Five Steps Towards A Successful Injury Claim
As many as 70 per cent of UK residents that are eligible to make a personal injury claim do not seek compensation if they've been hurt
. One of the reasons for this may be that they are unsure as to how they go about making their claim. Here, I present five steps to success to hopefully assuage some of those fears.1. Firstly, you must always visit the doctor, for two reasons.
He or she must ensure that any injuries you have sustained are not life threatening, and recommend any further treatment if necessary. There are some high-profile cases, most notably that of the actress Natasha Richardson, of people sustaining what they dismiss as a minor bump on the head and then suddenly losing conciousness and even dying mere hours later.
You must also seek medical advice for more practical reasons: without an assessment by a qualified practitioner you will be unable to produce the necessary evidence to support your injury claim.
2. Gather as much evidence as possible.
The higher the quality of your evidence, the higher the chance that your injury claim will be accepted by a solicitor and be successful. If you have had whiplash injuries inflicted by a car crash, ensure that you take photos of the crash site, all the vehicles involved and the details of all the motorists.
Speak to witnesses regardless of the type of accident you have suffered and keep detailed notes of their, and your own, observations. if the accident happened at work it must be recorded in the accident book. Keep a record of your visits to the doctor. You will be able to reclaim any money that you have paid out of your own pocket for medical treatment.
3. Find somebody to handle your claim.
You may wish to instruct your own solicitor, or if you are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with legal procedures, you may wish to leave the technicalities to a claims management company (CMC). They offer a 'one stop shop' solution to making an injury claim. You give them your details and they deal with everything related to your claim on your behalf. They will keep you informed and 'in the loop,' so to speak, but you don't usually have to go to court or become deeply involved. The CMC will locate a solicitor for you based on the nature of your case.
Remember that personal injury claims in the UK are regulated by the Conditional Fee Arrangement (more commonly known as 'no win no fee') so if you are going down the route of finding your own counsel for the case, it might be worth checking if your solicitor subscribes to this system. You should not have to pay anything upfront in order to make an injury claim.
4. Claim within three years of the accident.
Personal injury claims must be started within three years of the accident that caused your injury. The one exception to this rule is that, if you were injured when you were a minor, the time limitation only starts ticking when you reach your 18th birthday: therefore you have until your 21st birthday to claim, although it's probably not the best idea to wait until the last minute.
5. Ensure you were not at fault.
The simple principle of a successful personal injury claim is that you, the victim, are being compensated for something that is not your fault. In very basic terms, if the accident that caused your injuries was mainly the result of your own actions, then you are unlikely to be able to make a claim.
In some cases, you may be partially at fault but the culpability may mostly lie with another party: for example:
Say you are knocked off your motorcycle by a careless car driver and suffer a head injury, but the injury was exacerbated by the fact that you were wearing an old crash helmet that didn't fit properly and didn't meet the latest safety standards. You are partially responsible for your injuries, but you are not the main party at fault for the accident, overall.
This is called contributory negligence and often has the effect of reducing the amount of compensation that can be awarded to a claimant. So make sure you're in the right and keep yourself as safe as possible at all times.
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