Accident Advice
What Is A Personal Injury?
Well, obviously any injury you suffer is a personal one but what does there need to be before you can make a claim for that injury and seek compensation?
The answer is that there needs to be someone else who is at least partly to blame for your injuries. This could be an individual person, a company or some other organisation.
How Do You Know Someone Else is to Blame?
This depends on the accident circumstances. To be successful in your claim you will have to prove one of the following:
- that something was done by the individual or organisation that should not have been done.
- that something was not done by the individual or organisation that should be been done.
- that something that should have been repaired or maintained by the individual or organisation was not repaired or maintained to the standard it should have been.
You will then have to show that the injuries you suffered were as a direct result of one of the above.
You may also have suffered injuries during an attack by another individual or individuals.
Providing you have been injured as a result of someone else’s actions and they are to blame..
What Do You Do Next?
Obviously the first thing to do is a practical one: ensure that you have the right treatment you need to help you cope with and get over the pain, shock and distress you will be feeling after the accident.
Once you have done that you may then wish to consider whether you have a claim and whether compensation is due to you as a result of the injury you have suffered.
You should already have sought medical advice and treatment (ensuring that the accident circumstances are recorded by the doctor or consultant) but you should then try to record as much evidence as you can about what caused you to be injured.
If, for example, you have fallen in the street, we will ask you for details of any individuals who witnessed your fall and we will need you to provide us with photographs showing the area where you fell and the measurements of the defect that caused you to fall. Try to record the date the photographs were taken.
If your accident happened at work, you must tell your employer immediately. Your employer then will have to keep a record of the accident which could be important evidence for you as your claim proceeds.
If you suffered injury in a road traffic accident, you must tell the police and if you were in your own car, you must report the matter to your own insurance company. These will be important records of the happening of the accident.
Making a Claim For Compensation
How do you go about this?
You can ask a solicitor to bring your claim for you. Obviously we would be happy to look at the details of your claim (see the “Contact Us” or “Claim Online” sections of the site in this regard) but you are free to take the advice of any solicitor of your choosing.
Talking to a solicitor, whether it is Whitestone Solicitors or some other firm, will not mean that you have to take the matter further. That initial contact should not also cost you any money. Whitestone Solicitors will not charge you for seeking initial advice as to whether you have a claim for personal injury compensation or not. We will be happy to talk to you.
Bringing your claim does not necessarily mean that you will have to attend Court.
A lot of people may not want to bring a claim for personal injury compensation as they would not want to have the hassle of going to Court and having to give evidence. Please be reassured that most personal injury claims are resolved without the need for the person claiming to have to go to Court. Most claims settle without a need to go to Court through negotiation between the parties. That is why you need specialists to act on your behalf and bring your claim for personal injury compensation. We would hope to conclude your claim to your satisfaction without the need for you to attend Court. However, if this proves necessary, we will be there for you to advise and offer all the support you may require.
Who Pays For It All?
Legal Aid is no longer available for claims for personal injury compensation. If we were to take on your claim for personal injury compensation then we would look to enter into a no-win no-fee agreement with you.
What does this mean?
We explain the meaning of a no-win no-fee agreement in great detail in the section of this site titled “What is No-Win, No-Fee?” but we repeat the advice here:
What is No-Win, No-Fee?
Everyone knows this phrase now. It has become a very popular, well-known phrase but what does it stand for, what exactly does it mean?
When you bring a claim for personal injury compensation there are three considerations which you should bear in mind regarding the cost of the same.
These are the three things you need to bear in mind:
- Our Fees - These are our charges for the work that we do on your behalf. No-win, no-fee means that we cannot charge you for our fees if your claim is not successful. If we do not win, you do not pay us a penny. We will charge you if your claim succeeds but the law means that your opponent has to pay those fees for you. The losing party has to pay the costs of the successful party. You will not have to pay anything.
- The Expenses - These are the costs we have to pay out as your claim progresses. They are usually referred to as ‘disbursements’. If you win, these are paid by your opponent. If you lose, you are responsible for these expenses and so we always ensure that you have in place the appropriate legal expenses insurance so that the insurer will pay them and no you. Again, you will not have to pay a penny.
- Your Opponent's Fees - If you do not succeed in your claim for personal injury compensation, your opponent can claim their costs from you but only if you have issued proceedings at Court against them. Even in those circumstances we will ensure that you have the appropriate legal expenses insurance cover so that you are fully protected. Again, you pay nothing.
No-win, no-fee means that you pay nothing and you have nothing to worry about.
How Long Do I Have to Bring My Claim?
When you are injured in an accident you need to take legal advice and get your claim for personal injury up and running as soon as possible. There are time limits for bringing any claim but providing you instruct solicitors to sort out your claim as soon as the accident happens then hopefully your claim will be resolved before any of that matters.
However, in case that does not happen we will set out a guide to the time limits within which you must bring your claim for compensation.
- for a claim for personal injury compensation you must start proceedings at Court within 3 years of the date of the accident if you knew immediately you were injured. If you are suffering from a disease caused by someone else’s negligence (for example, due to exposure to asbestos) then Court proceedings must be issued within 3 years of when you were injured or when you first knew you were injured and believed it was due to someone else’s negligence.
- if you were the victim of a crime resulting in personal injury, then you only have 2 years within which to bring your claim for compensation with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
- if you were under 18 when your accident occurred, you will have 3 years from the date of your 18th birthday within which to bring your claim for personal injury compensation.
- if you were injured abroad, then the time limits for bringing your claim for personal injury compensation may be different. Please seek immediate legal advice if you have suffered an injury whilst abroad.
What Happens if I Was Injured in a Road Traffic Accident Where the Other Driver Was Either Uninsured or Simply Fled the Scene and Remains Untraced?
You can still claim compensation providing the accident was at least partly because the other driver was to blame. If the other driver did not have any insurance to cover them at the time of the accident or even if they did not stop following the accident and remain untraced, then you can still bring your claim through a Government Organisation called the Motor Insurers Bureau. You will need to contact us as soon as possible so that we can help you complete the necessary application form.