Get Your Claim - See A Personal Injury Solicitor

Anyone who believes they have a valid personal injury claim should go straight to a solicitor. Those who approach a claims company in the first instance will eventually be referred to a solicitor – and be charged around £400 for the privilege.

Most personal injury claims are taken on a No Win No Fee basis. The solicitor will add a charge only if the case is successful and sufficient financial compensation and expenses are awarded. Where a claim appears to be more difficult to prove, the solicitor will normally charge, in which case the client will be required to pay whether successful or not. In the latter option, the claimant should receive an estimated cost before deciding whether or not to go ahead.

The solicitor will then follow on to take down full details of the incident that led to the claim and ascertain injuries and other factors such as impaired mobility, loss of earnings or damage to career. After this, the other party will be contacted in order to find out if they will admit liability. If they do not, the solicitor will then look more carefully at the legal aspect of the client's case and provide a risk assessment on the prospects of success in court.

At this point it is possible to obtain insurance that covers, at times only partially, the cost of personal injury claims, which is relatively inexpensive if taken out before injury is sustained. Insurance to cover legal costs (in the event of non-success in court) after a claim has been lodged may also be available but for fairly obvious reasons is extremely expensive by that stage.

Even when the other side accepts liability, the amount of compensation may take some time to settle. The claimant – despite a no win-no fee arrangement being in place – may be liable for expenses such as a medical report or additional legal advice. These pre-settlement expenses can frequently be around £600, although in many cases payment can be delayed until after the compensation funds come through.

Some law firms will also take on personal injury cases on legal aid but the claimant will usually be eligible only if he or she earns less than £223 a week. From time to time, claimants let emotion take over and turn down reasonable and realistic offers to settle, simply because they are determined to have their day in court. However, even when a court case is successful, the sheriff will take previous offers into account and if he feels these were reasonable, the claimant could find himself being ordered to pay the legal expenses.

Compensation for the impairment or loss of bodily parts or functions will vary. In England, awards tend to be tariff-based, although the sums are not set in stone, whereas under Scottish law sheriffs and judges can take a much more flexible approach. In any case, even in Scotland, levels of compensation depend on whether the injury is minimal, medium or severe.

As an example, current compensation for a whiplash injury where the effects last for six weeks is likely to range from £1,500 to £2,000.

Compensation will also be based not just on the physical extent of any injury but the consequences of it. Therefore, a professional footballer at the peak of his career is likely to receive substantially more in damages for the same type of injury than a sedentary office worker.

Successful claimants on state benefits are vulnerable to having those benefits withdrawn when awards are substantial. In such cases (when the sum involved is in excess of £10,000), a solicitor will recommend setting up a personal injury trust.

Sofia is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.