Saturday 28 April 2012

Medical negligence claims: what can you expect?

Sometimes, the fact that there may be so many courtroom dramas on television may not be helpful to people who are thinking about making medical negligence claims. Television dramas would have us believe that bringing a claim may be all about lawyers in dark suits stomping around courtrooms. So what really happens?

Medical negligence issues may happen in many kinds of scenarios. On one hand, you may have a long standing illness that may have been misdiagnosed or mistreated. On the other hand, you may have suffered a botched operation, where doctors and surgeons may not have done what they should have when you were on the operating table.

Either scenario can be upsetting, because you may not have received the care you are entitled to expect from the medical profession. Deciding to make a claim is the first step.

Choosing your lawyer
Medical negligence cases may not be just like any other kinds of accident compensation claims. They may require specialist knowledge, and perhaps more importantly specialist experience of how to negotiate with the NHS or their lawyers. This is because the “day in court” that you may be expecting from watching television dramas may be quite rare. In many cases, where negligence may be clear from the facts, medical negligence claims may be settled because the person who is responsible may want to draw the matter to a conclusion without going to court.

At Bentleys, you may speak to a qualified lawyer in your initial enquiry call, who may set your mind at risk by setting out how likely your claim may be to succeed. After taking the details of your claim, you may be able to get a rough idea of the level of compensation you may expect, given that there may be standard “rates” for different types of injury.

You may also be guided through the next parts of the procedure so that you may know what to expect next, and importantly, what may be expected of you.

Your day in court
As a claimant, you may have to submit to further medical examinations, in order to gather more evidence for your case. If your claim has been taken on in a true no win no fee deal, you may not have to pay any fees for these appointments upfront. Your lawyer may stand the cost and the risk of them and recover the cost later from the other party should your claim succeed.

What happens if yours is one of the comparatively few medical negligence claims that ends up in court? By this stage, your lawyer may have prepared you so thoroughly that you may feel confident about what to expect from the experience.

Sunday 22 April 2012

Making your choice of accident claims solicitors

Everyone has to make big decisions from time to time. In the wake of an accident, which you believe was due to a third party’s negligence, there may be a very big decision to make. You may have a significant injury which may have forced you to spend less time at work, threatening your livelihood. You may also be in serious pain. So how may you decide which firm of accident claims solicitors may be the right one for you?
You may wish to take the following things into account:
  • experience. No matter how flash their website is, or how catchy their name, the most important factor you may use to take into account may be the depth and breadth of experience it’s a firm’s lawyers have in this field. For example, accident compensation claims may be specialised as a branch of law. But if your accident was a road traffic one, or a work one, you may wish to make sure that you lawyer has experience of that particular sub branch;
  • customer service. Bringing a claim on someone’s behalf is an important service, and the person bringing that claim is not only a claimant as far as the law is concerned, but they may also be a client as far as the deal with their lawyer may be concerned. Some claims firms may use call centres for the initial stages of their clients’ claims, where an impersonal service may move people from one stage to the next. At Bentleys Accident Claims, however, you may rest assured that you will speak to a qualified solicitor from the very first call. You can also expect regular updates and involvement in the progress of your claim;
  • the fee deal. The default position is that a claimant may simply pay their own fees and see if they may reclaim them at the end of the case if they win. But these days many firms, such as ourselves, offer no win no fee deals. This means that by using our service you won’t lose out, even if you do not win your accident compensation claim. However, if you choose to use another lawyer that offers a no win no fee service, do check the small print to make sure this is really the case.

Wednesday 11 April 2012

How do injury compensation claims work?

Coming to terms with the fact that you have had an accident that is someone else’s fault, may be difficult. After all, you may be in pain, in shock or feel let down if the accident happened at work in circumstances that you feel could have been avoided. When the dust has settled and you start thinking about making a claim, how might injury compensation claims pan out?
  • start looking for the right lawyer. Not every lawyer is a specialist in injury compensation claims. So you may wish to check the credentials of those you are considering before engaging them as your injury solicitors. Not only is personal injury a discrete area of law which has its own rules and procedures, but your lawyer may also need to be familiar with the tariff of charges that may apply to different injuries. Given that your claim may be likely to end in a settlement, you may need to make sure that you choose a lawyer who may negotiate strongly on your behalf;
  • get comfortable with the fee structure of the claim. How much, if anything, may your lawyer expect you to contribute up front for expenses? Some lawyers may insist that the claimant (i.e. you) may make payments for medical expenses and other appointments needed to formulate the evidence for the claim, with the intention of reclaiming them later in the event of the claim being successful. However, many firms may bear this risk themselves, and claim the monies back on settlement or in court. But the second and perhaps most important element of a no win no fee deal is knowing how much of your compensation you may keep. Some firms may charge a higher rate if you win. But others however, may hand all of your compensation over to you.
  • start gathering evidence. Your lawyer may lead this stage of things, while he or she is putting your case together they may be gathering all the information they may need. Depending on the nature of your injuries, you may need to attend further medical appointments;
  • the final stages are for your lawyer to carry out. Some claimants may be concerned about the possibility of having to stand up in court and give evidence. But the reality is that this may be relatively unlikely. Many claims may be settled at an early stage – especially if the causes of the accident are obvious. And if yours is one of the few injury compensation claims that does end up in court, your lawyer should be able to guide you through the experience to make it as painless as possible.

Wednesday 4 April 2012

Choose a car accident claims solicitor

Have you recently had a car accident that was not your fault? If so, you may wish to think about contacting a car accident claims solicitor. But if you have never used a lawyer before, what may be the kind of things that you may wish to take into account?

The initial contact
You can tell a lot about a firm by the way that they speak to you initially. With some claims companies there may be a factory mentality, where claimants may feel as though they are being “processed” along the various stages of the claims procedure.

At Bentley Accident Claims, on the other hand, you will typically speak to a qualified solicitor from the very first call, so that you may immediately get a professional opinion on your claim.

The firm’s experience
Another issue you may wish to take into account may be how much experience the lawyer has in making accident compensation claims. Whilst there may seem to be many kinds of claims firms around, this is a specialist area of law. So someone who does a bit of everything and “dabbles” in negligence issues may not be the person to trust with your claim.

The fee arrangement
Finally, how much may making a claim cost you? This is where the small print of whatever agreement is put in front of you should be read carefully.

Many accident claims solicitors may offer a no win no fee deal, but in reality no two no win no fee agreements are the same.

By way of explanation, the default position with a legal claim for compensation when you have an accident may be paid for by the person who is at fault. So if you win your claim, the court may typically decide that your legal costs may be paid by the other party. But should you lose, you may have to stump up for the other parties’ fees.

At Bentley’s, our no win no fee service means that we, as your car accident claims solicitor, will take on that risk. So, you will have nothing to pay, whatever the outcome.