Archives

This is a topic I feel I can advise you on with relative ease and compassion. For the sake of example, I will focus on ruptured knee and ankle ligaments, although it can apply to most other ligaments in the body. Having been through multi ligament rupture from a traumatic dislocation of the knee, I think I know a thing or two about the trials and tribulations involved when suffering with such an injury! Hopefully my experience and advice can help you too.

First and foremost, rupturing ligaments is normally bad news. Torn ligaments that are surgically repaired do not always heal well, so rupturing one normally requires some form of reconstruction surgery. Sadly that means suffering for months with an injury and a huge stretch in physiotherapy.

The wonders of medical science today mean that you don’t have to lose a limb when rupturing ligaments. A ligament rupture is usually defined by a ligament completely breaking to the point where it has been separated. It is not a case of just stitching it back together like you can with a bone; bone on bone heals normally quite well, but a ligament normally needs to be reconstructed.
Read More

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.
Read More

Compensation is based upon the severity of your injuries and how long the injuries will affect your everyday life. As such, there is not really such a thing as a “standard” payout for any particular injury as everyone can be affected differently.

In law the defendant has to take the claimant as they find them – for example if your injury is an exacerbation of an existing injury this doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to claim as, of-course, if it wasn’t for the injury, your condition would not have been aggravated!

So how is a payout assessed? Well, put simply a payout is always assessed on the particular facts of each individual case. There is no such thing as one payout for this injury and another for something else – each case will have its own individual payout.
Read More

A Part 36 offer in personal injury is normally an offer to settle a claim for compensation. Part 36 offers differ from non Part 36 offers in a number of ways. There are cost consequences in terms of Part 36 offers. I will attempt to explain the nature and consequences of Part 36 offers.

Part 36 offers are set out in the Civil Procedure Rules and can be made by both the Claimant and the Defendant.

Not all offers to settle a claim are Part 36 offers. To be a Part 36 offer the offer normally must:

1. Be in writing;
2. State that the offer is intended to be a Part 36 offer and to have the consequences of the same;
3. Specify a period of not less than 21 days within which the Defendant will be liable for the Claimant’s costs if the offer is accepted;
4. State whether the offer relates to the whole of the claim or part of it.

If an offer is to be a Part 36 offer, it must normally be made in writing. This obviously excludes offers made solely over the telephone. If an offer is made over the telephone and then confirmed to be a Part 36 offer, perhaps either in a written letter or email, this would then be written and could therefore qualify as a Part 36 offer, providing that the other points are complied with.

Read More

Accidents in the workplace can result in severe injury, as of course many workplaces are filled with large equipment and a number of people working closely together. However, what is the procedure you should follow when wanting to pursue a claim for compensation? Many people are worried about doing so, as they feel it may jeopardise their job and of course this is a worry you could do without when you are already suffering from an injury.

Accidents at work can potentially be very good cases as your employer is obliged to have insurance to cover accidents under The Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. This is in place to ensure that should an employee have an accident they will be able to pay compensation. Therefore, in the majority of cases, we send the letter of claim of to your employer who just hands it across to their insurance and it is them that continue with the claim– your employer may even encourage you to bring a claim!

So there really is no need to worry. If you have had an accident there are a few things you should try to do and are the types of things we will ask on the initial call (mainly because we like to gather all the information we need straight away to ensure your claim gets underway ASAP.)
Read More

The competition is tough out there for personal injury claims – however picking the right lawyers can affect both the way your claim is run and the final outcome.

We have worked hard here to make sure that we stand out from the rest and ensure a high level of client service along with our personal injury expertise.

We take a unique approach to our claims all aimed at ensuring that you receive the best support throughout your claim and ensuring you are on the road to recovery as soon as possible. We understand that making a claim can be a very stressful and daunting experience – as of course many people have never done this before. One thing that we constantly aim to do is not to throw a load of legal jargon your way. We understand that just because you wish to make a claim doesn’t mean that you also want a legal lecture! Clear information, quickly and efficiently – that is our aim!

Read More

Roundabouts can be huge and complicate or small on simple; but on occasions either can still be very confusing to motorists. This means that accidents on roundabouts are one of the most common types of road traffic accidents we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers.

The situation we are dealing with in this blog is when a vehicle is in the wrong lane for the exit off the roundabout; which happens more than you might think.
Read More

We understand that there is ALLOT of competition out there when it comes to personal injury solicitors. However, we have focused primarily on what we think is the most important aspect of any personal injury claim – YOU. We have ensured that our primary focus is ensuring that you, the client, receive the best service possible to ensure your personal injury claim is straightforward, quick and successful!

We are a genuine law firm who specialise and deal only with injury law so we consider ourselves experts in the field. The reason I say GENUINE is that there are some personal injury ‘firms’ out there that are claims management companies rather than actual solicitors – they will take the details of your claim and sell it across to a solicitor for a tidy referral fee.

To us this seems a bizarre way to pursue a claim, as surely you would want to ensure that the solicitor running your case is one you are comfortable with – not one that has just been picked for you. We see claims as a 3 stage process:
Read More

One of the main worries when looking to pursue legal action is the worry of cost! Solicitors can be extremely expensive so many people are put off from pursing a claim because of this. However, this should not be the case as solicitors often act on conditional fee agreements, which is the posh name for a No Win, No Fee.

These types of agreements are based on the outcome of a case- win or lose. They were originally brought in to fill the gap between those that were eligible for legal aid and those that could afford to pay for legal representation however, they are now extremely common as it allows solicitors to still recover the same fees without having to charge their clients.

So how do they work? Many people often find it difficult to understand how they can pursue a claim, receive compensation (which in some cases is a large sum) and not have a bill to pay. To many it seems strange for a solicitor to be doing so much work for them but not sending them a bill. But please do not worry- we do get paid (after all we are still a business).
Read More

There are a lot of horror stories out there about 100% compensation turning into a “nightmare” as solicitors come after the case and take all the compensation away to cover their fees.

However, this is far from the truth here at The injury lawyers, as we GUARANTEE you 100% of your compensation and there is a reason why we can do this.

The standard conditional fee agreement (The No Win No Fee) states that a solicitor will seek to recover fees from the other side. This all seems well and good, but the word seek leaves you open to the possibility that if they have trouble recovering fees from the other side, they are able to come to you for the shortfall. So say the solicitors costs are £5000.00 and the other side agree to pay £3000.00m the shortfall of £2000.00 may have to be covered by yourself. Of course, many reputable solicitors may not do this – however there is always the possibility that they CAN. Many solicitors hold this power to charge you.
Read More