Personal Injury Claims - FAQ

The starting point for any solicitor advising a client who has had an accident is whether the case is going to be successful or not. Regardless of the type of accident or the severity of the injuries sustained the claimant (accident victim) must prove that the accident occurred because of the negligence of another party. For instance it is not sufficient to simply be able to show that you have had an accident at work, you must be able to show that the accident occurred due to your employers negligence or breach of statutory duty. Similarly if you trip because of a defect on a public road or footpath you must be able to prove that the Local Authority has failed to maintain the highway adequately. Of course if say you have a road traffic accident you must be able to show the other driver was at fault and so on.

The above examples are not an exhaustive list and at Trinity Law Partnership we are regularly asked to advise on all types of cases. Generally an experienced personal injury solicitor will be able to determine within the initial telephone call with a client whether the claim has reasonable prospects of success.

If you have had an accident and would like some advice as to whether you may be able to claim compensation please call us now on 0800 917 6721 or email us at info@trinitylaw.co.uk

Yes.

Generally speaking an accident victim (who suffered an accident in the UK) must commence Court Proceedings before the third anniversary of an accident failing which their claim would be deemed out of time and the Court’s discretion would have to be obtained to allow continuance.

Many people are under the common misconception that if Proceedings are not commenced in time that means they are unable to claim. Being out of time is not a bar to bringing an accident claim but inevitably the Defendant will raise the time limit having been exceeded in any Defence and the Courts discretion to continue is very difficult to obtain and can carry costs consequences.

If a child under 18 has an accident the three year time limit for bringing an accident claim does not commence until their 18th Birthday. There are some other exceptions to the three year time limit depending on the capacity of the accident victim and whether the accident occurred on a plane or boat. There are also different time limits for accident which occurred abroad.

If someone has contracted an industrial disease generally the three year time limit will commence when they knew or ought to have known that the disease they had contracted was caused by the negligence or breach of statutory duty of their current or former employer(s).

The time limit for bringing a Criminal Injuries Compensation Claim is 2 years.

The above observations are for guidance purposes only and no reliance should be placed upon them as they do not constitute legal advice. The time limit for bringing a compensation claim is determinable on a case by case basis and therefore if you have had an accident and are considering making a claim you should seek legal advice at the earliest possible opportunity.

If you have had an accident and would like some advice as to whether you may be able to claim compensation please call us now on 0800 917 6721 or email us at info@trinitylaw.co.uk

At Trinity Law Partnership (in the absence of any other method of funding) we are able to offer to act on your behalf on a No Win No Fee Basis.

Essentially this means that if your claim is successful we recover our fees from the losing Party and if unsuccessful we do not recover our fees. For this reason we must carefully assess at the outset your prospects of success.

In the unlikely event Court Proceedings were necessary we would ensure you were fully protected against any risk of having to meet our opponent’s costs

If you have had an accident and would like some advice as to whether you may be able to claim compensation please call us now on 0800 917 6721 or email us at info@trinitylaw.co.uk

Generally speaking most straightforward accident claims take somewhere between 6 and 12 months to conclude.

Some cases may be capable of an earlier settlement if straightforward. Other factors can however influence the length of time a claim may take for instance if liability is in dispute or if the medical prognosis is uncertain.

We are aware that some firms market the speed with which they can settle cases. Whilst of course every client would wish for their case to be dealt with as quickly as possible what must be borne in mind is the fact that as soon as a case does settle the claim is at an end and no subsequent opportunity exists to claim further compensation.

At our firm we progress cases as expeditiously as possible but at the same time at the heart of the advice we give our clients are the options open to them should he/she have ongoing symptoms at the time of any settlement proposal made.

If you have had an accident and would like some advice as to whether you may be able to claim compensation please call us now on 0800 917 6721 or email us at info@trinitylaw.co.uk

This question is one of the most commonly asked during the initial stages.

It is very difficult for any solicitor to answer this question without medical evidence and other documentary evidence regarding a client’s losses.

We would urge caution to any accident victim who is being given definite figures or guarantees as to the level of compensation they can expect by other firms prior to any evidence being obtained.

Assuming liability can be established then an accident victim is entitled to:

(i)    General Damages

(ii)   Special Damages

General Damages is an amount of compensation for the pain suffering and loss of amenity an accident victim has suffered (ie for the injuries sustained). General Damages are awarded principally on the basis of the medical evidence in the case. Awards for General Damages are relatively low when compared to other countries, most notably the US. In this country Judges award General Damages having regard to their own experience and also in line with awards Judges have made in previous cases where similar injuries were sustained. Judges often refer to a book called The Judicial Studies Board Guidelines for The Assessment of General Damages which provides ranges of awards for certain types of injury.

As a example if an accident victim was left quadriplegic following an accident the range of awards for the injury element (General Damages) according to the Guidelines is between £212,500.00 to £265,000.00. When you hear of multi million pound settlements in the media only a fraction relates to the General Damages award with the bulk of the award relating to care and loss of earnings etc.

As experienced personal injury solicitors we are able to advise you on the level of General Damages you can expect to recover.

Special Damages is an amount of compensation for the reasonably foreseeable financial losses an accident victim may have suffered (or may suffer in the future) as a consequence of an accident. For instance loss of earnings, care and assistance, damaged personal belongings, travelling expenses, medical treatment costs, accommodation costs and so on. An accident victim must be able to prove on balance that he has incurred and/or will incur such losses and invariably these clams need to be supported by medical and other expert/documentary evidence.

Again as experienced personal injury solicitors we are able to advise you on what losses you are able to recover.

If you have had an accident and would like some advice as to whether you may be able to claim compensation please call us now on 0800 917 6721 or email us at info@trinitylaw.co.uk

Yes.

Many victims of accidents, road traffic accidents in particular, believe that they are obliged to instruct the solicitors appointed by their insurance company. This is not correct. You are free to instruct whichever solicitor you would like to handle your claim.

The same principle applies to victims of any other types of accidents. Very often you may have legal cover on a house insurance policy or bank account and the providers of that legal cover might try and insist that you instruct one of their panel solicitors. Very often the motivation for their insistence is the fact that they will be paid a referral fee from their panel of solicitors for your case. Again you are free to instruct whichever solicitor you would like to handle your claim.