Road accidents are common; they really do just happen all the time! And we at The Injury Lawyers take on increasing amounts of road accident claims on a day to day basis – although this is not just because they’re common, but through our sterling reputation! And in most cases, the injuries involved are all quite linear and common; whiplash! But the motorcyclist on the road does not enjoy the protection of being strapped in a metal box with air bags and bumpers; if a motorcyclist is injured in an accident, they are likely to suffer far more than the usual neck and back pain.
With more severe injuries comes a more complex compensation claim, with more time and resources needing to be spent on the case to make sure it is maximised. And for this reason, it is so important for victims to enlist the help of an expert independent personal injury lawyer.
It’s no secret that the market for personal injury claims is thriving; and the market for road accident claims is so competitive you wouldn’t believe it! But a lot of companies out there, who are all too quick to offer you their services, are not always the best people to instruct; and you may be surprised at some of the companies you should not trust – insurance companies; including your own!
If you are involved in a road accident, it’s likely you will be contacted by your insurers offering to instruct one of their panel solicitors to deal with your claim. Sounds great, right? Well in actual fact, it’s not. We all would probably implicitly trust our insurers to get us the best solicitor, whereas in actual fact, all they do is sell the details of your claim to a third party solicitor – usually the highest bidding firm. The problem is the money they spend on buying the case comes straight out of the running costs for your claim – meaning fewer resources to spend on making your claim efficient, and fewer resources to spend on maximising your settlement figure.
Not so attractive now, is it? It’s called Legal Expense Insurance; and it is literally a scam. An injured motorcyclist needs to make sure they are fully compensated on every level, given that it’s likely they will have suffered severe injuries; possibly multiple fractures. With a solicitor not willing to make sure you get the most compensation you’re entitled to get on your side because they have bought your claim, you are losing out! One of the big ones that these types of solicitors are simply not bothering to look in to is care and assistance. This is the time spent by family and friends looking after you and assisting you with daily tasks that you are no longer able to do due to your injuries; such as cooking, cleaning, bathing, or even shopping. For a motorcycle accident victim with broken limbs, these are all things they are going to need help with! And we at The Injury Lawyers understand this.
A solicitor that has bought your claim wouldn’t bother to look in to aspects like this; because it means spending more time and therefore more money, on your case. And with a huge referral fee already paid to your insurers (sometimes up to £800 – the base running cost for a claim!!!) that they cannot recover back, their resources are restricted. In fact, they’re so restricted that it’s unlikely they will fight to make sure you get the maximum for your injuries alone. They may well end up accepting any old offer from the other side, and being content with the lower end of the guideline brackets for your injuries, as they don’t have the money to spend on researching in to getting you more since they have squandered it on buying your case from your insurers.