http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/to-claims-or-not-to-claims.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/to-claims-or-not-to-claims.html Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Whether or not you want to claim against an insurance company and go the whole nine yards with them really depends on the severity of your injury. If you've been seriously injured (broken bone, internal injuries or worse) in an accident that was not your fault, it may be better not to accept the insurance companies first offer to quickly settle as justice may be on your mind. If the gravity of the injury is not so great then you have to ask yourself if protracted litigation is in your best interests-it will cost you money, it will cost the insurance company money, and more often than not they are better equipped to fight tooth and nail with their unending catalogue of specialists, experts and analysis.

There are cases in which hiring an lawyer may be the next logical step. If there's a dispute about who's at fault in the accident, an initial visit to talk matters through would be prudent. And if you've been seriously injured in an accident, go seek legal counsel. Bear in mind that serious injuries are not always evident right away, so even if you receive emergency care, you should have a follow-up visit with your regular doctor.

When debating whether dialogue with an insurance company post-accident is worth your time, it is important to think about the long term hassle that may await you should you decide to file a claim at court and head into proverbial battle.

Many severe auto accident cases can last the best part of a year and that is before you step into a courtroom, recovery times for injuries and arbitration eat up most of the time up until then. The time taken to find a realistic settlement can be the best part of a year or even more, however going to trial can bring the already slow process to a staggering halt.

If you’re wondering why it should all be such a meticulously slow process, bear in mind that desire the insurance company wants to justifiably know everything about you and your accident. With this, you and your lawyer have to gather up and prepare all the medical bills, records and other relevant documents to your injuries. Then of course the meat of the claim which means the insurance company will ask you in exhaustive details about your injuries, medical history, the accident itself, and the treatment options that you’ve gone through. Mediation can often be next and is in effect a mini-trial minus the formalities; arbitration on the other hand is like a trial except the presentation is informal.

It pays then to think carefully about what you want after an accident and exactly what it will take to redress the balance and what is the best for you personally as opposed to the natural inclination to meet out justice.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/whiplash-not-a-bogus-injury.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/whiplash-not-a-bogus-injury.html Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Critics of the glut of no win no fee law firms ready to take on cases of even the slightest injury incurred by a victim, tend to underestimate the seriousness of a whiplash injury and that the label of ‘having a go’ and filing a law suit, can put off victims seeking redress for the long term injuries incurred by ‘just’ a ‘small accident’.

Whiplash injuries are caused by hyperextension of the neck both forwards and backwards in quick succession; people commonly experience whiplash injuries in circumstances where a collision causes rapid acceleration or deceleration often as a result of a road traffic accident.

If you are a victim of such an accident and have suffered a whiplash injury, you may be entitled to a no win, no fee, compensation claim – as long as it can be shown that someone else was at least partly to blame. Additionally, You can take advantage of a free first consultation, where your case will be assessed on a no obligation basis, to make sure both parties are happy to take the case forward.

Contrary to what critics think, Whiplash is not a ‘lightweight’ injury. It can damage tissue and nerves to a varying extent depending on the force of the impact, the position the person was in, the strength of their neck muscle and their body mass. Those who accuse whiplash sufferers as overstating their injuries to gain more compensation are simply ignorant of the injury and the impact is has on people's lives.

The kind of violent movement associated with a whiplash injury can lead to extreme stretching, compression and shifting of structures in the spine, ligaments, muscles, and nerve tissues, especially in the event of twisting. A whiplash may be even more severe if the injured party does not anticipate the impact, causing damage to discs that separate the bones of the neck.

If such an injury has happened to you, it is vital that you shop around for the best company, as there are many accident lawyers who will all offer no win, no fee claims.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/streamlining-the-claims-process.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/streamlining-the-claims-process.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The consultation paper sets out proposals for a system that will provide fair compensation in a more efficient and cost-effective way by providing that, for example, the defendant/insurer will have a set time period in which to respond, during which the claimant/lawyer will not carry out any further work unless essential. Other recommendations are that there will be set time periods for making offers and reaching settlement, and that Success fees and “After the Event” insurance should be reduced to reflect the actual amount of work and risk involved in bringing a claim.

Some insurance organisations, like Accenture, believe that although the current proposals are a good start there are still additional areas that need to be debated. For example, there is the question as to how insurers will achieve the procedural improvements required to meet the new timeframes and whether existing claims management, workflow and management information systems deal with the new process requirements and timeframes.

These reforms were originally projected to take place in first quarter of 2008. Although that deadline has since passed, an indication of the exact changes will no doubt be revealed come the end of the year. In the meantime, insurers need to start their preparation now and so give themselves an opportunity to overtake their competition by planning for the proposed changes before to their introduction, and to use the momentum to give a boost to the claims operation on the path toward achieving high performance.

For instance, Allianz Insurance is piloting changes to its handling of personal injury claims in anticipation of reforms by the Ministry of Justice. These changes, include fast tracking of motor and casualty claims to £25,000, and rapid liability investigations to meet the claims deadlines initially set up in the MoJ’s consultation paper last year.

The firm has encouraged brokers and policyholders to help insurers reduce personal injury costs further by improving the average time to report new losses, stressing the importance for insurers to receive quick notification and to implement inquiries and measures as soon as possible after the occurrence of an accident.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/taking-the-initiative-at-work.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/taking-the-initiative-at-work.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
A clear policy, developed in concurrence with either employee representatives or trade unions, should be the foundation of approaching employee care after an accident. It should not be the case that an investigation begins when the HSE’s own investigation is looming and instead of being seen to do something about the problem, firms should take their own steps to addressing lack of health and safety at their own workplace.

For example, when initially drawing up an outline assessment, the best plan is to keep things simple. In an office or commercial operation, there shouldn't be many dangerous items or situations. It's just a combination of observation and common sense. When looking for hazards, employees could spend time, ideally with a colleague, walking around your workplace with a critical eye. They could identify and document all areas that may be hazardous and the type of hazards involved.

Whether an employee or a part of management, if you discover a significant potential hazard, decide how best to reduce the risk. The law requires you to do all that is reasonably practicable to ensure that your place of work is safe, so if you cannot get rid of the hazard, look at ways of controlling it, for example, a non-slip mat on slippery entrance steps. Subsequent to this, is it prudent to document the findings, highlighting the areas you have investigated; any hazards you have found and whether they were significant and the controls put in place to reduce the risks of significant hazards.

From an employers perspective, it would be worthwhile to Review the assessment of any such hazards, particularly following an accident at work or if new machines or substances are brought onto the site. As the business grows, more workers will be employed and investment will increase and with it bring more sophisticated equipment. When your business grows, there will also be a growth in hazards and so it is important to review assessments regularly.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/the-advantage-of-no-win-no-fee.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/the-advantage-of-no-win-no-fee.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
No win no fee addresses the concern of most claimants-the cost. On the face of it, it means exactly that-if you don’t win your case, you don’t have to pay the fee. No doubt this gives a claimant incredible peace of mind. One can conduct the lawsuit with no fear of losing anything up front. Solicitors will only take your case on if they think they can win it, so only those lawyers most confident in their own ability to work for you will actually choose to work for you. Due to their experience they will only take on a case for you if the likelihood of winning is high, which should put your mind at ease straight away.

Another advantage of no win no fee claims is that they are usually settled out of court. Appearing in court is usually a major deterrent for claimants who decide the inconvenience is simply not worth it. By dealing with matters out of court, you are still very much involved in the legal process but without the stress and hassle of being at court and feeling somewhat alienated from the entire process because of natural apprehension of the surroundings.

Conveniently for clients, as well as themselves, many firms offer their consultations free of charge, either over the phone, on the internet, or via post. Initially, most applicants will fill out a form containing their personal details, and information regarding their claim. These will then be reviewed, and the potential client will then be notified as to whether the company will be pursuing the claim on their behalf or not.

If the no win, no fee system did not exist and a someone such as a factory worker earning only £12,000 a year suffered spinal injuries in an accident at work, he or she would have no means of securing legal representation. The system was originated to help those on lower incomes whose financial means were far outweighed by the cost implications of a serious injury and thus led to physical, financial and emotional hardship. The no win, no fee claims system provides for such people ensuring that the ability to access legal advice and representation in the UK is not divided along class and monetary lines.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/the-nature-of-no-win-no-fee.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/the-nature-of-no-win-no-fee.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
No-win-no-fee arrangements are also commonly known as Conditional Fee Agreements. In the majority of cases where such an agreement is involved the agreement is a true "no win no fee" agreement, in that the client does not have to pay the lawyers if the case is lost. At the first stage then, the client makes an written agreement with counsel called a Conditional Fee Agreement.

The nature of the arrangement can be altered somewhat in the event of a more legally complex case. Complexity often translates into risk and to offset this, the client may have to pay a "cushion" fee if the case is lost. This is an amount agreed beforehand with the lawyer and is commensurate the risks of the case.

Assuming that a case was successful for the client then they will pay their lawyer the base fee which is essentially his normal rate. On top of this, a figure is added on to reflect the risk the lawyers took upon themselves when first agreeing to the arrangement in question with the client. This figure is appropriately called the ‘success fee’. Each case will have to be assessed for its merits and the success fee agreed accordingly. If a lawyer takes on a case which has various weaknesses (and so more risk) the success fee will be higher, because the lawyer is taking a greater risk that he will not be paid anything.

If things take a more negative turn and the case is lost, the client can be covered for counsel’s fees by being part of an ‘after the event’ legal expenses policy. With regard to the client and his liability for the other side’s costs, the client may be indemnified for the risks of having to pay the other side’s costs. Such policies are offered by insurance companies. The amount of the premium represents the risks involved in the case and the likely amount of such costs. Soon the premium will be recoverable from the other side if a costs order is made against them.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/the-story-behind-no-win-no-fee-and-defamation-claims.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/the-story-behind-no-win-no-fee-and-defamation-claims.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The main complaint about Cherie Blair using a conditional fee agreement in her specific case is that, as a relatively wealthy individual, she is in effect abusing the CFA system in order to force the magazine or newspaper into settling claims. Defamation/libel by its nature has always had the reputation of a tort that has been left to claimants who are wealthy as the cases often run into millions. The introduction of 'no win, no fee' agreements, or conditional fee agreements (CFAs), under the Conditional Fee Agreements Regulations 2000 enabled those who would otherwise be unable to fund the substantial costs involved in defamation claims to bring an action. In cases where a wealthy individual (especially a celebrity) takes a media defendant to court, these media defendants find themselves paying up to settle the claim rather than losing what could be a very large amount at trial. The criticism is that they are fenced into paying out because of this even when the claim against them may be frivolous.

Defamation essentially takes places where a false statement is made about a person (or a company) that damages their reputation. The statement can be either in a permanent form (libel) or a transient form (slander). A company also has a reputation and contrary to popular belief can also be defamed.

Another problem that often comes to fruition in defamation cases is the costs subsequent to proceedings. Under a CFA, lawyers are paid nothing if they lose, but are allowed to claim a 'success fee' in addition to their basic fee if they win because of the risk incurred in taking the claim. The level of the success fee is the main concern, with defamation lawyers more often than not claiming the full 100% uplift, which doubles their usual fees. If a claimant obtains 'after the event' insurance (ie, against the cost of losing and having to pay the other side's costs), an unsuccessful defendant will also have to pay a substantial insurance premium on top of the success fee.

The problem that is currently plaguing defamation cases of late is that of

celebrities using the CFA system to prevent the media from publishing anything controversial or critical about them, thus stifling freedom of expression. Moreover, a small publisher could well find itself out of business if it loses a CFA-funded case.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/insurance-industry-losing-patience-over-claims-reforms.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/insurance-industry-losing-patience-over-claims-reforms.html Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The insurance industry however is beginning to lose its patience with the government and is bringing greater attention to methods that will help ease the problems of the personal injury claims system. To that end, they have launched a plan for a faster and cheaper method of dealing with personal injury claims.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says an arbitration system should be set up to hear all personal injury claims worth up to £25,000. It should also decide all claims within six months, with a court case only as a last resort.

The ABI says this system will combat one of the main problems of the present system, mainly that it is too centred around court hearings, which in turn take far too long and fritters away money on disproportionate legal fees.

According to the ABI, the average personal injury claim takes three years to settle because the present system is based on adversarial court hearings. With regards to the monetary cost, claimants end up coughing up on legal and other costs amounting to about £2bn a year.

This kind of decisive strategy expounded by the ABI is reminiscent of a recent change to personal injury claims in Ireland. Last year, an independent body - the Personal Injury Assessment Board (PIAB) - was set up in Ireland last year. The ABI claims that this system has in fact led to claims there

The main features of ABI’s proposed system include a three-month window for insurers to accept or reject claims, a public scale of compensation for specific injuries and financial penalties for claimants or insurers if they behave unreasonably by wasting time or making exaggerated or frivolous claims.

Elsewhere in the industry, other insurers are chiming in with their own recommendations. For instance, Norwich Union has suggested that personal injury claims of less than £1,000 should not be allowed, also that successful claimants winning less than £5,000 should not receive payment to cover legal costs. Additionally, they suggest that no legal costs should be payable where there is no dispute over compensation and breakdowns in the claims process, whether about responsibility or amount, should be mediated before litigated.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/invest-to-reduce-accidents-at-work.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/invest-to-reduce-accidents-at-work.html Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The findings discovered that a culture of safety was prevalent in firms and companies where senior management at all levels had sufficient health and safety training and could lead by example. On the other hand, where line managers lacked the training required, a pattern of slipshod practices and negligence was endemic and led to a greater number of accidents.

The research, which was primarily carried out by Glasgow Caledonian University, discovered that on average, the more qualified in health and safety the line manager in an organisation is, the lower the accident rate. Representatives opined that this shows that investing in health and safety training has an impact, benefiting employees, and helping to boost productivity by reducing the considerable disruption caused by an incident causing death or injury. They reviewed data from over 100 contractors in the construction industry who collectively employed over 200,000 workers.

Companies with line managers with higher levels of health and safety training and qualifications have the lowest accident rates. Those with less than two days training have accident rates more than eight times higher than companies with the most highly trained or qualified line managers. This is especially relevant for the UK where over 200 people are killed each year in accidents at work and over one million are injured.

The research shows the importance of training in the workplace not just at managerial level, where it should be a prerequisite, but also that employees also require training to carry out their jobs. They need to know about your policies and procedures, what part they play and how they can raise any health and safety concerns with management. Additionally, it will develop a positive health and safety culture, where safe and healthy working becomes second nature to everyone.

In the UK, Norwich Union is recommending more training to prevent transport accidents in the workplace as part of a safety campaign. Forklift trucks were singled out as being particular hazards in the workplace and lack of training, supervision and cooperation between workers and duty holders were leading to more accidents. According to the HSE, forklift trucks were responsible for just under 2,000 reportable incidents in 2006 [the latest figures available], including seven deaths.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/no-win-no-fee-must-be-simpler.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/no-win-no-fee-must-be-simpler.html Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
In the opinion of the government-and the many critics of the system-the name no longer conjures up thoughts of justice and transparency, but confusions, unrealistic hopes of compensation and abuse.

It is for these very reasons that Civil Justice Minister David Lammy has published proposals to change the no-win-no-fee system. The consultation paper is entitled ‘Making simple CFA’s a reality’ and its proposals aim to make conditional fee agreements more transparent and provide a better deal for consumers, solicitors and defendants.

One of Lammy’s major concerns is that arrangements can sometimes be too complex and opaque, and that this may inadvertently lead consumers to believe that there is absolutely no cost whatever to them to incur, especially if they win a claim. This ‘read the small print’ feature of the arrangements should be eradicated and the proposals look to help consumers understand exactly where they stand regarding what kind of compensation they can look to receive if they win a claim, and how that sum is distributed at the final stage.

Lammy has also stated that new draft regulations will be submitted for debate after looking at responses to last year’s consultation paper. For instance, one of the proposals is to remove as far as possible the detailed client care and costs information requirements from the current regulations so that the main way to regulate solicitors' conduct and client care for CFAs, is through the Law Society's practice rules and supporting guidance.

Indeed, working with the Law Society is seen as the most ideal way to simplify the regime. One of the revised aims is to continue to work with and support the Law Society in its development of a revised costs information guide and new model CFA agreements to support the main types of CFA to be used under the proposed new simplified regime.

The overall aim of this simplification is to ensure that consumers receive more protection. By changing client care guidance and sanctioning non compliance, this sends a message out to solicitors to improve their integrity and competence in the legal profession.


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


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>