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Have I got a claim?

This is the first question that people tend to ask when they first approach The Injury Lawyers for a free claim assessment. In accidents involving buses, we are often able to advise that they have got a claim, and not only that, but that they have a good chance of succeeding with the claim. If you are on a bus and the bus crashes, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the bus or the other driver at fault: you have a claim. If fault lies with the bus driver you may be able to place your claim against the bus company who are vicariously liable for the actions of the driver (they are responsible for his actions up to point). If fault lies with the other driver, then you may place a claim against them.

Alternatively, it may be the case that the driver broke suddenly causing you to fall over or jolt your neck.  In this instance you may also have a claim against the bus company for the actions of the driver if they are negligent.

What should I do next?
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There are so many workplace health and safety rules and regulations your employer must abide by. Risk assessments need to be completed, workplace areas need to be regularly inspected and maintained, and your employer has a duty to minimise risks to your health as far as is reasonably possible and practical.

So – what happens if your employer fails in this important duty they have for you, and you end up injured? You can make a claim for compensation from their insurance.

In any event, a regular system of inspection and maintenance should be carried out to make sure there are no slippery surfaces or defects on the floor waiting to trip you up. Any hazards spotted should be either rectified, or cordoned off and appropriate signage put in place to warn you of the hazard. If you are not advised of a hazard, or are unaware of its presence, you can make a claim.
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I fear that there are many potential claimants out there taking the decision to not follow through with their potential personal injury claim. This may be for fear of the hassle it would cause, or for fear or what it may cost you financially. Well, I am here to give you reasons why you should take the leap and begin your claim for personal injury compensation.

Claiming can be straight forward and hassle free

With the right firm on board, your claim can be entirely hassle free. Good law firms will have strict service standards in place; these standards should be checked before your decide to proceed with a law firm. Service standards can include regular client updates, such as every 14 days as a minimum, and returning calls and e-mails within a certain time frame; perhaps 24 hours maximum.  These service standards mean you are not chasing your solicitors for updates, and it’s your lawyers that are rightfully doing all the work; being kept ‘out of the loop’ on your case can often be a prime basis of stress for a claimant.
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Many potential claimants out there may be aware that they are entitled to compensation for their injuries – it may be advertising for personal injury claiming that is responsible for that, or just the increased awareness of your right to make a claim. However, many claimants that approach The Injury Lawyers remain unaware of the financial losses they may be entitled to claim as l a result of their accident.

In order to discover what losses you may be entitled to, the simplest question to ask your self is ‘if I had not had the accident, would I be in a better position financially?’ If the answer to this is yes then you should ask yourself why that is – I have set out below a few possible suggestions as to areas of loss you may have incurred due to your accident:

1. Loss of earnings – if you have been absent from work as a result of your accident, and been on reduced pay or been left unpaid, then you may have a claim for lost earnings.  Your loss of earnings claim is calculated from an average of 13 weeks pay slips prior to the date of the accident – so these would need to be kept safe or requested from your employer. If you are self- employed, the average is calculated from 3 years profit and loss accounts.

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When you’re in charge of around 10 tonnes worth of metal, seats, and engine, you’d like to think that the driver of the bus you’re in has the passenger’s health and safety at the forefront of their mind. Sadly, this is not always the case.

I am in no way slating all bus drivers – but even when I was learning to drive I was warned about taking extra care around them as the drivers can, on occasions, be a little unpredictable. In all honesty, we have taken on a huge number of claims involving buses that we have successfully won thousands of pounds in compensation for our clients.

So – did it come as any surprise when I myself ended up in a bus incident? Not particularly…
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Prior to April 2010, if you had been involved in a road traffic accident and you were pursuing a claim for compensation, the other side were allowed a period of 21 days to acknowledge your claim, and a further three months in which to investigate it. 

What this meant was that a straightforward low value road traffic accident could potentially take 9 months or more, when in truth, it could be resolved far sooner – possibly within a month to 6 months.  The Ministry of Justice acknowledged this, and in April 2010, introduced a new system to deal with low value road traffic accident claims with a value below £10,000.  The new protocol means that the negligent third party’s insurer must now admit or deny liability within 15 days of you making your claim – once the final claim pack is submitted to the insurers, a period up to 35 days is the normal amount allowed for the claim to be settled.  Ultimately, claims that were taking up to 9 months to finalise can now be settled in around four to six.

A year on from the inception of this new protocol for low value personal injury claims, it has become apparent to us at The Injury Lawyers that we are seeing earlier admissions of liability and we have been able to settle our clients claims much more swiftly.  So, if you have been involved in a road traffic accident, this should be encouragement enough should you be having any doubts about making a claim for compensation.  Here is a brief guide to the process.
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Whiplash can be an extremely painful and frustrating condition. Sufferers can also have a lack of understanding from others – this may be due to the fact the condition is not so plain to see as a head injury or a broken bone. At The Injury Lawyers, however, our approach is entirely different as we talk to many of our clients on a daily basis and hear how the condition is affecting all areas of their life.

Whiplash is caused by a sudden jolting to the head, which causes the neck to move beyond its normal range – thus damaging tendons, nerves and/or muscles in the area.  We most commonly see whiplash injuries as a result of road traffic accidents; however, it can also be caused by falls, especially those from a height.

Symptoms
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Supermarkets can be one of those places where we end up spending a lot of our time. That is why it is so important that they are a safe environment for us to shop in, whether it is with children in tow or on our own. For the majority of people, shopping in the local supermarket goes by uneventfully – but for the small minority, accidents can happen. If you have been involved in an accident that was not your fault, then you may have a claim for compensation.

Supermarkets like anywhere else have a duty to protect their customers as far as is reasonably possible from harm. They must abide by strict health and safety standards and ensure that all the staff are also trained in maintaining these high standards.

You may feel that bringing a claim against a huge corporation such as a supermarket will be too difficult, costly, and time consuming to do; however, this simply may not be the case. All claims, whether they are against one person or a huge corporation, run in the same manner, and if you get the right solicitor on board, there should be no costs at all for you to bear.
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I fear that many people out there may be sat at home and struggling with the pain of an injury caused through no fault of their own. These people may be considering making a claim, but feel that it would be too much hassle for them to proceed with after what may have been a traumatic accident.

I am writing this blog to inform those people that compensation may not be the hassle that you may think. With the right specialist personal injury lawyer involved, the hassle can be minimal relative to what you may get out of your claim by way of compensation.

If you choose the right lawyer, you may not only receive compensation for your injuries, but your solicitor may be able to arrange private medical treatment for you. At The Injury Lawyers, we are able to arrange medical treatment at the early stages of a claim. This treatment can include physiotherapy, osteopathic, and chiropractic treatment, and would be at no cost to yourself. To this, I can hear you say –‘how is it at no cost’? Well, if you lose your claim, it would be covered by insurance, and if you win your claim, we would recover the costs from the other side as part of your losses.
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If you are reading this blog, then you have taken the correct first step to dealing with with your personal injury claim. It is always advisable to take independent legal advice on your personal injury claim, and finding the law firm you want to act for you is best done directly with the law firm. There are many referral agents out there who may want your claim. Referral agents act as middlemen by selling your claim on to personal injury law firms – this referral fee can be for a large amount of money (often up to £800!).

If a law firm has already reduced their budget amount for your case by paying this fee, it is likely that they will also give you a reduced level of service or face incurring a loss – which isn’t something a law firm is going to want to do!

In summary, it is best to leave the destiny of your claim in your own hands and choose the law firm that is right for you. Below I have listed some useful tips that you may want to look out for when researching potential law firms to instruct on your claim:
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