Accident Claims

Don't be fooled by people like Claims Direct who spend millions of pounds on TV and Radio advertising. You can guess who pays for it! The fact is that you will be so much better off if you consult a local specialist Solicitor. 

 

Why?
Well, first of all, because nothing will be taken out of your compensation.

Secondly, you won't by tied to a Merchant Bank loan for a huge and unnecessary insurance premium against having to pay the other side's costs.

Thirdly, you will actually see a Specialist Solicitor face to face instead of your claim being farmed out to far distant Lawyers.

Fourthly, you won't have the inconvenience and cost of attending for medical examination by Consultants whose rooms are far removed from where you live. Your local Solicitor will usually arrange an examination with a nearby private Hospital, e.g. Highfield.

The claims merchants tell clients that they will try to recover the bank loan, but you can rest assured that this will not happen. What does happen is that the loan will be taken out of your damages. For example, we know of a man who lives in Manchester and works in Oldham. He had an accident at work which he was certain to win. He went to Claims Direct who insisted that he sign up to a bank loan for £1,500.00 plus interest to cover him against the cost of losing. He was told that Claims Direct would try to recover this money although they were well aware that this would be impossible.

His case was referred to Solicitors in Northampton so that he had no personal contact with them. At the end of the day he was awarded only £6,700.00 including loss of earnings for his quite serious hand injury, but he actually received only £5,250.00, as Claims Direct deducted the bank loan and interest. Incidentally he had to go to Leeds to see a Specialist.

It is for these reasons that your best interests will be served if you put your claim and your trust and confidence in the hands of a local Solicitor who specialises in personal injury work. Of course there are certain basic rules which apply to accident claims. For instance, it is necessary to prove that someone was wholly or at least partly to blame and that the accident happened less than 3 years ago although in certain circumstances, this time limit can be extended.

If your Solicitor thinks you have a better than even chance of winning, you will be offered a Conditional Fee Agreement, commonly known as a no-win, no-fee or no-win, no-cost arrangement. This means that after receiving free advice the Solicitor will take responsibility for all your legal costs and expenses and you won't be asked to pay anything by way of a deposit. If you win, he or she will recover those costs and fees from your opponent's insurers. If you are advised to drop the case or you lose at a final Court hearing, your Solicitor will stand all the costs. Thus, in effect, you will get an entirely free personal service. You will also be secure in the knowledge that your Solicitor will rarely accept the first offer by the other side's insurers.

There are many kinds of accidents, i.e. at work, on the highway, on the pavement, or in shops and stores. If you are injured at work, your case will either be based on negligence or breach of the Health and Safety Laws and Regulations. If it is a car crash, you have to prove that it was the other driver's fault or the fault of your own driver, if you were a passenger. In fact in order to succeed, you would only have to establish a minimal amount of carelessness on the part of either driver. You should always wear available seat belts not only to save yourself from more serious injury, but because your compensation will be reduced by as much as 30%.

Whilst you may have legal cost insurance as part of your motor insurance policy, you will be better off if you consult your own specialist Solicitor. Many motor policies offer only limited costs cover and will insist on your case being dealt with by one of their panel Solicitors whose offices may be far away from where you live.

It is also possible to recover compensation if you are the victim of a hit and run driver or you find out that the other driver has no insurance, since your claim will be dealt with by an insurance company appointed by the Motor Insurers Bureau.

If you hurt yourself by tripping in the street, you will have to prove that part of the pavement which caused you to trip was at least an inch above or below the level of the rest of the pavement or that there was an unlit or unfenced hole or obstruction.

If you slip in a shop or store, you will need to identify what caused you to slip and most importantly, a helpful witness. You will also need to make sure that you or someone with you reports the incident to the management straight away or as soon as possible.

Whether it is a road traffic accident or a slip or trip, it is essential to take photographs or have someone do this for you. In the case of tripping accidents, the photographs should show the general location and a close-up of the actual cause of the trip. You can use a ruler or a 50 pence piece to demonstrate the depth or height of the obstruction. As it happens, a 50 pence piece is exactly one inch wide, so that all you need to do is prop the ruler or the 50 pence piece against the bit of deflective pavement and snap away.

Criminal Injuries

As for these kind of cases, the local Solicitors who deal with this work will process your claim for you via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and will, if appropriate, appeal against refusal to grant you an award or as to the amount of compensation you are offered.

If your claim fails, it will cost you not a penny. Only if you succeed will your Solicitor deduct his costs under what is known as a Contingency Agreement which will provide for payment of costs which generally will not exceed 33.3%, so that again, you will effectively receive a free service.

In these sort of cases, you will have to show that the assault or other criminal act which caused your injury, occurred less than 2 years ago, the injuries are likely to be worth at least £1,000.00 in compensation, that you are of good character and that you co-operated with the Police