It’s probably best to firstly consider how the accident has affected your life. Perhaps you have had to take time off work, in which case you may have lost out on your earnings. You might have needed to be cared for in the period of time it took for you to recover. In all of these cases it would be most advisable to get the help of a specialist injury lawyer. But, who do you chose?
The best help you can get is from an independent firm of solicitors that have not paid a referral fee for your claim. Always go direct to real Injury Lawyers and not “middlemen” and that way you will know that your claim hasn’t been bought by the highest bidding Law firm from claims resellers (middlemen). Make sure you then look around and choose a company that is dedicated to its clients and to achieving the best result for you.
In a lot of Road Traffic Accidents, Legal Expense Insurance will probably crop up. Your Insurance Company will tell you that they will pay for all your legal fees when pursuing your claim and that they will refer you to one of their own expert solicitors – sounds quite reasonable on the surface, and it may even seem as though they are saving you a lot of time and hassle.
In fact what actually happens is that Insurance companies have a panel of solicitors that they will actually sell your claim on to. This means that Law Firm that has been referred by your Insurance Company actually buys your claim from your insurance company. These type of solicitors can pay out anything up to £800.00 for your claim – that’s £800.00 pounds gone out of the running costs of your claim before they have even started working on your claim.
Unfortunately, Legal Expense Insurance really is all about selling your injury claim. It’s a way for insurance companies to profit from your injury by selling your claim to the highest bidder, so be careful not to get caught out.
By choosing an independent firm, at least you have the knowledge and peace of mind that they haven’t paid out any referral fees in order to deal with your case; this means they have more funds with which to run your claim as the only money they spend is the money used on running your claim and NOT buying it from middlemen. Remember you have the complete freedom of choice of a solicitor, so think carefully about choosing the right firm for you.
Perhaps you have been involved in a car accident and suffered some form of whiplash. Your probably finding that you are receiving offers from all sorts of companies who want to deal with your claim, even perhaps from the insurance company of the person at fault for the accident. This approach to dealing with claims is known as Third Party Capture.
The insurance company of the person at fault may contact you offering, what seems like, great services. They might offer to settle your claim in a matter of weeks, no hassle attached, everything to be taken care of in-house. Again, this may look very appealing on the surface but at the end of the day, they are offering these services to you so that they can settle your claim at the lowest possible cost to them.
Think about it from a business perspective.
If the third party insurance company can persuade you to let them take on your claim it’s easier for them in the long run. They won’t have to spend time on agreeing a settlement as they will offer you the lowest sum they can get away with. The things to consider are; how can they possibly offer you a sum for settlement of your claim when most importantly they don’t know the extent of your injuries – normally a medical report is obtained from a specialist medical expert to examine and conclude the extent of the injuries sustained. It is only then that the injuries and circumstances can begin to be analysed to identify how much the claim may be worth.
Pick the right firm in running your claim. Go direct and avoid the middlemen and claims resellers. Only ever use real lawyers. Accept No substitutes.
