Personal Injury
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you do a free first interview in accident cases?
Yes we do. Contact us to make an appointment.
(email contact - mshiers@nash.co.uk or telephone 01752 664444)
Do you do ‘no win, no fee’?
Yes we do, but it will depend on the case itself. We will be able to assess this after we have seen you, with no obligation on your part.
What does ‘no win, no fee mean?
The general principle is that charges are only payable when we have won the case for you. We then get your opponent’s insurance company to pay our charges. If you lose it costs you nothing. There is no risk to you!
Can I get Legal Aid?
Unfortunately Legal Aid is no longer available for most Personal Injury claims and this is why we now developed the ‘no win, no fee’ option.
Can I ring you anytime?
Yes, during normal working hours, which are 9.00am to 5.15pm Monday to Friday. If the relevant person isn’t available someone will be able to take a message for you.
I’m worried I’ll lose my job!
Your employer generally has to act reasonably and to go through a process, that includes consultation with you and your doctor, prior to dismissal. If your injuries deem you incapable of carrying out your job you can still be dismissed even though the employer is at fault. If you do lose your job as a result of your injury we can claim for loss of earnings as part of your claim. We can also put you in touch with our specialist employment solicitors (link to ‘employment’ bios / key features etc.)
Can I get private medical treatment during my claim?
We have arrangements with a physiotherapist and sometimes the other party’s insurer will pay. If you already have medical insurance you are free to use that, although your insurer may ask you to claim costs back from your opponent.
Can I claim if I have previously claimed for a similar injury?
Provided you can prove by way of medical reports that the accident has caused injury in terms of making it worse either temporarily or permanently, then you can still make a claim.
What is the procedure for a claim?
There are 3 main stages in preparing a routine personal injury claim.
Stage 1 - initial fact gathering
We may ask you to complete some questionnaires. We then interview you to clarify your instructions and to ascertain the basic case facts and issues concerning your claim.
Stage 2 – evidence
We will need to assemble all the evidence needed to support the facts that we want the court to find in your favour, to prove your case. This usually includes interviewing witnesses; preparing statements; obtaining treatment, medical, employment and police records; and instructing medical experts and other experts whose specialist opinion we need to support your claim.
Stage 3 – final preparation
Eventually it will be necessary to exchange our evidence with your opponent if we are to encourage a settlement or to pursue your claim to a trial. This can either involve single exchange of all relevant evidence with your opponent, or a series of mutual exchanges of different categories of evidence.
How long will it take?
We can only go as fast as you recover from your injury to ensure that you are properly compensated. However, the Personal Injury Pre-Action Protocol is in place to ensure as early exchange of information on liability as is possible. In practise this means that we should know whether your opponent is admitting the claim or disputing after about 4 months. If your opponent does dispute the claim they must say why and also provide copies of any relevant documents such as accident reports etc.
Initial assessment
Upon first being consulted we will take your detailed instructions. We will then give you our initial view on the prospects of success and indicate the likely time scale involved. We shall try to estimate the likely cost of your claim and advise you on your options for funding it. We will inform you of our terms and conditions of business and we will also advise you what steps should be taken
We will then commence initial enquiries on your behalf and contact your opponent and all other interested parties.
If liability (ie blame for the injury) is not formally admitted, we will interview all relevant witnesses and prepare the evidence to support your case on liability. We will also prepare the evidence necessary to prove your claim for damages.
How do I prove my claim?
Generally speaking, if you wish to succeed in recovering compensation for personal injury and/or loss arising out of an accident, it is necessary to establish the following
- - that a common law or statutory duty of care was owed to you at the material time, and
- - that your opponent, or someone for whom they are responsible, breached that duty to you, and
- - that this breach of duty of care was cause of your injury and loss
- - that your injury or loss was of a kind that which the ordinary man would consider to be the reasonably foreseeable result of such a breach of duty of care.
Proving the above facts usually involves the following:
1. The evidence of witnesses
This involves preparing a detailed statement by you and any other witnesses who can support your case
2. Documentary evidence
Accident report book, risk assessment records police accident report.
3. Expert evidence
All personal injury claims must be supported by a medical report to prove that the accident has caused the injury or symptoms.
Preparing Evidence on quantum (How to make sure that the full value of your claim is realised)
It is very easy to lose track of expenditure you have incurred following an injury and accordingly it is important to keep scrupulous records of all these expenses. It is just as easy to forget how long it took you to recover and the exact sequence of events following the accident. Such details -are vitally important in litigation, inaccuracies can affect not only the amount of your claim but also your credibility as a reliable witness.
1. The injury
You should keep a chronological record of your symptoms: their nature, duration and extent. You should log the effect of your injuries on your social, domestic, work and recreational activities and on your enjoyment of life generally.
You should be very careful to ensure that you log any significant time spent by your family and friends helping you to do things that you would otherwise have coped with yourself but for the injury. This information will be helpful when we prepare your statement and instruct a medical expert.
We will need to obtain copies of your general practitioner/clinical notes as well as your hospital treatment notes and records.
2. Your expenses (special damages)
It is important that you should obtain receipts for all items of expenditure incurred in order to prove your out of pocket expenses.
We will need to obtain a detailed statement from you summarising the effect the injury has had on you. We may also need to interview family and friends and in particular anybody who has been providing you with paid or unpaid help or care during your recovery.
It is sometimes necessary to obtain other expert reports, such as a
rehabilitation/care needs assessment.
3. Offers to settle by you
You can make a formal offer to settle to your opponent. You must state exactly what you will accept in compensation and you should be prepared to accept this if it is subsequently agreed.
4. Time scales
Because of the strict time limits imposed by the Court, once proceedings have started, it is most of our enquiries and preparations are undertaken prior to issuing proceedings. This will reduce the risk that part or all of your claim will not be disallowed due a failure to adhere to the automatic directions.
An important time limit
The Limitation Act 1980 imposes a 3 year time limit for commencing Court proceedings for a personal injury claim. This period runs from:
Special considerations apply to persons who die from their injuries within the 3 year period and to children.
Only, in certain exceptional circumstances can a personal injury claim be brought outside the statutory time limit. However, even if you feel that your claim is outside the 3 year period you should still obtain specialist advice especially in clinical negligence or industrial disease cases where the start of the time limit may be difficult to pinpoint.
5. Letter before action.
Before proceedings are issued, we will write to the opponent, to warn them of our intention to commence proceedings. Where appropriate, we will renew any discussions and in an attempt to settle your claim. We shall try to avoid the need for proceedings where possible.
6. Before proceedings are commenced
We will undertake a careful review of the evidence and advise you of the prospects of success. We will also advise you of the costs incurred to date.