If you have suffered a personal injury in an accident, here is some advice and a useful guide for you which has been prepared by UK based compensation lawyers:
Time limits: There is a strict three-year time limit to which personal injury claims must be brought forward. The three-year time limit starts from the date of your accident, or from the date your injuries first became clear. This is known as your Date of Limitation or your Date of Knowledge. After three years, most personal injury claims become statute-barred.
Liability: To bring forward a personal injury claim, you must have a level of diminished liability. Or in other words, you cannot be 100 per cent responsible for the accident which caused your injuries. You can, however, be partially responsible and settle on a split liability agreement.
Settlement demand: The settlement demand is the proper name for compensation. It is the amount put forward by your solicitor to the other side. This has to be fair and proportionate to the extent of your injuries, and how your injuries have and will affect your life. If you demand too much compensation, then the other side will simply reject your claim which will set you back.
Evidence: Two things have to be proven to make a successful claim:
- That the other side is in some way liable for your injuries, and;
- That your injuries are real, and that they warrant the settlement demand.
To prove these things, your solicitor will build you a case based on evidence and also on past cases that have had success. You will have to attend a medical examination to establish the extent of your injuries, a recovery period and your prognosis for the future.
Medical examinations: These will be set up by your solicitor. At the very least, you will have to attend a single physical examination, however claims for emotional distress and for psychological injuries in addition to physical injuries may require you to attend more than one examination. Examinations last for 10 minutes to 30 minutes, depending on the injuries in question.
No win, no fee agreements: ‘No win, no fee’ is a phrase used by the legal industry to describe the key point of a Conditional Fee Agreement. No win, no fee agreements stipulate that the claimant should have no fees to pay upfront or during the claims process. They also stipulate that should the claim lose, the claimant has none of their own lawyer’s fees to pay. However, they do not protect the claimant from incurring costs from the other side in the event of an unsuccessful claim. You can, however, mediate this risk with something called ‘after the event’ insurance.