The festive season is very much upon us; but unfortunately, just because the decorations are up, doesn’t mean that the amount of accidents occurring goes down. At this time of year the roads can be treacherous and therefore accidents are more likely to occur and unfortunately result in nasty injuries to nurse over the festive period. This of course is the last thing you want to happen at this time of year when you’ve got the office Christmas party coming up or you’re travelling to see family and therefore you may wish to start a claim for compensation.
HOWEVER! Insurance companies know that at this time of year money can be tight and therefore take this opportunity to try and settle many claims for compensation directly and cheaply – for them!
This is known as third party capture and does not fill us with festive cheer here at The Injury Lawyers.
Third party capture is the process of the defendants insurance company contacting you directly to settle a claim. Of course, being offered money straight off is always a nice thing but it is important to properly consider the implications of accepting such a sum.
The main point is that the insurance company is not offering to settle out of the kindness of their heart – they want the claim quickly sorted so that they don’t have to pay legal fees or spend time going through the correct procedure. Compensation is based on the severity and longevity of your injuries and therefore it also seems simply absurd for someone to offer you money without gathering medical evidence and considering how serious this injury is and how long it will affect you. This is important as when you settle your claim, if it is in full and final settlement, it is likely that you will not be able to re-start the claim should you still be suffering more later down the line.
For example: if you have an accident that results in whiplash, and you settle with the insurance company direct, if later down the line say 7 weeks later you are still suffering and consequently had to have time off work you may have under settled your claim and consequently end up suffering financially in the long run.
It is always better to instruct your own personal injury solicitor to ensure that the above scenario does not happen. A personal injury solicitor, like us, will ensure that the proper procedure is followed and consequently the right amount of compensation is received. Although this may take longer and therefore you may not have money in your hand ready to spend on presents, in the long run you will get the compensation you need and deserve in relation to your injury! Long term gain can often surpass that of short term.
Here at the Injury Lawyers, as we don’t involve ourselves in referral fees, have all the money to speed the claim along and therefore although a settlement is not immediate it will certainly come as soon as possible.
