Trinity Law Partnership - The Personal Injury Specialists
Solicitors who specialise in Accident Compensation Claims
If you are thinking about starting legal action of any kind, you will probably have a lot of questions, for which you need answers. Below you will find a list of some of the most common questions we are asked together with some helpful responses.
If you cannot find the information you require below, please telephone us on 0845 226 8287 for assistance or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.
You are not entitled to compensation for every accident injury. Generally speaking, you must prove that someone else was at fault and that this caused your injury. It is necessary to apply the relevant law to the circumstances in which your injury occurred before deciding whether you can claim compensation. Often this is relatively straightforward, as with road traffic accidents.
Sometimes it is more complicated, as in industrial illness and disease cases or in cases where you have been injured as a result of medical negligence. Whatever the cause of your injury, you should always consult a solicitor if you have any doubts as to your entitlement to compensation. Sadly a large proportion of potentially entitled claimants never pursue their claims.
Obtaining initial legal advice and pursuing initial enquiries on your behalf need not be an expensive or daunting process.The golden rule is that you should consult a solicitor as soon as possible.
In our experience, the longer you delay taking this step the more difficult the claim is to investigate.You can obtain an initial opinion from one of our solicitors completely free of charge.
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:
- the date on which the cause of action accrued, ie the date of the accident, or
- if later, from the "date of knowledge" of the person injured
Special considerations apply to persons who die from their injuries within the 3-year period and to children. Only in exceptional circumstances can a personal injury claim be brought outside the statutory time limit.
Accidents, which occur abroad, on aeroplanes, at sea or on rivers are subject to diffenent time limits, some as short as one year.
The most important thing is not to delay speaking to a Solicitor after you have been invloved in an accident.
With the possible exception of minor injuries that can be pursued using an informal small claims track procedure, we suggest that you consult a solicitor as soon as possible.Your solicitor should first make some initial enquiries on your behalf.
This will usually include: interviewing any witnesses, drafting a formal letter of claim to your opponent that summarises your allegations and the basis of your claim, and participating in the relevant pre action investigative protocol with your opponent. The purpose of this procedure is to ascertain the basic facts of the case and to evaluate the strength of the available evidence.
Your solicitor will then be able to review the merits of your claim and if the prospects of success are good, he or she will then obtain a medical report on your injury.Most accidental injury claims are settled by negotiation, usually between your solicitor and your opponent's insurers.
Only a relatively small proportion of claims result in court proceedings. However, if it is not possible to negotiate a fair settlement, it may be necessary to issue proceedings. This is done at your local County or High Court by completing a Claim Form that sets out the basic facts of your claim. Even so, the vast majority of all court cases are eventually settled, without the parties having to attend a court hearing.
In order to gain the most from your initial interview, try to anticipate what your solicitor needs to know in order to advise you properly. For example in a road accident claim, list the names and contact details of anyone potentially involved (such as any other drivers present or involved, other witnesses and the police) and provide where possible full details of the vehicles involved and the location of the accident.
It is often helpful to have a photograph of the accident scene or the accident damage to your vehicle.Try to record how your injury affects you: socially, domestically, in any recreational pastimes and in your work. Take with you to the appointment any correspondence or other documents that you think may be relevant.If in doubt, ask your solicitor what you should bring with you to your initial meeting.
Although the basic rule is that you have only three years to bring a claim for compensation, this need not necessarily be fatal:
- there are exceptions to this rule, and
- the court does have a discretion to disapply the basic three year limitation period if you can show that it would be fair to do so
You should never abandon investigating a potential claim simply because you were injured more than three years ago. The court can allow for the fact that you may not have realised that the injury was significant, or that it was caused as a result of some blameworthy conduct by someone else, or that you were unaware of the identity of the individual responsible.
If you were injured when you were a child, the three year time limit does not begin to run until your 18th birthday.You should always consult a solicitor if you are in any doubt. Your initial enquiry should not incur you any expense and without such advice you could needlessly loose the opportunity of recovering compensation.
The vast majority of claims settle without the need even for court proceedings. Of those claims that do result in proceedings, only a small percentage results in a court hearing. However, this is sometimes necessary and so it is necessary to prepare each claim diligently, as though it were destined to proceed to a trial.
Your solicitor will have helped you prepare a written statement that will usually form the basis of your evidence in court. You will be represented at court either by your solicitor or by a barrister whom your solicitor will have instructed on your behalf.
This should not prevent you obtaining compensation. If the court concludes that you were partly at fault it will then decide to what extent it would be fair and equitable to reduce your entitlement to compensation so as to reflect your share of responsibility for what happened.
Disputing any claim in litigation is a risky business, and the final outcome of most claims cannot be predicted with certainty. There is always a risk that you could fail to establish that your opponent is liable to compensate you or that you might recover less in damages that you had originally sought.
A consequence of loosing your case or loosing an argument on a specific issue within the case is usually that your opponent will be entitled to recover its costs of that from you. Until quite recently you stood the risk of not only failing to recover that part of your claim but also of facing liability not only for your own solicitors costs and expenses but also for those of your opponent. Fortunately much has changed.
The risks of pursuing a claim for accidental injury are now very much less than they were, because:
- Firstly, you can now enter into a conditional fee agreement with your own solicitor, so that you only become responsible for your solicitor's fees in the event that your claim is successful. Accordingly, under such an arrangement were you to lose, you would not owe your solicitor anything for his fees.
- Secondly, it is now possible to obtain indemnity insurance against not only the risk of having to pay your opponents legal costs but also for the expenses that you have incurred, were your claim to fail.
- Thirdly, the usual rule is that the loser pays the winners costs and expenses of the claim. so it should be possible to recover all your solicitor's fees and your expenses from the losing party or their insurers if you succeed. Even your legal costs insurance premium is a potentially recoverable expense.
In short, the risks of pursuing an accident injury claim are minimal. Probably the most that you will stand to loose is the legal costs insurance premium. This will be fully explained to you at the outset of our free initial consultation.
Pursuing a claim for compensation need not be expensive or risky. If at your free initial consultation we consider that your claim has a reasonable prospect of success, we will then consider the most appropriate method of funding your case. Assuming that you are not entitled to public funding and do not have any other financial support in place, such as legal expenses insurance, you will probably be advised to consider a conditional fee agreement.
This is also known as a "no win no fee" agreement.Under such an agreement no fee is payable if your claim fails. Your solicitor will only get paid if your claim succeeds.The terms and effect of conditional fee agreements can vary widely with different firms and agencies. Ensure that your solicitor explains clearly what your responsibilities and obligations are under the agreement. Not every conditional fee agreement is as advantageous as it sounds.
It is our standard policy to limit our fees to what we can recover on your behalf from your opponent. Other less generous "no win, no fee" agreements can result in the unpleasant surprise of facing a substantial success fee deduction from your compensation award.
It is possible for you to apply to take out a legal costs insurance policy against the risk of your having to pay your opponent's legal costs in the event that your claim is unsuccessful. This risk only applies once court proceedings are issued. If you are not successful prior to court proceedings then you will not be liable to pay anything to your opponent. The cost of a single legal costs insurance premium varies. The premium is recoverable from the losing party.
It is not our practice to insist that our clients take out a policy of after the event legal costs insurance to protect them from their opponents legal costs at the outset, but as the case develops, such insurance may be applied for and will be put in place if required. Our clients will not have to pay up front for this and will not have to take out a loan.
Our policy is to act in your best interests in order to find the best means of funding your claim, to suit your particular circumstances. We always check to see what your options are for funding the claim before considering your suitability for a conditional fee agreement.
You may already have legal expenses insurance which may cover this claim; alternatively you may be eligible for legal aid. We will discuss any existing or alternative means of funding your claim with you.
As indicated above, we always check a client's potential eligibility for legal aid at the outset. Legal Aid is rarely available for accident injury claims.
Yes, there are a number of litigation insurance companies who offer different rates and different levels of cover. We do not have an interest in recommending any particular policy to you.
These are expenses incurred on your behalf in order to progress your claim, such as the insurance premium, court fees and consultancy fees. They are usually recoverable from your opponent in full, in the event of a successful outcome to your claim.
We will make an initial assessment of the merits of your claim at our first meeting, we will then write and confirm that advice.
The prospect of success is one of the factors that affect the level of the success fee.
The vast majority of individuals responsible for a personal injury have the benefit of Insurance. Your opponent's ability to pay is one of the first enquiries we make on being instructed. We would advise you if there were a risk that your opponent might not be able to pay your damages.
If you are in receipt of means assessed state benefits then the receipt of a capital sum may affect your entitlement to future benefits. We will consider whether this is something that might concern you at our initial interview, when we will give you appropriate advice.
Please see our commitment to our clients. care leaflet in which we set out details of our service. We will respond to letters and telephone calls promptly and will keep you regularly informed of developments in your case.
Some straightforward injury claims can be settled within a few months. Other more complicated cases can last several years before being finally settled.
Much depends upon the circumstances of the case, the speed with which other parties respond to our letters, the degree of co-operation from your opponent's representatives and most importantly the time that it takes your injuries to resolve or stabilise. Your solicitor should give you an indication of the likely duration of your particular case during the initial free interview.
Yes, provided your opponent is either insured or has sufficient financial resources to make a payment.Before you can claim an interim payment you must prove one of the following: that blame for your injury has been admitted; that judgment has been obtained (but where your compensation has not yet been finally valued) or, that if your case were to proceed to trial you would obtain substantial damages.
It is only possible to compel an opponent to make a payment if proceedings have already been issued. However, payments are often be negotiated from insurers, on a voluntary basis, prior to commencement of formal proceedings. This is quite common where a payment is needed for funding private treatment or care and assistance needs and where certain losses are clearly established at an early date, such as vehicle accident damage in a road accident claim.
Television and radio advertising of accident claims services is becoming increasingly common these days. Many injured claimants find it convenient to pursue initial enquiries by telephoning an accident claims agency using the advertised free call number. The claims management companies usually refer these enquiries on to a solicitor who is a member of their panel for a fee.
Many claimants' forget that they can just as easily contact a local solicitor direct, which will usually enable them to obtain faster access to qualified advice.It is not always appreciated that the exorbitant advertising costs borne by accident claims agencies have to be recouped someway, and the usual method is by charging a high fee or premium to the successful client and their solicitor at the end of the case.
As a recent BBC Watchdog programme revealed, this is not always explained clearly, if at all, to many claimants. The same programme revealed how some clients who had won their accident injury claims ended up with very little indeed after the success fee and premium deductions had been made.Most solicitors would find such an outcome as objectionable as the unfortunate claimants who figured in the BBC Watchdog report.
It should be appreciated that not every "no win, no fee" arrangement is as advantageous as it sounds.Our policy is to ensure, wherever possible, that you will retain your award intact. If this is not likely to be possible, then we will explain this to you at the outset. We aim to be open and clear about our fees and the likely expenses involved in pursuing a claim, right from the outset.
In the vast majority of cases, we limit our fees to what we are able to recover from the opponent.Another consideration to take into account when deciding whether to instruct an accident claims agency or a reputable established solicitor's practice is one of professionalism. You must decide for yourself who will offer you the highest standard of professionalism and expertise in this field of law.
All solicitors' practises are governed by strict rules of professional conduct and etiquette that are enforced the Law Society. Accordingly, you should think twice before committing yourself to any contractual arrangement with an accident claims agency. Establish who will be dealing with your claim and also what your obligations are under the agreement. If in doubt consult the Law Society or ask a friend or acquaintance who has used a specialist personal injury solicitor to make a recommendation.
General damages are monetary compensation awarded by a judge (or agreed by your opponents). They are intended to recompense you for (amongst other things) your injury and the pain and suffering this has caused you and also for any resulting physical or mental disability and the restrictions that this imposes on your way of life.General damages are assessed by comparing previous court awards in cases with facts similar to your own.
Special damages are compensation for the losses and expenses that you have incurred up to the date of the hearing. Special damages are the actual losses or expenses that you have incurred, as opposed to those that you estimate have occurred or will occur in the future.
SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES
Damages are designed to compensate an injured party; a court will not allow a party to profit from the claim (ie to be put in a better position than before the injury). There are a number of principles which the court applies to limit the extent of a party's liability:
- You have a duty to mitigate your loss. Which means that you must take reasonable steps to minimise your losses. For example: if your injury has prevented you from working, you must take reasonable steps to resume your pre-accident employment or to obtain suitable alternative employment as soon as reasonably possible.
- Some loss is deemed as a matter of public policy to be too remote in consequence of the injury to be actionable.
- Damages will generally only be awarded where there is a clear chain of causation, linking the negligent act or breach of statutory duty to the loss or harm suffered.
- Under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 most state benefits received as a result of your injury are repayable to the Department of Social Security. Benefit recoupment is managed by a department called the Compensation Recoveries Unit (CRU). The CRU issue a certificate of benefits received which the Defendant uses to assess the relevant sum to be deducted from your compensation. General damages are exempted from these recoupment provisions. The regulations for recovery of benefits are complex and will be explained to you as and when the need arises.
- If you are deemed to be partly to blame for the accident, your entitlement to compensation (general or special damages) will be reduced to take into account the extent of your culpability (ie to reflect your own responsibility for the accident). For example, where a court decides that you were equally to blame for the accident then it is likely to reduce the total amount of your award by as much as a half.
We shall advise you what kinds of damages you are entitled to, and their likely amount.
PROVING YOUR CLAIM FOR DAMAGES
You must establish your entitlement to compensation by producing evidence to prove not only the nature and extent of your injury but also each and every loss for which you seek damages. It is sensible to work on the assumption that a claim may not settle and proceed to a hearing instead, where the strict rules of evidence will apply.Accordingly you would be prudent to work on the basis that each and every claim for damages may be contested:
- For your injury, this means you should keep a clear and accurate continuing record not only of your symptoms and your recovery but also of how this affects your life. This record should reflect any changes in your circumstances as they occur.
- For your losses and expenses and the voluntary help given by your friends and family, this will involve regularly maintained accounts and you should keep all your receipts and invoices in a safe place, so as to help us prove these claims later on.
PREPARING YOUR CLAIM: GATHERING THE EVIDENCE BASIC PRINCIPLES
In our legal system, a claimant must prove his or her case by producing appropriate evidence before the court to substantiate each fact and matter alleged. Although most personal injury claims are settled before court proceedings are even commenced, it is always wise to work on the basis that you may have to proceed to a trial.
At a trial you will be expected to produce evidence to support each and every fact that you want the court to find in support of your claim.The task of preparing your evidence is best tackled right at the outset of your claim. The earlier you start preparing your evidence, the better; whilst your own memory and your witnesses' recollections are still vivid.
A court is likely to give greater weight to a witness statement made close to the events it concerns than one prepared months or even years later.It is necessary to prove your case "on the balance of probabilities" (in other words, to show that what you allege is more likely to be the case than not).
THE STAGES
There are 3 main stages in preparing a routine personal injury claim. Firstly, there is the 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.
The second stage is to collect 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 consultants and other experts whose specialist opinion we need to support your claim.
Eventually it will be necessary to exchange our evidence to your opponent if we are to encourage a settlement or to pursue your claim to a hearing. This can either involve single exchange of all relevant evidence with your opponent, or a series of mutual exchanges of different categories of evidence.
If proceedings have been commenced then this stage is usually regulated by a timetable of directions that the court imposes on the parties.Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, we are required to open a dialogue with your opponents much earlier, in order to encourage negotiations to settle your claim and to ensure that both parties are better prepared, should it become necessary to commence proceedings. A pre action protocol (link to answer of matching question in faq's) has been set which includes a requirement to attempt to agree to the appointment of jointly instructed single experts between the parties.
PREPARING THE EVIDENCE ON LIABILITY (FAULT)
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, failed in that duty to you, and
- that this breach of duty caused 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.
Proving the above facts usually involves the following:
1. The evidence of witnesses
- This may involve preparing a detailed statement by you and any other witnesses who can support your case. These could include independent witnesses such as ordinary members of the public, work colleagues or the police. It is necessary to prepare written statements of this evidence, since this will eventually be disclosed to your opponents and read by the Judge should your case proceed to a court trial.
2. Documentary evidence
- In an accident at work, this will include the accident report book, risk assessment records, correspondence with your employer and your contract of employment etc.
- In a road accident claim this can include the police accident report, if available, possibly an accident damage repair invoice or a selection of 2 or 3 alternative quotations for the accident damage repairs etc.
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 complained of. Most road accident claims do not require the evidence of a non-medical expert; only rarely will a court allow a party to rely upon an accident reconstruction report. It is for the court to decide what happened at the time of the accident by hearing the parties involved and considering the other material evidence before it.
4. Topographical evidence
- It is often necessary to obtain a rough sketch plan and a set of photographs of an accident scene.
PREPARING EVIDENCE ON QUANTUM (THE VALUE OF YOUR CLAIM)
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.
- We will need to obtain copies of your general practitioner/clinical notes as well as your hospital treatment notes and records.
- The claim will need to be supported by a medical report, usually from a consultant, identifying your injury and its consequences and giving an opinion on the outlook for your recovery. Obtaining a final report can delay settlement of your claim. This is because it is often necessary to wait to see whether, and if so when, an injury is likely to resolve, before valuing your claim; this may take several months, even years.
2. Your losses
- 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 as some injuries involve an element of psychiatrist overlay and so it is sometimes necessary to fund a report from a psychologist or psychiatrist in order to prove this aspect of the injury.
YOUR CO-OPERATION
We are dependent upon complete instructions and information to make an accurate assessment of the prospects of success and to value your full entitlement. It is vital that you let us see any documents that may be relevant to your case, otherwise we will not be able to advise you effectively. This includes even those documents that might be harmful to your claim; we will judge what is and what isn't relevant.
FIRST STEPS IN A TYPICAL PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM - 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.
INITIAL ACTION
We will confirm in writing what was discussed and agreed upon at the initial interview and complete arrangements for the funding of your claim.We will then commence initial enquiries on your behalf and contact your opponent and all other interested parties.Thereafter we will report any significant developments and advise you throughout the claim generally.
In particular, we will review the value of your claim and the prospects of your claim succeeding, notify you of any significant expenditure and monitor the costs that have been incurred and which we estimate will occur.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.
NEGOTIATIONS
We will contact the opponents on a regular basis with a view to negotiating an early settlement of your claim, where this is appropriate. In some cases it is only possible to negotiate an admission of liability where, for example, an injury has yet to resolve or further evidence is awaited before the claim can be properly valued.
THE PERSONAL INJURY PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL
The CPR also impose new pre-action procedures which oblige both parties to a potential claim to co-operate with one another much earlier than before, even before proceedings have begun:
- by exchanging full information about the case,
- by discussing the issues involved,
- by exploring the possibility of settling the claim or at least limiting the issues in dispute, and
- by jointly instructing a single expert (for example a medical consultant) to report to the court, where appropriate.
The protocol is specifically intended to reduce the parties' reliance on the Court Service, by encouraging earlier settlement outside proceedings where possible. Furthermore, for those cases that cannot be settled in this way, it aims to accelerate and improve the case preparation before commencement of proceedings.The Protocol requires you to write a letter of claim to your opponent giving:
- a clear summary of the facts on which your claim is based,
- outlining the nature of your injuries,
- and summarising any financial loss that you have incurred, and
- requesting details of your opponent's insurers, if unknown.
You must give sufficient information to allow the Defendant and/or the insurers to commence investigations and to put a broad estimate of the claim. We will prepare this letter for you.Your opponent has 21 days in which to respond with details of the insurers. If your opponent replies within the 21-day period, then the insurers will have 3 months to investigate the claim.
However, the insurer should, by the end of this 3-month period, state whether liability is admitted or denied. In the latter case, an explanation must be given. This procedure has the additional advantage of letting you know what your opponent's response to your claim will be that much earlier than under the previous civil justice regime.We will draft your letter of claim for you, in the same way that we will prepare your statement of case should it become necessary to commence proceedings.
OFFERS TO SETTLE MADE BY YOUR OPPONENT
Once your opponent or the Defendant insurers have completed their investigation, they are likely to make a formal offer of settlement, if liability is admitted. This will have important consequences on your right to recover your legal costs. We will advise you fully as and when such an offer is made.
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 in an attempt to settle your claim. We shall try to avoid the need for proceedings, where possible. If this is not possible we shall also try to agree neutral issues in order to simplify the matters in dispute.
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, reassess the anticipated costs of the claim and inform you of the consequences to you of the claim failing. Your potential liability for your opponent's costs, should you lose, only begins with the issue of proceedings. We will obtain your permission before commencing proceedings.
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. In doing so, you will increase your opponent's financial risk should this offer be declined and your claim proceed to a hearing. Whilst this may encourage an earlier settlement it may also reveal your minimum settlement figure.
TIME SCALES
Because of the strict time limits imposed by the Court once proceedings have started, it is important that 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 to a failure to adhere to the automatic directions.
THIS SECTION IS INTENDED FOR THE OWNERS OF VEHICLES THAT HAVE BEEN DAMAGED IN A ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT.
WHAT SHOULD I DO FOLLOWING A ROAD ACCIDENT INJURY?
The key points to remember are:
- Note down the registration number of the other vehicles involved.
- Obtain the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the other drivers and their insurance details (if known). If the police attended the accident, record the police officer's name and number.
- If the police did not attend the accident scene, then you should report the accident to the police anyway as soon as possible.
- Try to get the names and addresses of any witnesses.
- Don't forget to report the accident to your own motor insurers as soon as possible, since failure to do so may effect your insurance cover.
Your uninsured losses consist of those expenses and losses that you have suffered, as a direct result of the accident, which are not covered by a policy of insurance. This kind of loss is compensated by an award of "special damages" which recompense you for losses and expenses incurred up to the date of the hearing.
MITIGATION OF YOUR LOSS
Please remember that you have a duty to mitigate your loss. This means that you must take reasonable steps to minimise your losses. For example: if the accident has made your car unfit to drive on the road, then you have a duty to repair or replace your vehicle as soon as reasonably practicable. This is necessary in order to limit the amount of any car hire, storage charges or other such expenditure that you may be accruing. Otherwise, you may find that you are unable to recover all of these losses from the party responsible for the accident.
LOSS OF USE OF YOUR VEHICLE
If you have been unable to use your vehicle due to the accident damage, then it will be possible to claim a notional sum to compensate you for this inconvenience. This compensation is usually based on a weekly rate, depending upon the degree to which you have been inconvenienced and the type of vehicle involved.
IF YOU HAVE COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE COVER
Your motor insurers will pay for your repair costs, provided that these are reasonable in proportion to the value of your vehicle. If your vehicle has been damaged beyond economic repair, your insurers will compensate you for the pre-accident value of your vehicle. Your insurers will usually determine the current market value of your vehicle by instructing an independent engineer to make an assessment.
The terms of your insurance policy may provide for an excess, which will be deducted from your insurers' compensation payment. This sum will form part of your uninsured loss claim. In which case, please supply us with a copy of your excess receipt so that we can claim this back for you.It is important that you should notify your insurers of your claim at your first opportunity. Any delay could expose you to the risk of your motor insurers avoiding the policy.
Further, delay either by you or by your insurers in arranging for your vehicle to be repaired or replaced may also open you to criticism for failing to mitigate your loss. In which case, you might not be able to recover some of your losses as a result.Your own motor insurers will usually either authorise a local garage to repair your vehicle or they will agree a pre-accident valuation with you. It is important you keep any losses of a continuing nature such as car hire and storage charges to a minimum.
If you or your insurers are able to recover their outlay in full from your Opponent, your no claims bonus will be reinstated.You may find that you need to hire another vehicle whilst yours is off the road. You should check first to see whether your repairers will provide you with a courtesy car free of charge.
Alternatively, your insurers may offer you car hire arrangements. If liability is not in dispute, the other driver's insurers may even offer you a hire car. If this occurs, please let us know immediately.It is important that you keep in contact with your insurance company as to enable them to deal with your claim as quickly as possible and to limit the period of any car hire.
IF YOUR VEHICLE IS INSURED THIRD PARTY FIRE AND THEFT
Your insurers will have no liability to compensate you for the damage to your vehicle. Accordingly, it will be necessary for this firm to include this uninsured loss in your claim against your opponent. If your vehicle has not been damaged beyond economic repair, then you should arrange for it to undergo repairs as soon as possible. You should obtain at least two alternative repair estimates from different garages.
If you are told that your vehicle is uneconomic to repair then you should advise us of this as soon as possible. We will contact the Defendant insurers and invite them to inspect the vehicle.We will need to know where your vehicle is stored and should be grateful if you would provide us with a contact telephone number to enable the insurer's engineer to arrange an appointment to inspect it.
We will forward a copy of the engineer's report to you for your comments.If your vehicle is repairable but you are unable to afford to pay for these repairs, then it may be possible to arrange for the Defendant insurers to meet the cost of repairs, if liability is not in dispute. In any event, you should move your vehicle out of storage if you anticipate any significant delay in effecting repairs whilst the vehicle is repairable, in order to limit further accrual of these storage charges.
CAR HIRE CHARGES
If your vehicle is undrivable then you may wish to hire an alternative equivalent vehicle. You will usually to be expected to demonstrate that there was a need to hire a vehicle. For example, if you only use your vehicle occasionally to travel only a few miles a day or use public transport or taxis for a short period, then you should ensure that you can justify the need for hiring a vehicle. You should take reasonable steps to ensure that your hire charges are reasonable and that the hire period is kept as short as possible. You should not allow your car hire charges to exceed a reasonable proportion of the value of your vehicle, without good reason.
RECOVERY AND STORAGE CHARGES
As previously indicated, it is important that you take reasonable steps to ensure that your expenses are brought to an end as quickly as possible. If you or your insurers delay repairs or disposal of your vehicle then you may not be able to recover the additional expense caused by that delay.We anticipate that the Defendant insurers will scrutinise your claims for accident damage, car hire and storage charges for any delay by you or your insurers.
TRAVELLING EXPENSES
If you have no need for a hire car then you should take care to retain your taxi, bus and other travelling receipts and to log your journeys, to enable us to recover your full entitlement.
REASONABLENESS
One simple test to help distinguish between what is and what is not a reasonable expense is to ask yourself whether you would have incurred the expense regardless, if you did not expect to recover damages from your opponent.
Under Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, all road users are required to have third party insurance indemnifying them against claims by persons injured or suffering accidental damage caused by their negligence. Using an uninsured vehicle on a road is an offence under the Act.
Accordingly, most defendant drivers will have motor insurance that will indemnify them against any personal liability for your claim.Section 154 of the Act, obliges a driver involved in an accident to provide details of his motor insurers and his insurance policy number. It is an offence under the Act to fail or refuse to provide this information. Accordingly, in most cases where the Act is complied with an innocent claimant will usually be confident of recovering a compensation award from the opponent's motor insurers.
Unfortunately, a growing number of people now drive without any insurance and many of these individuals also have limited financial means. In such a case, pursuing a civil claim against the uninsured driver would probably be pointless. Fortunately, the Motor Insurers' Bureau Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) has been instituted to address the predicament faced by innocent victims who would otherwise be unable to recover their compensation awards from these impecunious uninsured drivers.
IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO REPORT THE DEFENDANT DRIVER'S FAILURE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH INSURANCE INFORMATION IMMEDIATELY. ANY DELAY COULD PREJUDICE YOUR RIGHT TO CLAIM COMPENSATION.
HIT AND RUN AND UNTRACED DRIVERS
An increasing number of drivers simply fail to stop after involvement in an accident, leaving the scene before they can be traced. Others give false particulars, especially if they are driving a stolen vehicle. Furthermore, a growing number of people drive without any insurance and since many of these individuals have limited personal financial resources they are unlikely to stop if they can get away.Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires a driver to stop when involved in a road accident resulting in injury to someone else or damage to his or her vehicle.
That driver must also give details of his name, address and vehicle registration number, if requested on reasonable grounds; otherwise he or she should report the accident to the police. Failure to do so is an offence.Clearly, if a driver fails to stop these particulars cannot be ascertained and no civil claim can be brought.
This presents an obvious predicament for road users who have suffered injury or other loss or damage as a result of a hit and run or untraced driver.Pursuing a civil claim against a hit and run or untraced driver is not possible, because there is no identifiable defendant. Fortunately, it is possible to apply for compensation from the Motor Insurers Bureau under the Untraced Drivers' Agreement.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ACCIDENT
IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT IN ORDER TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, TO REPORT THE ACCIDENT TO THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY. YOU SHOULD INSIST ON RECEIVING A POLICE INCIDENT NUMBER. THE TIME LIMIT IS VERY SHORT AND THIS IS ENFORCED STRICTLY.
If you fail to do so then you will have failed to satisfy a vital condition precedent and your claim will probably be rejected by the Bureau. The right to claim compensation under this scheme is hedged with qualifications and pre conditions. The Solicitors at Trinity Law Partnership have dealth my many of these types of claims and are extremely skilled at handling such matters.
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