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.

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.

Military injury claims - commonly asked questions

Here are some commonly asked questions on the subject of military injury claims.

Are members of the armed services eligible for such compensation?

The question of eligibility may depend very much upon the circumstances and that is why you may be advised to consult legally qualified experts such as BentleyAccident Claims.

In principle, however, as a member of the military you may have the right to progress accident compensation claims in situations where your employer may have acted negligently or recklessly.

Is it right to ask for compensation?

This is a difficult question and one that may arise frequently when dealing with public service minded people such as the military.

Only you can ultimately make such a decision, however, the law recognises your legitimate right to seek compensation in circumstances such as those mentioned above.  This may be extremely useful in helping you to recover from your injuries or to lead as normal a life as possible afterwards.

It may be your just entitlement and something that might prove to be important to your family.

What are the conditions of making a claim?

Each case is unique to the claimant and it may be difficult to make sweeping generalisations, however, you may typically find that you will need to be seen to have:

• complied with all existing regulations relating to the use of safety equipment (there may be exceptions in situations where you were ordered not to or obstructed from so doing);
• to have been behaving in a responsible fashion and in line with prevailing regulations;
• to have been engaged in duties that were a legitimate part of your responsibilities (unless again you were ordered to the contrary). 

What will I need to support military injury claims?

There are no fixed rules on this but it may be sensible to:

• take photographs of the environment, where this is practically possible under military regulations;

• document, as soon as possible after the incident, the exact circumstances leading up to it and immediately afterwards;

• ensure that you consult medical advice immediately where possible and keep precise notes of all such treatment, securing copies if practical;

• try to obtain witness statements or the names and addresses of the witnesses concerned.

How much will this cost me?

Accident claim lawyers may be able to operate under a no-win no-fees arrangement.

If you win, you will typically need to pay nothing from the compensation awarded, as the responsible party will meet your legal fees.  There may be some minor administrative differences in this process under Scots law but the net result may be similar.

What is the next step?

To contact an expert claims injury lawyers with specialist knowledge of military injury claims.  You may be able to have an initial entirely non-committal discussion, where they may be able to help you understand the parameters of your situation and whether or not they believe you may be in line for possible compensation.

Why a good accident claims solicitor may make a difference to you

It may be the case that your first instinct, after suffering an accident, is to avoid legal processes and the use of an accident claims solicitor.

If so, that might be perfectly understandable but you may find that it is not always advisable.

Playing fair

The responsible party may not, unfortunately, share your initial instinct.

It would be nice to think that we lived in a world where people automatically accepted their responsibilities in situations where they were responsible for accidents that led to injury and damage to third parties but that may not be the case.

You may find that the other party simply refuses to accept liability or even if they do, they do not accept the impact that the accident may have had on your life.

It is a regrettable truth that in some cases, the responsible party may be motivated less by what is just for you and more by their desire to reduce the financial implications of their liability.

This is why if you are making accident compensation claims, as may be your legal right, it may be advisable to seek the help of a professional accident solicitor.

The solicitor’s role

At Bentley Accident Claims a qualified solicitor will always deal with your initial call.

Their role has many objectives but perhaps the primary one is to help you understand whether or not your accident is likely to be one that may be attributable to another party and successfully pursued. Typically, perhaps after obtaining additional information and all the facts, they may also be able to advise you on what they consider to be a realistic compensation sum that you may wish to pursue.

Your solicitor’s only role is to help protect your interests and to seek justice on your behalf.

They may be able to act for you on a no-win no-fee basis and if you do win compensation, this will typically go entirely to you, as the other party will meet your solicitor’s fees.

It might pay to remember that even if you are reluctant initially to consult an accident claims solicitor, the other party may already have appointed legal expertise to act on their behalf against you!

Injury compensation claims explained

How does the injury compensation claims process work?

• in the United Kingdom, the law recognises that parties responsible for accidents arising due to their negligence or the failure to comply with legislation, may be held accountable under law for injuries and damage occurring as a consequence;

• this is not primarily a case of retribution - it is more a sincere effort to try and ensure that innocent parties, who have suffered as a result, receive adequate compensation for any negative impact on the lives;

• if you have suffered an accident that you believe to be the responsibility of someone else, it may be your right to ask that the person or institution concerned, recognise the effects that this has had on your life;

• in some cases, you may need the help of injury solicitors to progress your claim for compensation, as the law may be complicated and it might be unrealistically optimistic to assume that the responsible party will simply accept their liability and offer you adequate compensation;

• you may find, for example, that there may be suggestions that the accident was your responsibility or due to circumstances beyond their control (e.g. winter weather etc);

• of course, if you were responsible or played a contributory role in the accident (e.g. perhaps failing to comply with published safety standards etc) that may put any claim at risk or call into question the compensation sums due;

• at Bentleys Accident Claims, your initial call will be responded to by a fully qualified accident claims solicitor (rather than a call handler) and he or she will be only too pleased to form an initial impression of the circumstances and to offer you advice as to whether you may have grounds for a claim;

• in the case of injury compensation claims, it may be possible to progress action on your behalf entirely on a no-win no-fees basis and if you win compensation, 100% of this will come to you, as the other parties typically pay your legal costs;

• under the Scottish legal system, legal fees may be handled slightly differently as a technicality but the same principle of you not playing in the event you are unsuccessful, may typically apply;

• making successful injury compensation claims may enable you to quickly get your life back to normal and given the importance of that objective, it might pay to seek qualified legal help.

The role of accident claims solicitors

As we are coming out of the depths of winter, it may be important to remember that accidents may still be a little more commonplace until the warmer weather truly arrives. That is not to say, however, that negligence may not sometimes play a part - and that is why consulting accident claims solicitors might prove to be important:

• nobody disputes that occasionally an accident may happen in which there is no clear liability - and that may be particularly the case when there is a lot of ice, snow and sleet around;

• yet sometimes the fact that winter is doing its worst is not an adequate explanation for why an accident took place;

• for example, it may not be a company’s fault that severe cold weather caused stairs in their premises to freeze over but before opening to the public, it may very well have been their legal responsibility to ensure that those stairs were adequately de-iced and made safe for public use;

• there may be a tendency for people who are responsible for an accident to attempt to dismiss it as just one of those things and attributable to the weather, however, qualified accident solicitors may be able to objectively analyse the position and establish whether or not that is the case and whether or not you are eligible for compensation;

• at Bentley Accident Claims our qualified and specialist solicitors will be very happy to help you understand whether or not you were really an unfortunate victim of bad luck or in fact, one of negligence on the part of another party;

• if it is a case of the latter, our solicitors will be willing to work with you to help progress accident compensation claims that might help you to secure a sum of money that will aid the progress of your recovery;

• in the United Kingdom we have an admirably long tradition of trying to understand the other person’s position and of seeking to avoid recriminations. The law, however, permits you to seek just recompense if you have suffered injuries as a result of another party and this may be in your best interests and those of your family;

• accident claims solicitors may be key in helping you to achieve this and if you have suffered an accident, so taking their advice sooner rather than later may be advisable.

How do car injury claims work?

Your first thought following a road traffic accident may be to make sure your family and passengers are alright, and to seek medical help if needed. But if the accident was not your fault, your thoughts may turn to car injury claims.

Securing compensation for an accident may sound like a daunting task, but with an experienced injury compensation claims lawyer, you may rest assured that you have someone to champion the cause for you.

The initial phonecall
At Bentley Accident Claims, we take your enquiry seriously from the very beginning. Unlike some other claims companies where your telephone call may be screened through an army of receptionists before you speak to a lawyer, you will be put through to a qualified solicitor who will listen to the details of the accident and assess your case.

When you make this call, it may help if you jot down some notes about the accident beforehand, to jog your memory. Accident compensation claims may be complicated, depending on the nature of your case. So be prepared for a number of questions from your lawyer.

In your notes, you may wish to have to hand information about:

• where the accident happened;
• who was driving;
• what the weather conditions were like on the day that it happened; and
• whether there are any witnesses who may be prepared to give evidence for you.

You may also need to give some financial information later. This may include details of how much money you have spent on travelling to and from medical appointments and how much your earnings have fallen as a result of having to reduce your hours or have time off work.

What happens next?
Once your details of your accident have been investigated – and if your personal injury solicitor feels that you have a case - the next step is not court, contrary to popular opinion. In fact, the majority of car injury claims may be settled during the period of negotiation that should happen at the start of the procedure.

It may be that the party at fault admits liability straightaway (or more likely, their insurer may decide that the case may not be worth fighting), and that what really needs to be negotiated is the amount that you will receive in damages.

For most of the kinds of injuries sustained in car injury claims, there is a tariff of the level of compensation that may typically be paid out. The exact sum that you end up with may depend on the level of pain you suffered, and whether there were any aggravating factors.