Introduction
to the issues of claiming compensation
This page is designed to give you some 'general' information about claiming
compensation for injuries in accidents and, if you wish, help you start a
claim with a specialist solicitor in your area by utilising the targeted
Google links opposite. Firms have been specially selected to deal with personal
injury cases and in England and Wales they should belong to the Law Society
Specialist Personal Injury Panel.
There is lots of general information on this page,
just click on one of the headings below to find out more.
The test!
Who pays the compensation?
Amount of compensation
General damages
Special damages
Future losses
Interest
Generally
Criminal injuries claims
Frequently asked questions
The
test!
If you can answer "yes" to these three questions you may be able to claim
compensation
1. Did the accident occur in the last three years?
2. Were the injuries you received serious enough
for you to have required medical attention, either in hospital or with your
GP?
3. Do you think someone else might be to blame
for the accident...or at least partly to blame?
Even if you can't say yes to them all, you may
still have a case, so it is important to seek legal advice.
However, it is difficult to be certain whether a claim
is possible unless you know the ins and outs of the law, especially when
accidents happen at work. It is always best to get specialist advice, which
is why we recommend you talk to a solicitor at a free consultation ti begin
with.
Solicitors who are experts in personal injury law,
will always act in YOUR best interests.
When your solicitor has established how the accident
happened, they will know against whom any claim should be made, the
defendant.
This person might be another car driver, your employer,
a landlord, a shop owner etc. In most cases the compensation will be paid
by their insurance company
You can win compensation for your injuries if the defendant
admits liability (blame) for the accident, even if you are partly to blame
yourself.
Sometimes the defendant will admit liability but will
disagree with the amount of money you are claiming. If that happens, your
solicitor will advise you of the proper amount and negotiate on your
behalf.
Occasionally if the sum cannot be agreed upon, or if
defendant denies liability, you may have to go to court to win
compensation.
This rarely happens, most cases are settled before
the need for court action.
Who pays the
compensation?
Most defendants are insured and usually their insurance company will pay
the compensation.
If you have an accident that occurred in the street,
on a pavement, or in a pub or shop you may also be able to pursue a claim.
You may have been injured because of a defect such as a raised paving slab
or a pothole, or because of an untreated slippery surface. In such cases,
the proprietor of the land or premises will have public liability insurance.
If you make a claim, hopefully the defect will be repaired preventing similar
accidents from happening again.
If you are injured as the driver, passenger or pedestrian
in a road traffic accident caused by another road user's negligence, you
may be entitled to seek damages in the form of compensation against that
person's motor insurance.
Most solicitors cater for all types of accident and
injury compensation claims you could imagine. Most lawyers are trained to
deal with Personal Injury, Industrial Disease/Injury and Sports Injury. Whether
you have had a Car or Motorbike accident and have whiplash, brain injuries
or dislocation/broken bones.
If you have an accident that occurred in the street,
on a pavement, or in a pub or shop you may also be able to pursue a claim.
You may have been injured because of a defect such as a raised paving slab
or a pothole, or because of an untreated slippery surface. In such cases,
the proprietor of the land or premises will have public liability insurance.
If you make a claim, hopefully the defect will be repaired preventing similar
accidents from happening again.
A solicitor can help if you have been injured or otherwise
damaged by faulty goods, unhygienic food, and unsafe structures such as loose
handrails or defective mechanical systems. If you have had an injury e-mail
us today and one of our investigators will contact you to discuss your claim
in detail.
In order to succeed in your claim, you must establish
liability and prove that someone else was negligent and that the negligence
caused your injuries and other losses. Negligence is a failure to take reasonable
care to avoid acts and omissions which would be likely to cause injury and
that care was not taken which caused the injury.
Amount of
compensation
The amount of compensation payable following an injury caused as a result
of negligence is usually separated into general damages, special damages
and future loss.
General damages
These cover items which cannot be calculated precisely.
The main item of general damages is usually the compensation for the injury
itself including pain and suffering. Damages for pain and suffering are normally
established following review of medical reports obtained specially for the
purpose.
Special damages
are items of loss which can be calculated reasonably
accurately. A specialist accident compensation solicitor will claim all losses
sustained including reduction of earnings, travelling expenses for medical
treatment, cost of medical treatment and medicines, personal effects damaged
in the accident, and the excess on an insurance policy. It is usually necessary
to document these losses by production of receipts, however in the absence
of receipts estimates of loss can often be made and verified by other documentary
evidence.
Future losses
The calculation of these losses is quite complex and
if you have losses that are likely to continue for the foreseeable future
then a special calculation is applied to the estimated annual loss to arrive
at a fair figure for compensation.
Interest
You may be entitled to interest on some of your accident
compensation. The rate payable and the period for which it is payable varies
depending on the type of damages. Interest on special damages runs from the
date of the accident whereas interest on general damages runs only from the
date of service of legal proceedings.
Generally
You can, of course, pursue a claim for compensation without any help from
a solicitor. However, you are much more likely to get a fair settlement if
you take legal advice this is because it is not easy to know exactly what
you can claim for and how much the claim should be, unless you are experienced
in such cases.
The person or company responsible for causing the accident
(or their insurance company) does not have to offer you the most that your
claim may be worth. In fact, they very rarely do. You may need help from
a skilled negotiator in this case and specialist solicitors are used to dealing
with this situation.
About one-third of all accidents happen on the roads.
It is compulsory for drivers of vehicles to have insurance cover against
claims from people who may have injuries. This includes claims from their
own passengers even if in the same family.
Such a claim can be made whether or not the police
have prosecuted the driver at fault. If the driver had no insurance a claim
can still be made from an organisation called the Motor Insurers Bureau
(MIB).
A claim for compensation for loss and injuries should
be brought against the driver who was at fault.
CRIMINAL INJURIES
CLAIMS
This section is very general in nature for which exceptions
and exclusions apply. Specific advice should be sought from Compensation
Solicitors as to whether a claim should be pursued by you before relying
on the information below.
1. If you have been a victim of a crime and injured
as a result you may be entitled to compensation through the state via the
Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme.
Very broadly, inorder to be eligible you must be
:
A victim of a crime of violence (eg assaulted, wounded
or victim of sexual offences). Please note that it is not necessary for an
offender to be convicted of the offence.
or
Injured whilst preventing an offence or taking an
exceptional risk.
and
Physically or mentally injured.
Injured in England, Scotland, Wales ( Northern Ireland
has his own scheme)
Sufficiently serious injury for at least minimum award
i e injured for at least six weeks and saw doctor twice during that
period
Dependents or relatives of a victim of crimes of violence
who have since died (may pursue a claim under the fatal accidents
scheme)
Generally speaking, you should report the incident
personally to the police as soon as it happened.
Applications should be sent to the CICA so that it
is received within two years from the date of the incident causing injury.
(Northern Ireland has different time-limits).
You are expected to help the police to prosecute and
co-operate with the C I C A.
Your conduct before, during and after the event will
be taken into account when examining if the claim should fail wholly or in
part.
Furthermore, previous unspent convictions will be looked
at and may effect the level of damages awarded.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
1. I have already had some legal advice, can I still
claim?
Generally, we can only help people who are seeking
advice for the first time. However, if you think your adviser has made a
mistake or is not doing a good job, then contact us and we will try to
help.
2. Do solicitors work on a 'No Win, No Fee'
basis?
Yes, but not all, though such agreements are
not allowed in Northern Ireland.
In England and Wales these arrangements are generally
known as Conditional Fee Agreements , or CFAs.
A solicitor will explain to you how the costs of a
claim should be paid, whether legal aid might be available, and what costs
you might recover.
They will not recommend a 'No Win, No Fee' agreement
if they think your claim is likely to fail.
If you choose to have a 'No Win, No Fee' agreement
you may be advised to take out insurance so that if the claim goes to court
and you lose the insurance will meet the other side's costs. Your solicitor
may help you pay the insurance premium and other expenses.
3. How much compensation will I get?
Compensation awards depend on how bad your injuries
were and what other losses you have, including lost earnings.
If you have fully recovered, then your solicitor should
be able to estimate the value of the claim.
However, if you are still suffering from your injuries
it is not possible to calculate the exact value, though your solicitor, being
experienced in this type of case, will give you guidelines.
4. I am frightened of making a claim against my
employers in case I lose my job.
This is a serious concern for many people who have
had accidents at work.
Remember, an employer is not normally allowed to sack
you if you are injured from an accident at work. You will need a reasonable
time to recover.
We constantly come across accident victims who have
left it too late to claim. Their health has deteriorated or their injuries
have shown up again unexpectedly.
If your accident is at all serious you should take
immediate legal advice because you just do not know what the future
holds.
Remember also that your employer, by law, has to have
insurance to cover their employees for accidents at work.
Disclaimer
Please note that articles on this 'Perfect Options' site do not constitute
professional advice, which recommends a course of action based upon the specifics
of your personal circumstances. The articles are intended to provide general
view of accident claim information. We urge you to consult a solicitor before
making any important decisions about your potential claim.
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