What is Personal Injury?
Any injury you suffer is of course ‘personal’, but you can claim compensation only if a person, company or some other organisation is at least partly to blame for your injuries. The person or organisation must have been careless about the way something was
- done,
- not done,
- when it should have been
made or repaired.
The person or organisation that was careless (‘negligent’) may have to pay you compensation for your injuries.
A personal injury can happen for example:-
- At work,
- In a road traffic accident(s)
- Because of a faulty product(s)
- Because of a mistake in medical treatment,
- Because you have tripped over something that should not have been there or was damaged
- Because you have slipped in a place of work
An injury may be psychological as well as physical, so you may be able to get compensation for distress or upset after an accident as well as for the physical injury.
What should you do if you have been involved in an accident?
After suffering any kind of accident, you should:-
- Take photos of what caused the injury and the injury if it is visible
- Take details of any witnesses for the actual accident/state of any damages
- Write down any details of the incident while it is still fresh in you mind
- Attend hospital/your doctors and report your injuries and what caused them
- If police where involved in any way take details of the crime reference number and officer in charge at the scene
Additional if the accident was:
- At work
- Report the accident to your employer immediately (legally your employer must keep a record of any accidents)
- On the Roads
- Report the incident to the police
- Report the incident to your insurance company
All the above is very important because:
- It will speed up the process and you will get your compensation quicker
- There will be more evidence to argue your personal injury claim and therefore more likely to be successful
- If someone else has put in a personal injury claim for the same defect this information could assist their claim
- It ensures that chance of the same thing happening to another person is greatly reduced
What is a Claim Management Company (CMC)?
A claims management company (CMC) is a business that offers the claimant a service between themselves and solicitors. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is a government department that regulates all claims management companies. You would be able to find the details of any Claims Management Company on www.claimsregulation.gov.uk/search.aspx. A Claims Management Company (CMC) registered with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) must follow a strict “code of conduct”. Claims Management Companies (CMC’s) would normally be paid on a referral basis, and this should be made clear to you from the outset.
Here at Claims 500 UK we would refer your case to a solicitor on our specialist panel to suit your needs, and they would look to take on your case, on a “no win no fee basis” and there will be no fees payable to us by you.
How does ‘No Win No Fee’ work?
A ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement is sometimes called a conditional fee agreement.
Under a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement your solicitor will take the case on the understanding that if you lose they will not get paid.
However if you lose you may still have to pay:
- Your opponents legal costs; and
- Your and your opponents other expenses such as fees for expert witnesses and medical reports etc.
However our solicitors may be able to arrange insurances to cover these costs in case you lose.
If you win your case then under normal circumstances any fees payable will be charged to your opponent. |
