensation so soon after your accident will no doubt seem particularly appealing to most. 

But just stop and think for a second – if you ever receive an offer of compensation from the other side’s insurers, ask yourself: why they are offering you compensation?  Are they really doing it out of the kindness of their hearts? Or maybe they are doing it because they feel they owe you some kind of duty? Or actually is it because they know you have a legitimate claim for compensation and know that if they can get you to agree to their compensation package without you seeking proper legal advice, they will be able to settle your claim for much less than it’s true value and actually save themselves a whole heap of money.  If you agree to their compensation, that is it! You can no longer go back and ask for more – it is a final settlement.
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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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When we think about compensation and road traffic accidents, I can hazard I guess that car accidents will be the first thing that comes to mind. Of course, many of the accidents on the roads do involve both parties being cars; but there are also many other accidents on the road which may also entitle the victim to compensation.

The title of this blog being bus accidents means you can probably guess what type of accidents I will be discussing – YES,  its bus accidents.

If you have been involved in a road accident whilst on a bus which has caused you injury as a result, you have a high chance of having a claim for personal injury. This is because if the accident was due to the fault of the bus driver you may have a claim against the bus company who are vicariously liable for the driver’s actions. This means that the bus company can take responsibility for his actions. If on the other hand the cause of the accident was another road user, then you may have a claim for personal injury against them. In summary, in either scenario you may have a claim.
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Driving can be extremely hazardous at times, but we would hope for the most part that it is not. In order to avoid being involved in road traffic accidents we not only have to drive well and with the due care and attention ourselves, but we also have to put our trust in other road users around us and that they are doing the same.

On the most part this trust is well founded and we remain safe whilst using the roads; however, there are occasions when other road users put our safety in jeopardy. At The Injury Lawyers we see this time and again – with clients approaching us after being involved in what could have been a serious road traffic accident situation. Also, just listening to items on the radio such as traffic news updates recalling numerous accidents that have taken place on the road that day, also serves to make us aware of the dangers of the road.

Road traffic accidents most commonly happen at the meeting places of traffic.  Like I mentioned before – radio stations often report hold ups at motorway junctions or cross-roads due to accidents having taken place at these locations.
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There is a lot of information around at the moment regarding no win no fee agreements. This information is passed to us through television and radio advertisements. So you may think that you know what it means, but I can hazard a guess that if you read on you may find out some interesting points you did not know or even think to ask.

One of the questions many clients ask us is – ‘how do you get paid?’ Well if you win your case then our costs get paid by the other side and you get 100% of your compensation; and when I say all, I mean all. Compensation is meant to put you back in the position you would have been in had the accident never have happened – so if a solicitor took some of that, the whole argument for compensation would be nothing but a farce.

On the other hand, if you lost your claim (which we hope would not be the case as most firms only take a case on if we thought it had good prospects to succeed) we are able to claim back our losses from an insurance policy.
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There is much awareness around the safety of motorbike users on the road. I myself can think of many advertisements on television regarding motorbike safety as well as signs by the side of the road stating – ‘Think Bike!‘. This all serves to remind us of the vulnerability motorbikes have on the roads and to always leave them space and properly check the way is clear before proceeding.

Bikes are more difficult to notice than cars due to their size and speed; which increases their risk of being involved in a road traffic accident.

When an accident occurs, it may mean for the biker that their motorbike is damaged and unusable, and if they’re badly injured they’ll be unable to ride any bike for a long time. Ultimately, for the injured rider, it’s not only losing a way of getting about, but also a much loved pursuit.
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When clients first approach The Injury Lawyers regarding their claims, they are aware that they may be entitled to compensation for their injuries, but are very often unaware of the extent of financial losses which may be claimed back separately to their injury compensation.

Upon taking on a new claim the advisors here at The Injury Lawyers would advise on all aspects of losses information. This serves to make the client aware that they must keep a log of any losses they have incurred / are incurring, and to keep any receipts or invoices for these in a safe place.

Once your losses information is collated by your solicitor, a document known as a Schedule of Loss can be drafted. This sets out all your items of financial loss. This Schedule should then be sent to you to be agreed. Many clients upon receipt of this Schedule question why there injury compensation is not listed as an item. Our answer to them is that injury compensation is claimed for separately to your losses and so does not form part of your Schedule of Loss. This being said however, your injury compensation and your losses may be paid in a settlement all in one global amount.
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