Personal Injury Claims What To Avoid

By Author: Claims Advisor
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Personal Injury claims how it all started

The law surrounding personal injury claims has its foundations laid out in the law of tory particularly third party liability. Third party liabilty was established in Donoghue v Stevenson [1931] since this landmark case the law of tort has steadily evolved. The last decade has seen the law in respect of personal injury and third-party liability explode into an industry and a whole new field in which solicitors can practice. As with most industries there have been and still are some teething problems which if the client is not carefull can result in a lot of stress and un-necessary costs.

What to avoid when making a personal injury claim.

Rogue trader's within the industry have been the most crippling elemenant of the industry which has resulted in bad press and a lack of trust within the industry. Initially teamed with like-minded law firms these rogue claims referral companies tied there clients into scrupulous loan agreements and unnecessary insurance policies. These loan agreement and insurance policies would then be deducted from the claimants personal injury ...
... claims compensation. This practice was highly frowned upon by the legal community and the media which later resulted in many firms and claims referral companies voluntarily setting a standard of service by joining organisations like the claims standards council. Long story cut short with the introduction of the ministry of justice this practice soon became obsolete. However till this day there are firms that still deduct a fee substitute from the claimants compensation. Make sure before you sign any agreements or give any details you clarify that no fees should be charged to you and no deductions should be made to your compensation.

Whats the best route to take

In my opinion using a good claims management company to make your personal injury claim is probably the best route. My reasoning for this advice is simply because a good claims management company will have a panel of specialist personal injury lawyers. These specialists personal injury solicitors will specialise in different area of personal injury law. Now if you have been involved in a car accident you will want a personal injury lawyer who specialises in car accident claims and not a solicitor who is jack of all trades. You wouldn't want builder to carry out your plumbing repairs would you? Also a lot of good claims management companies insist their panel members work on a no win no fee 100% compensation basis making it a safe deal for claimants.

Car accident claims and road traffic accidents

By far one of the most popular type of personal injury claim today comes as a result of a road traffic incident. Here one party causes (also referred to as the third-party) the accident and one party or more suffers as a result. If the causation of the accident isn't disputed by the third-party or their insurance company, the insurance company of the third party will then start to negotiates with the claimants personal injury lawyers to come to a settlement. The claimants solicitors will normally gather medical evidence to prove and assess the extent of the injury together with an assessment of damages. this will give them an indication of how much the compensation should be. At this point normally the third-party will start to make an offer or offers to settle the claim which in return will be communicated to the claimant by the solicitor. At this point the claimant can accept or reject the offer or make a counter offer. If a counter offer is made the insurance company can accept if they believe it to be reasonable or reject. If the offer or counter offer is rejected by the claimant or third-party insurers the claim can be bought to a court. If however the offer or counter of is accepted the compensation will be issued to the claimant for the personal injury claim please be advised once the offer has been accepted the claimant will not be able to pursue any further damages in respect of this personal injury claim.

Accident at work or employers liability claims

An employers liability claim or better known as accident at work claims arise when an employer neglect his duty to make sure the employee has a safe working enviroment which results in the employee suffering from a personal injury. In the event of such a incident the employee should ensure he follows all protocols laid down in his/her employment contract and make sure the company records the incident in the accident log/book. If there are any witnesses to the incident make sure you take down as many details as possible also make a note of as many details surrounding the accident at your earliest convenience whilst its fresh in your mind. Once you have instructed a good personal injury claims solicitor they will then start to negotiate with the employer much like the car accident claims procedure and the you the compensation you deserve.

Slip or trip claims or Public liability claims

Much like the employers liability case here the personal injury lawyer once instructed by the claimant will carry out searches to find the owner of the property with the defect and prove liability. The claimant should take pictures and gather as much evidence as possible. Measurements, place, description and pictures of the defect are the most helpful types of evidence the claimant can gather. These points are ver important in personal injury claims

Dispute on causation and Quantum

Causation disputes arise when the third-party disputes the scenario of the accident for instance third-party disputes the accident took place at all or that, the way it took place indicating the claimant is at fault not the third-party. This kind of dispute is normally resolved through a specialist investigatory report by vehicle engineers or accident investigators who generally check the damage and speak to witnesses etc. Although usually the dispute is generally resolved prior to court action in some cases can go to court an last a very long time and delaying you personal injury claim.

Quantum disputes are normally somewhat tedious affairs. As the third party disputes that the accident or impact of the accident could not have caused the accident. This again calls for specialist intervention although there is no real way of proving what is a reasonable amount force to cause a whiplash injury for example as different vehicles are built differently and damage may not be clear of the impact a collision may cause inside the vehicle. whilst technology and case-law develops in this area im afraid this area is going to be a slow and open to much debate in the near future.
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