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One of the questions that sometimes crops up here at The Injury Lawyers relates to claims against uninsured drivers.  The usual course of action in a road traffic accident is to pursue the insurer of the negligent third party driver who has caused your injuries. 

In most cases the other driver will have insurance and it really is a simple process of submitting a claim form online and receiving their admission of liability within a couple of weeks.  But what happens if the other driver is not insured?  Well you could pursue the other driver themselves personally, but in the vast majority of cases they will not be worth suing (in other words, they do not have enough money to recompense you).  Instead, what you can do is make a claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (‘MIB’).

In 1946 the MIB was set up to provide compensation for those who have been injured by the negligence of an uninsured third party driver.  Instead of saying that they cannot be compensated because the other driver broke the law and drove with insurance, the MIB can dip into their compensation fund and pay out for your vehicle damages and injuries.  The reason they can do this is because each year every motorist contributes roughly £30 through their insurance premium to set up this fund.  Although you may not like the sound of that, at the end of the day, one day it could be you that requires this fund.  In fact, each year over 50,000 people are compensated by the MIB.
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Claiming for compensation for injuries that were sustained in accidents which did not involve motor vehicles is different, but still nevertheless straightforward.  Here is a quick guide:

The first step is to produce what is known as a ‘Letter of Claim.’  It outlines who you are, your accident, the injuries you have sustained in this accident, and why it should be considered that the Defendant was negligent and should provide you with compensation.  This is a simple document which, so long as we have as much detail as possible, can be submitted to the Defendant straight away. 

The Defendant then has a period of 21 days in which to acknowledge the Letter of Claim.  In most cases they will write back to your legal representative to inform them that they have noted your wish to pursue a claim and that they will now investigate your claim or will pass the claim to their insurers / claims handlers / solicitors (a typical practice) who will investigate on their behalf.  Once the Defendant has acknowledged the Letter of Claim they have 3 months to come back with their position on liability; i.e. whether they will admit or deny liability.
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One of the most common sorts of accidents that involve motorcycles and / or bicycles arise from drivers pulling out of side roads without checking that the road they are turning in to is fully clear!

It’s normally quite easy for a car to spot another car or similar larger vehicle on the road; motorcycles and bicycles are harder to spot, despite the best efforts of the riders to make themselves visible with illuminated clothing and well lit vehicles.

We will not broach the reasons as to why this happens, as I think it’s pretty simple to work it out: some drivers simply do not pay enough attention and do not keep a special lookout for motorcycle and bicycle riders. Unfortunately, the end result is a collision and a potentially seriously injured rider.
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There’s a general rule when it comes to making claims for compensation – if you were a passenger in an accident, you pretty much have a dead cert definite winner of a claim for compensation if you have ended up injured. So, is this the case for bus passengers too?

Unfortunately not – bus claims can actually be very difficult to win; dependant on the circumstances.

Collisions
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Claiming for injuries arising out of road traffic accidents is often straightforward.  This is because in most accidents it is quite clear who at fault.  It follows that if you were not at fault for the accident then you can be compensated for any injuries you may have suffered.

Here is an example: You are driving along and you are approaching a roundabout, you slow down to a halt as there are already cars on the roundabout, when unfortunately a third party driver negligently collides with the rear of your vehicle and you sustain whiplash.  You are not at fault for this accident and have been injured at the hands of another person, and you can therefore make a claim for compensation.  The Defendant’s insurer knows this and this is what you have to look out for.

If you have been in such an accident it may be that the other side’s insurer gets in touch with you, knowing full well that you have a very successful claim for compensation, and try and settle your compensation claim directly with you.  This is by no means illegal but it is important to note that if you agree any compensation with the Defendant’s insurers, in most cases, this will be in full and final settlement of your claim.  So if later you realise you are still injured and feel that you should receive more compensation – tough! Your claim has settled and no more compensation can be obtained.  Likewise, if you accept £400 compensation but are later advised that your claim was actually worth £2,000 you cannot go back and say you under-settled my claim, give me the difference.  The process in which your claim is settled directly with the Defendant’s insurer is known as ‘third party capture’.
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Burns can not only be extremely painful and uncomfortable, but they can be highly annoying because it can be difficult to alleviate the pain and discomfort. As well as being in discomfort for who knows how long, dependant on the severity of the burn, you could end up with some form of scarring.

So it comes as no surprise when our expert team of advisors get calls from victims of burn injuries all the time wanting to know whether they have a good claim for compensation or not. Given the potential serious nature of burn injuries, you need advice from an expert firm of personal injury specialist; so feel free to give us a call.

Whether you have been burned by a flame, scolded by hot water, burned by high temperature steam, or ended up in contact with a harmful chemical substance, once you have received your medical attention as quickly as possible, we will see if we can help you out. For now, here is a quick guide to give you a little bit of an insight in to claiming for burn injuries:
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The majority of people out there will make their claim for compensation as a form of financial recompense for having to suffer through long periods of pain and injury. It’s only fair; it’s not nice being injured, and it has an impact on your everyday life both at work and at home. You will also be able to claim back any reasonable losses, such as lost earnings, treatment fees, and travel costs.

So it comes as no surprise that the question on many of our clients’ lips is “when will I get my payout?”

The thing is, the wheels of litigation can often turn quite slowly. Investigations need to be made, evidence needs to be obtained and compiled, and negotiations must take place. Whilst the system we have in England is pretty good for making sure claims are concluded quickly, lots of things need to be done.
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At The Injury Lawyers we are experts in the field of personal injury law having dealt with thousands of personal injury claims over many years.
In particular we deal with an enormous amount of road traffic accident claims where our clients have been injured as a result of the negligence of a third party driver.

In 99 out of 100 cases the Defendant driver will be insured, so it is straightforward to make the claim for compensation as their insurer will pay your damages.  Unfortunately, there are cases every so often where the Defendant was uninsured.  If that’s the case, how do you get your compensation?

In most cases the actual driver will not be worth suing unless they have some financial assets in to claim from.  Does that mean you are to be left uncompensated for your injuries because the other driver has no insurance? No, and here is a quick guide as to why.
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Type ‘lawyers’ into Google and you get about 266,000,000 hits.  Wow!  Type ‘injury lawyers’ into Google and you still come back with over 6 million hits.  Although there are not 6 million law firms in the United Kingdom, there are an awful lot of injury law firms out there ready to assist with your potential claim. 

In many ways this is great because it shows that you do have a good choice of lawyers as it is up to you to decide who you want to instruct to deal with your claim.  However, you must be careful, not all ‘lawyers’ are actually lawyers; more often than not you will come across what are known as Claims Management Companies who will refer your claim to other solicitors. 

At The Injury Lawyers we firmly believe that you should only go through real solicitors who can actually deal with your claim themselves, rather than some random company who will happily pass your details around.  Here is what to look out for:
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The phrase ‘slips and trips’ is often used to describe one of the most common types of personal injury claims.  These accidents can happen at work – for example, if an obstruction has been left in a corridor, liquid has been spilled on the floor, or the surface of the floor is in poor condition. Alternatively, they can also happen in public places such as in the street because of a pothole or uneven paving slab or on private premises where the public have access such as a cinema or supermarket.  

It is also possible to make a claim if you have a slip or trip on private land that is not open to the general public. However, for this type of claim, you must generally have been invited as a visitor onto the land or otherwise have a good reason for being there. An easy example – as a customer in a supermarket.

In both cases, the person or organisation responsible for the land or building has a legal duty to make sure that the area is reasonably safe. Whether the owner has failed to keep the area safe will depend on the circumstances, such as the type of land or building. For example, local authorities have a duty to maintain their pavements to keep them in good condition.
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