Every year millions of people in the UK are injured as the result of an accident, whether at home, at work, out on the road or in a public place. If an accident was not your fault, you may have the right to claim compensation, by making a personal injury claim.
If you choose a competent compensation solicitor, making a claim should be quite straightforward. A good solicitor will be willing and able to talk you through the whole procedure, from start to finish. If your solicitor believes you have a justifiable claim for compensation they will do everything they can to help you to get what they think you are owed.
Finding a Solicitor
There are plenty of different solicitors who specialise in personal injury claims. While some solicitors are willing to work on any personal injury claims, other solicitors will specialise in particular areas, such as work injury compensation, automobile accidents or injuries which had been caused by faulty products.
The internet is a great place to find a solicitor to help you to deal with your case. You can always check whether a solicitor is legitimate by looking on The Law Society website, which deals with professional accreditation of legal personnel in the United Kingdom.
Many solicitors in the United Kingdom will offer a free consultation session for anyone seeking to make a personal injury claim. These consultation sessions will give you the opportunity to discuss your claim with a qualified professional. Being able to discuss your claim with a professional will give them the opportunity to decide what they can do to help you. Because these consultation sessions are free, you will not be charged if the solicitor decides that your claim may not be viable or justifiable.
Funding your claim
In many circumstances, you will not have to worry about funding your claim, because solicitors who deal with personal injuries claims often operate a “no win, no fee” policy. If you use a solicitor which operates this policy you will only be expected to pay in a case which you win. Before you proceed with your claim, your solicitor should let you know how much you will be expected to pay them if you do win your case. In other circumstances, you may be expected to pay, but solicitors usually only take on cases which they expect to win.
Some forms of insurance may include legal expenses insurance: check your home insurance, personal insurance or vehicle insurance to see if they include legal expenses insurance which will help you pay for your legal expenses. If you’re accident has happened at work and you are a member of a trade union, your trade union may help you to cover your legal expenses.
Settlements
It is impossible to make a generalised estimate of how much you can expect to get for each case, because every case has its own subtle nuances. Settlements may also depend upon whether you settle out of court or whether the case ends up going to court and been tried before a claim judge.
Many of the parties involved (solicitors, claimants and the defendants) will not want the case to go to trial, because court cases can be stressful occasions for all of those involved. Upon your instruction, your solicitor should try to do everything within their power to obtain a settlement out of court, however if the defendant refuses to settle or makes an unreasonable offer, then the case may have to go to trial. It is in cases such as these that it is very important that you have a good personal injuries claims solicitor to help you to argue your case.