In short- a big difference! And one that can severely affect the service level you receive during your claim but also the final settlement!
“We have been trying to contact you regarding your accident; we now have details of how much you can claim”
The above is the classic example of correspondence from a claims handling company- it is highly unlikely that this is from a reputable solicitor’s firm. There are some major points that I will address in this blog which hopefully will show that a claims management company is NEVER the best way to go- ALWAYS seek your own solicitor to act on the case for you.
How do they know about my accident?
I am confident in saying that we have probably all received one of these messages, even when we haven’t had an accident; this straight away shows that they are not legal professionals as you need to have instructed a solicitor to act on your behalf to enable them to contact and discuss your case with you.
They just randomly text shot a mass amount of people hoping that someone out there has had an accident. If they do know about a particular accident you have had, many of them will collect your details and then sell them across to a law firm for a huge fee. However, notice the word “sell” – the solicitor will pay for this case and therefore reduce the amount of funds available to run the case efficiently. An actual solicitor (like ourselves) will only ever know about your accident if you choose to contact us and tell us. We also do not involve ourselves in referral fees, as we much prefer to have all the money available to us to push the case to its successful conclusion ASAP.
How do they know how much my claim is worth?
They don’t really- all settlements should be based on medical evidence to ensure you do not under-settle the case. Compensation is based upon how serious your injuries how and how long they will affect your everyday life .So how can they tell you this when they don’t even know your injury, have not instructed a medical expert to diagnose them, and often do not have the specialist knowledge a personal injury solicitor does? The figures they quote also do not often include any other losses by yourself which are covered as “special damages”. This includes travel expenses, medical expenses and claims for care and assistance (please note: this last one does not have to be professional it can include help from family and friends)
We will always seek the maximum compensation available to you, but this will be based on medical evidence coupled with our specialist knowledge and experience in personal injury. This may mean that on that initial call we cannot give you an amount like the claims rep might, however this is to ensure you are not misled.
If you would like to discuss your case with an ACTUAL law firm do not hesitate to contact us.
