How to claim compensation?

Have you had an accident and are thinking of claiming compensation? Are you worried that it is too expensive, difficult and stressful to sue the responsible party? This is a misconception as claiming compensation is very simple and easy and is at no cost to you. Thanks to ‘no win no fee’, anyone can make a claim for compensation at no cost to themselves. The no-profit, no-fee contract was established to replace personal injury legal assistance. This is so that it reaches everyone who has suffered, not just those with low incomes who would qualify for legal assistance. With no earnings or fees, anyone with any income can file a claim for any personal injury.

So how can there be no cost?

Basically, without winning or paying, your lawyer works for free until the case is won. Once the case is settled, your attorney will recover costs from the losing party. If for any reason the case is unsuccessful, your lawyer can cover your costs with ‘after the event’ insurance. Your personal injury attorney will explain all of this up front and ask you to sign the appropriate insurance forms. The only cost to you may be the medical records from your doctor. These costs will be reimbursed to you after the case ends. But if you really can’t afford them, there are ways around it, and your attorney will explain them to you.

The good thing about no win no fee is that lawyers will only take cases they know they can win. Because only a small percentage of cases end up in court, an attorney will accept the case regardless of the plaintiffs’ home address. This is great because if you live in the South East but know a good accident claims solicitor who lives in Manchester, you can still use it. Lawyers know what types of claims end up in court and would advise looking for someone closer to home if they think that might be the result. Most claims are fairly straightforward, such as whiplash claims from car accidents. The job of the lawyers is to prove that the accident was not your fault.

Should I file a claim?

If you are on the fence about filing a claim for compensation, you should be sure that it really is not a stressful process. Your lawyer does everything for you. You may think I’m only saying this because I’m promoting a website, which is partly true, but I’ve claimed compensation twice in the past. The first was when legal assistance was available and I claimed for injuries from a motorcycle accident. The other claim was for an accident where my son had been on his way home from school. He couldn’t open the school fence, so he decided to climb over it. As he was about to climb down the other side, a teacher yelled at him to get off, causing him to jump and cut his finger on the top of the iron barbed fence. At the hospital, his finger was completely amputated. The compensation case went to court because the school denied any fault. Since I had proof, the fence was repaired the day after the accident, we won the case. We take 25% of the blame because apparently “I should have known better”. But we still came away with around £8,000 which has been in a court trust fund until he was 18 years old. There were medical costs which were around £120 which I paid at the time. This and other costs were reimbursed to me and were not deducted from my children’s compensation money. I was on very good terms with the school and they supported me to a certain extent. They understood why I claimed compensation and have never used it against me or my son. They told me they would fight that, which is understandable, but it was all done very fairly. The school really liked my son and they knew that he was not a troublemaker and that it had just been a terrible accident.

I want to claim, what should I do?

The first thing to do is write down all the information about the accident. The day, time, place, and the names and addresses of the witnesses. You may be asked to draw a picture of the accident, so doing it while it’s fresh in your mind would be a good idea. Just record anything and everything you can remember about the accident and you’re good to go. Then you just need to find a good personal injury lawyer and give him a call. They will talk to you initially and see if you have a claim. If they think you have a case, they will send you a form to fill out and return to them. The form will ask you for all the details that you should have already documented, such as the time of day and the details of the accident. Once this has been sent to them, they do the rest. You may have to sign a couple of forms, but that should be it. You sit and wait for your compensation.

Claiming compensation is your legal right and ‘no win no fee’ contracts were put in place so anyone could make a claim. So file a claim today, in a few months when you get your compensation check, you’ll be glad you did.