Have you been injured in an accident which was not your fault? If so, you may be considering claiming compensation. Whilst you could make a claim yourself, we believe that one of our personal injury solicitors could help you.
In this guide, we explain everything you need to know about claiming with the help of a personal injury solicitor.
Key Takeaways For Finding The Right Solicitor For You
- If you have been injured in an accident which was not your fault you could make a compensation claim.
- You do not need to work with solicitors near you. Experience is more important than location when it comes to selecting a solicitor to help you.
- Claims could be made for accidents at work, accidents on the road or accidents in public places.
- Compensation is based on the injuries you suffer and any claimable financial losses.
- You must begin your claim within the relevant time limit, which is usually three years.
- Our specialist injury solicitors could help you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Get in contact with Legal Expert today.
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Do I Need A Solicitor To Make A Personal Injury Claim?
We should begin by saying that you do not have to make a personal injury claim with a solicitor and that there is no legal requirement to do so. However, we believe that there are benefits to getting help.
A solicitor could help,
- Accurately value the injuries you (or someone you are claiming on behalf of) have suffered. The more complex the injuries are, the more complex a case may be.
- Ensure that the claim is filed correctly and within the time limit.
- Adding all the claimable financial losses to make sure that you get the right amount of compensation.
- Bringing years of dedicated legal experience to handle any issues of law that come up during the case.
- Tackling negotiations with the other side confidently.
- Completing any necessary legal steps, such as complying with any relevant Pre-Action Protocols.
There are, of course, many other aspects of a claim that they can help with. To see if you are eligible to claim compensation, you can call an advisor for a free case assessment today.
How Do I Know If I Have A Valid Personal Injury Claim?
As we will explore later in this guide, you could make a personal compensation claim in a wide variety of circumstances. You may be injured in a road traffic accident, an accident whilst in a public place or at work.
When making any claim for personal injury compensation, it must be shown that:
- Another party had a duty of care to you. For instance, whilst using the roads you are owed a duty of care by other road users.
- This duty was breached. In this example, a vehicle driver may have failed to stop at a red light striking your vehicle.
- This caused your accident and injury. In our example, the collision causes you to injure your neck.
Contact us to find out if our personal injury lawyers could help you.
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What If There Are No Personal Injury Solicitors Near Me?
When looking for legal advice, your first thought may be to search your local area. However, you do not need to limit your search to personal injury specialists near you.
Today claimants and solicitors can keep in contact using a wide variety of different communication channels. You may correspond via email or through secure messaging services. If you do need to discuss your case with your solicitor, you may do so over the phone or via a video conference.
Your solicitor will keep in contact with you and keep you updated on your claims progress. To do so, they could use the most convenient means for you.
All this means that you do not need to limit your search to finding an injury solicitor in your local area. Instead you can focus on finding a solicitor specialising in your type of case.
We help people across the country to make successful personal injury compensation claims. Contact us for an assessment of your compensation claim.
What Kinds Of Claims Do Legal Expert’s Solicitors Take On?
At Legal Expert our solicitors could take on a broad range of different types of personal injury injury cases. Some of the most common types of claim our solicitors take on may include claims for:
- Road traffic accidents. These may include claims for a car accident, lorry and HGV accidents and other vehicle accidents.
- Cycling accidents.
- Pedestrian accidents involving road vehicles.
- Accidents at work.
- Slips, trips and falls.
- Accidents in public places, including leisure centres, parks and other spaces
- Allergic reactions and food poisoning.
- Serious injury claims (also known sometimes as catastrophic loss claims).
- Wrongful death claims.
These are just a small number of examples of the different types of circumstances in which you could make a personal injury claim.
Get in touch to learn more about how our injury lawyers could help you.
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Is Working With Personal Injury Solicitors Expensive?
Many claimants worry about the potential cost of working with a personal injury solicitor on their case. Whilst claiming with a solicitor may seem potentially costly, our solicitors are able to take your case on a No Win No Fee basis. To do so, they could offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
The benefits of claiming in this way include:
- Not having to pay solicitors fees in advance.
- Not having to pay solicitors fees during the claims process.
- No fees for the solicitor’s work are charged in the event of an unsuccessful claim.
Instead, No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors will deduct a success fee if you win your claim.
What Is A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA)?
A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is a type of agreement through which a solicitor can provide services to a claimant in the way described above.
Under the CFA, if your case is successful, your solicitor will deduct a success fee. This fee will be set out in the CFA, and you will be informed of it before agreeing to work with the solicitor. The fee is calculated as a percentage of the compensation and is capped by law.
Contact us to find out more about how to claim with No Win No Fee solicitors.
Why Should I Choose Legal Expert?
As we have seen, although you do not have to make your personal injury claim with a solicitor, there are benefits to doing so. At Legal Expert, our specialist injury lawyers and solicitors could help you make a successful claim. We have an ‘Excellent’ score on Trust Pilot and have helped many clients recover compensation.
By choosing Legal Expert, one of our personal injury lawyers could bring their specialist knowledge and expertise to your case. They are experts at navigating the claims process and help to explain it to you. They can also explain any complex terminology or complex legal issues.
Our personal injury solicitors also know how to correctly assess and value your claim. They know the different types of losses you may be able to claim for. This ensures that you don’t miss out on claiming for losses you could have been compensated for.
Get In Touch Today
For information on how one of our specialist solicitors could help you please,
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More Information
Below you can find additional resources from our site and helpful references.
- Learn more about what a Conditional Fee Agreement is and what it covers in this guide.
- In this article, we guide you through the personal injury claims process.
- Learn more about how to claim compensation in this resource.
Helpful references
- Read more about taking sick leave in this guide from the government.
- Find out about first aid in this NHS resource.
- Learn more about reporting accidents and incidents at work in this guide from the Health and Safety Executive – the UK’s regulator for safety in the workplace.
Please contact us for help with your personal injury compensation claim.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Below, we answer some commonly asked questions about personal injury claims.
How Long Does It Take To Make A Claim?
There are several factors which may impact how long it takes to make a claim.
- The complexity of the case. The more complex it is, the longer it may take to determine who is at fault or how much the compensation could be.
- How complex your injury was. Again, more complex injuries take longer to assess and treat. It is important that your solicitor has a full picture of how your injury will impact you over the long term to provide the best advice about the potential value of your claim.
- Whether the other party accepts that they are liable for your accident, if they argue the case, it will likely take longer.
- Whether they agree with the amount you are claiming.
A small number of cases need to be resolved in court, and in these instances, the case may take longer to conclude.
Will I Need A Medical Assessment?
If you choose to claim compensation with one of our solicitors, they may ask that you attend a medical assessment. You must submit as much proof as possible, such as medical evidence, with your claim.
Whilst you may already be able to submit copies of your medical records, an independent assessment may help to fully take account of your injury. It can also help to assess how long your recovery may take and what treatment is necessary.
Any medical appointment would be as local to you as possible and at a convenient date and time.
How Much Personal Injury Compensation Could I Get?
How much compensation you could get will be unique to your case. This is because claims are individually valued. Compensation payouts may be made of two heads of claim. These are:
- General damages. This head of claim compensates for the pain and suffering your injury caused. Your solicitor may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to evaluate this. This document outlines suggested compensation guidelines for different types of injury at different degrees of severity.
- Special damages. This second head of claim may be awarded in addition to general damages. It compensates people for financial losses. These could include expenses such as medical bills, mobility aids and care costs. You could also be compensated for lost income and earnings.
Whilst general damages may automatically be awarded for a successful claim, special damages are not automatic. For your compensation claim to take these into account you must provide supporting evidence. This could include an invoice for medical care or a payslip showing the impact on your income.
Is There A Time Limit For Making A Personal Injury Claim?
The time limit for making a personal injury claim is three years. This time limit may begin on the date on which the person was injured or on which they discovered their injury. The Limitation Act 1980 sets out this limit. There can be some exceptions, which we can discuss if you get in contact.
Can I Claim For Someone Else?
You can claim on behalf of someone else if they are unable to claim. The two main reasons for this are because the injured person is under 18 or lacks sufficient mental capacity to claim. In both of these scenarios, the injured person would not be allowed to manage their claim.
You could claim on behalf of someone else in either of these cases. To do so, you must apply to the court to become a litigation friend. This is usually a parent or guardian, but it does not have to be. The only requirement is that they have to be someone competent to make decisions on the case and keep the injured person’s best interests at heart.
We hope that this guide has shown the benefits of claiming with one of our personal injury solicitors. Please contact us for further information.