OK – so you’ve had an accident that wasn’t your fault. Perhaps you were hit from behind by another car, you fell in a supermarket, or you have been injured at work. If the accident wasn’t your fault, you are entitled to make a claim for compensation – and you should be successful.
The problem is – what do you do? You probably know that you should always get a lawyer involved; but with so many of us out there, who on earth do you chose? I can’t make this decision for you, but I can give you some advice on what to look for to make sure you get the best service and 100% compensation guaranteed.
First things first – make sure you do actually get a lawyer. Never deal with the third party (person / company at fault) directly, and never deal with their third party insurers, claims handlers, or solicitors directly either. You must get an injury lawyer to represent you – otherwise, you are flying solo with no one to represent you and look out for your best interests. It’s highly likely you will end up with an under settled claim.
Getting a Lawyer:
Back to the main point – who do you chose? Here’s a check list of things to tick off for when it comes to choosing your lawyers –
Actual Injury Lawyers
Go direct to an independent injury law firm. Avoid insurers, claims management companies, or any other middlemen referring your claim over to one of their ‘approved’ solicitors. Claims referrals involve referral fees – i.e. the middlemen taking a cut from your claim by making a quick buck from selling your details on to a solicitor. The problem with this is that the money your solicitor pays out for your claim through a referral scheme can only come from one of three places:
- Your Payout: Whether it’s a percentage or a deduction, you should never accept anything less than 100% of your compensation.
- Your Pocket: They may tell you there are no deductions, but are there any hidden charges? Make sure you are not going to end up having to pay anything for your claim whatsoever – nothing.
- Your Service: If you are lucky enough to avoid incurring the cost of the referral fee, then don’t expect a quality service! The money wasted on referral fees cannot be claimed back from the other side – so it comes right out of your solicitors’ budget. This leaves your solicitor with less money to spend on your case – which means less money to update you regularly, less money spend on actually assisting with your claim, and less money to fight harder for the maximum payout. You are easily in danger of a dragged out process and an under settled claim!
Make sure you go direct to an independent firm of injury lawyers – without any middlemen and backhanders to pay, your lawyers can afford to spend the maximum amount on ensuring you get a top quality service and the maximum payout.
Genuine No Win No Fee – No Costs Win or Lose: Guaranteed
OK – so you’ve seen an independent law firm you like the look of. Now you need to make sure they work on a Genuine No Win No Fee basis. A Genuine No Win No Fee means:
- 100% Compensation: Guaranteed – because your lawyers will agree in their paperwork to limit their legal fees to whatever they recover from the other side, and specifically state that they will NOT seek to recover any fees from you whatsoever if the claim wins. Don’t accept anything like “we will seek to recover fees” or “you may be liable for” etc.
- No Win = NO FEE – if you lose, you should never have to pay a penny to your lawyers; ever. Make sure you aren’t liable for anything at all.
The Extra Mile
OK – so you now have an independent injury lawyer working on a genuine No Win No Fee basis; so what now? Here are a few more things to consider:
- Specialist Injury Lawyers: if the injury lawyers you instruct deal only in claims for personal injury, you should get a bespoke, specialist service. It’s always good to pick the specialist; something I think is a rather obvious point.
- Regular Updates: make sure your lawyers have a regular update policy in place – such as at least every 2 weeks – so you know your claim is being worked on at the very minimum of every fortnight.
- Medical Care: you should be provided with private medical care at absolutely no cost to you whatsoever right from the outset of the claim. You should never be liable to pay for the treatment whether the claim wins or loses. If it wins, fees are recovered from the other side. If it loses, they are recovered from insurance.
If your lawyer ticks all of the right boxes above, you should end up with a fantastic service and the maximum amount of compensation possible.
