Here We Have A Few Words Of Advice Regarding Getting Compensated For Personal Injury Claims

Written By: Philip Douglas Patterson on September 2, 2010 No Comment

The legal term “personal injury” describes an accident or incident which has resulted in a physical or mental injury. You can usually claim compensation when somebody else is at fault for your injury. These kinds of injuries can range from simple trips to serious injuries suffered at work.

Finding someone to pursue your claim is the first step in getting compensated.

There are many people who will say that they can help you and who say that they are expert claim handlers and advertise extensively to that end. However, these people are rarely fully qualified and are effectively working out of the equivalent of call centres. Each individual claim is complex in its own way and it is better to have a fully qualified solicitor handle it.

Specialist solicitors will be able to make an evaluation of a claim and decide whether or not it is worth pursuing and if it is, they will be able to tell you roughly how much you can expect to be compensated. The nature and severity of the injury will have a major effect on how much you can claim, as well as a few other factors such as expenses and loss of income.

Most solicitor firms can now offer a “No Win No Fee” service. I.e. the accused party will pay the legal costs of both sides as well as compensation. Even if the claim is unsuccessful, the person claiming can usually pay nothing. Your solicitor will explain how this works.

Nigel Holdcroft, a partner at Tolhurst Fisher LLP Solicitors said; “using a solicitor means that you will have expert advice on hand at every step of the way at no extra cost.”

The next step is getting a medical report commissioned.

Once the claim is made, the process will depend on the nature of the injury and the attitude of the person against whom the claim is made. Many claims do not get to court as they are settled following negotiations.

Claim Checklist:

1/ In most cases, the accident must have taken place in the last 3 years.

2/ The accident must have been someone else’s fault.

3/ To be classed as an injury, you have to have received medical attention from your injury.

4/ The party at fault for the injury must be able to pay compensation (usually through insurers)

However, these people are rarely fully qualified and are effectively working out of the equivalent of call centres. Quite often theses claims don’t go to court because they can be settled following negotiations. Personal Injury Solicitors Commissioning a medical report is the next step.