Has your child been injured in an accident which was not their fault? Do you believe that they have a claim for compensation? Are you not sure how to proceed?  Here are a few points that may help you in this situation.

Where an individual is under the age of 18, they are required by law to have a litigation friend to represent them and deal with their claim for compensation.

A litigation friend is a responsible adult who acts on the behalf of a minor i.e. a person under the age of 18, for the claim for compensation. A litigation friend can be the parent, guardian, or a family friend.  The litigation friend must have the minor’s best interests at heart, and be in regular contact with them.
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There has been a lot of publicity in the media lately with regards to personal injury claims suffered from a road traffic accident.  The most common injury being whiplash.

What is Whiplash?

It is an injury to the cervical vertebrae, or the neck as it is normally known, and it is most commonly caused when you are involved in a road traffic accident.  It is as a result of the movement of the head / neck that is caused during the collision of vehicles involved.
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At The Injury Lawyers, we come across many people wanting to make claims for their whiplash injuries on a daily basis.  In the most part they have sustained these whiplash injuries through road traffic accidents – in particular where a negligent third party has driven into the rear of their vehicle.

In such scenarios, it is highly likely that you will be entitled to compensation and you should seek to instruct an injury lawyer to act on your behalf so you can get hold of the maximum compensation you deserve.  A question on most whiplash victims minds is how much compensation they are likely to receive.  Unfortunately, we have to advise that it is somewhat impossible to put an exact figure on the value of your claim straightaway.  Each whiplash injury is different from the next, and it is also depends on the affect it has had on your life, and the severity of your pain and suffering.

However, we can give you a general idea by using what are known as the Judicial Studies Board (JSB) guidelines and statistics / averages.  Statistically, on average, a minor whiplash claim with be worth approximately £2,500.  Again though, I must stress that this is just a rough guide, and you really do have to take everyone’s circumstances into consideration.  Here’s what I mean:
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Personal injury claims can be quite costly for insurers.  A Claimant may be awarded thousands of pounds for the injuries they have sustained at the negligence of a third party, and it is the negligent third party’s insurer who has to pay for this.

Further, where the insurer has to pay compensation, they are also liable for the other side’s costs –which again can amount to thousands of pounds.  It is therefore not surprising that some insurers will try and deal with personal injury claims directly with the accident victims.  For instance, they will contact the injured party and see if they can settle their injury claim there and then.  This proves to be a lot cheaper because they can often settle the claim for less than it is worth, and they do not have to pay the injured persons solicitors.  If you are approached by an insurer direct to settle your claim for compensation, you have to be very careful.

Once you agree any compensation in settlement of your claim, that is it.  You cannot go back a few months later and ask for more when you realise that the insurers did not have your best interests at heart.  Your compensation claim is settled.
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If you have had an accident at your workplace, you should already know what to do when it comes to what policies and procedures to follow, and how the accident should be reported with your company. If you don’t, I suggest that you ask an appropriate member of staff – but you should have had some guidance or training on the subject in the past.

First and foremost, the accident should be fully and accurately recorded in an accident book. If your injuries need attending to at the scene of the accident, an appropriate first aider should be called in to assist you as much as possible. If you are asked to sign a copy of the accident boom entry, make sure you actually agree to the contents of the report, and only sign it if it is full and accurate. You should also request a copy if you are to sign the report.

Obviously, if your medical needs require it, you should be taken to a local walk in centre of hospital for further treatment. Make sure you explain to the medic in detail as to what happened and how you ended up suffering the injury.
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OK – so, how much is a claim for compensation worth? Can you calculate it online and get an accurate figure? If you can, is the amount representative of what you could be expecting to receive?

There are long and short answers for these questions…

Realistically, the only way to value a claim for compensation is with an independent medical report and an assessment with a fully qualified expert personal injury lawyer. There is genuinely no other way to value a claim properly; all other methods are based on guesswork and estimations.
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We at The Injury Lawyersare a specialist law firm dealing only in personal injury and clinical negligence claiming, we also have a great deal of experience in handling claims for whiplash injuries. This means that we are best placed to maximise your compensation claim, and give you a high level of service. The following blog aims to give you on overview of whiplash and your possible personal injury claim.

Causes and Symptoms

Whiplash is caused by a sudden jolt to the head/neck that causes the neck to move beyond it’s normal range of movement. This in turn causes damage to the muscles and tendons in the area, thus inflicting the sufferer with the symptoms of whiplash. These symptoms include:
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My message to anyone who is thinking of making a claim for compensation for injuries they have suffered at the hands of a negligent third party, is to instruct a quality and expert injury lawyer working under a Genuine No Win, No Fee agreement, and one who, importantly, has not paid a referral fee for your claim!  The reason is simple – lawyers who pay referral fees have less money to spend on you and have demonstrated at first instance that the reason they want to deal with your claim is not because they genuinely care for you, but because they want to make a quick bit of cash.

What are referral fees?

A referral fee is a sum of money paid to an insurer, claims company, or even garages and the police (apparently) by your legal representative to get hold of your details after you have had an accident so that they can take on your compensation claim.  For example, law firm (A) will pay insurer (B) £1000.00 so that they can get the details of your accident and your contact details to enable them to get in touch with you and convince you that you should be making a claim for compensation with them.  In other words, lawyers who pay a referral fee for your claim are saying that you are merely a pawn in their grand business plan.  Once a lawyer has paid a referral fee for your claim, you will no doubt be bombarded with text messages and cold calls – after all they will be desperate to get you on board – they have just paid a significant sum of money to get your claim information.
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Making a claim for a relatively minor road accident claim is a straight forward and simple process – well, it is now, anyway. I say this as for road accidents that occurred after 30^th April 2010 and are between an estimated value of £1000 and £10,000, they are likely to go through the relatively new system. This new system will be the topic of the following blog.

Compared to the system of old, the new road traffic accident process is much simpler, more stream-lined, and most importantly; it is much faster. One reason for this is that it is all completed over an electronic portal over the internet, so all correspondence is sent and received simultaneously, therefore cutting out the time waiting for the post to arrive.

The new system is made up of 3 stages. The first stage begins with your solicitor filling out a Claim Notification Form (CNF), it is this form that sets out all the accident circumstances, and full details of the negligent driver. If you were unable to get all the details of the Defendant driver, this should not be a problem, as long as you have the registration number of the car – a search can be performed to gain the driver’s insurance details.
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When you begin a claim you want to know a.) that it has good prospects of success and b.) what compensation you are likely to gain from the claim. Well, at The Injury Lawyers we do not take on claims unless we feel that it has a good chance of success, as we do not want to waste your time or our own time and money. As for item b) – giving clients an accurate prediction on what amount of compensation they can earn can be difficult at the early stages of a claim; however, at The Injury Lawyers, we do not take on a claim unless we feel that it is worth at least £1000 – in this respect you know that making your claim is worth while.

Now, why is valuing a claim at the outset difficult? Furthermore, how do solicitors value claims? Solicitors use a variety of tools to place a value on a claim – these I have set out below:

1. Medical report: Once liability has been admitted on your claim your solicitor will arrange for you to have a medical examination. This examination produces a report which provides extensive information on your accident, injuries and the effect of the injuries on your life. The medical report also gives a prognosis detailing when you are likely to recover from your injuries. The medical report therefore provides a valuable foundation from which your claim can be valued.
2. Judicial Studies Board Guidelines: The JSB guidelines band neck injuries for the purposes of valuations. These bands are as follows:

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