Accidents happen on a daily basis and are often unpredictable. If an accident occurred when you were travelling on a train and the accident was in no way your fault, you may have a potential claim for compensation. In the eyes of the law, passengers are seen as innocent parties as usually they have not contributed to the accident.
If you or a family member has been involved in an accident on a train line, first of all it would be very useful for the accident details to be recorded. For example: try to record the time and location of the accident and also the circumstances of the accident. In all accident situations it is always advisable to attend hospital or visit your GP no matter how minor your injuries may seem. This also means that a log of details will be kept on your medical records which could prove to be very useful should you choose to pursue a claim for compensation.
It is advisable to place a complaint with the train company so that the circumstances of the event can be investigated and hopefully prevented from occurring again. It also provides a record for the insurers to investigate.
It’s also very useful if you take photographs of any injuries you have. These can be used as evidence in your claim for compensation and obviously provides a very clear idea of exactly what injuries you have sustained.
If you have had to pay for any costs as a result of your accident, you should keep a record of the expenses and keep the receipts wherever possible. These costs can then be included in your claim for compensation and hopefully claimed back for you.
When looking for a law firm to deal with your claim for compensation, it’s most advisable to choose an independent firm of personal injury solicitors. This is because the firm will be dedicated to recovering the maximum amount of compensation for you. Many law firms today work alongside insurance companies or claims management companies and so it means that the law firms have deadlines to meet and have to try and settle you claim within a time limit. Obviously this is not going to be the best option for you. Also, law firms that do work alongside insurance companies are required to pay a referral fee in order to deal with your claim. Referral fees are not something that can be claimed back from the party at fault; it is an expense that will come from the running costs for your claim and it may not be something that you are made openly aware of.
Many cases today are funded under a “no win no fee” agreement – also make sure you look into the terms and conditions of the agreement in great detail as sometimes there can be firms who will only seek to recover their fees from the other side, which could potentially mean they could come back to you and charge you if they aren’t successful in recovering their fees.
An independent firm of Personal Injury solicitors will assess your claim and advise you accordingly as to whether they believe your claim to be potentially successful.
