MAKING A COMPENSATION CLAIMS

Generally claims for personal injury compensation inevitably revolve around accidents. There are obviously many different types of accident, but regardless of how a person came to be injured you can only claim compensation if someone else, for example a company or organisation was completely responsible for your injuries.

The term “Negligence” is used to describe blame following an accident. In real terms negligence can be defined as “the failure to exercise that degree of care that, in the circumstances, the law requires for the protection of other persons or those interests of other persons that may be injuriously affected by the want of such care.”

To commence with a claim for personal injury compensation, there needs to have been an injury that preferably has been subject to a recorded medical treatment. For those whom heal quickly i.e. within days, then it will probably not be possible to instruct a solicitor to represent you, this is mainly because legal costs cannot be easily recovered.

These days, people have become critical of others who make compensation claims. They are considered to be out just for the money. The misconception has helped to put off many deserving accident victims, who were completely entitled to make a genuine claim.

Solicitors or Lawyers, who specialise in personal injury compensation claims, should provide you with free initial advice about your chances of receiving compensation for your injury or loss. Make sure that you ask your solicitor about this when you first contact them. If they advise you that it is worth making a claim, they should talk to you about the costs of making a claim, and your options for paying them. Always insist that your solicitor explains the whole process clearly enough for you to understand.

Providing that you have been injured through no fault of your own, you are normally entitled to be compensated for all the losses that you have suffered as a result of the accident. Claims may include damage to your clothing and property, loss of earnings and any insurance excess that you may have. If you have been injured in a car accident and your car is now off the road you can also probably claim for a hire car.

Compensation awards vary from claim to claim, and are dependant on many different factors, even for similar injuries. That is because injuries affect people in different ways, and each person’s circumstances are taken into account when awarding personal injury compensation. Common compensation claims include whiplash, road accident and medical negligence claims.

Perhaps the most concerning part of any legal claim is what the cost might be. Personal injury claims can take a long time and good solicitors are not cheap. On the positive side almost no personal injury claims ever come to trial as most are settled at some stage during the proceedings. Nowadays there is normally an option of instructing a solicitor to act for you on a No Win No Fee basis.