Making a personal injury claim explained
By: Mason Linger | Posted: 23rd April 2010
Making a compensation claim for a personal injury seems like a complicated business - and in honesty, to some extent it is. Certainly it's at least something that the average person will never have done before and those who have, hopefully, won't need to make another one.
In short though, there are two initial steps to take when it comes to making a personal injury claim.
The simplest one to take is to secure a personal solicitor. One tip to keep in mind is that you should go local when choosing a firm of personal injury solicitors London residents, who are making a claim in a London court, would be best served by hiring a London based lawyer - it's just much, much easier and will save you a lot of money and stress in the long run.
Aside from location, other things to keep in mind include whether or not they are specialists in personal injury claims - and whether or not they charge on the basis of Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Simply put, do they offer their services on a "no win no fee" premise? When it comes to personal injury claims, there's really no reason why you should settle for anything but a CFA.
Then there's the slightly more complicated step of gathering all the information you can about the incident that caused your injury.
If you want a solicitor to take on your claim, then it's best to be as prepared as possible. There are several pieces of information that are absolutely critical to making a successful claim and the more you have, the better your case will be.
First of all, you need to establish the dates where your injury was incurred - e.g. the date and time of an accident, or the period over which you were harassed - and if possible, find a witness who can corroborate your claim. This will be extremely important if the party your claiming against denies responsibility for your injury. Obviously this may pose difficulties for psychological injuries but if you can substantiate that you've been sexually harassed, discriminated against or treated unfairly, then this will add weight to your case.
If you've got that, you should seek documentary evidence on the nature of your injuries and the impact that it has had on your wellbeing. If your injury is physical, you should obtain medical records of any treatment you have already had and you should secure a report from a doctor or nurse on your status. If your injuries are psychological in nature, you could seek out a clinical therapist for analysis - though this may have less weight than a doctor report, it still provides some evidence for your claim.
One final thing to keep in mind is that if your injury has caused you any loss of earnings, then you can make a much stronger claim by providing as exact a figure as possible. If your employer is willing, secure a statement from then about how it has affected your ability to work. If you've lost your job because of it, then work out as accurately as possible just how much money you would have earned if you'd been in work.
Once you've got all this together and your solicitor has agreed to take the case on, they'll draft a letter to send to the defendant that will outline your claim and your injuries. The defendant will have a set time period - normally three months - to respond; if they accept liability, then your solicitor will probably encourage you to settle out of court and negotiate a sum for compensation.
If they deny liability though, it's time for a tough decision; do you go to court or not?
Mason Linger is a renowned author on various law related articles. For more information on personal injury claim solicitors, please visit http://www.adamspersonalinjury.co.ukThis article is free for republishing
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Tags: money, extent, average person, honesty, premise, stress, lawyer, witness, solicitor, personal injury claims, personal injury solicitors, compensation claim, initial steps